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Why The Episcopal Church (Part I) (Old Version)
A new version of this episode is now available! Scroll up and check out Season 4, Episode 4!
This episode, we explore the history that led to The Episcopal Church, tracing our origins from the Acts of the Apostles all the way up to the Revolutionary war. Along the way, we see how the faith continued to evolve, while remaining centered on our creeds and the things we’ve talked about that Christians around the world share in common.
Episode page: https://www.stjohnslynchburg.org/why-episcopal-i
Show notes:
1. Chris read a quote from A History of Global Anglicanism, by Kevin Ward (2010), about the common history, faith and liturgy of the Anglican Communion. Find out more about the Anglican Communion here: https://www.anglicancommunion.org/
2. The history of the church, or her birthday, starts at a Pentecost celebration, almost 2000 years ago, as written in the first chapter of Acts of the Apostles. Not everyone was the same—there was diversity in language, culture, and more from the beginning of Christianity. As Christianity initially spread, it remained in unity about the faith, but the expressions changed for different places and times.
3. The Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D./C.E. set down the Nicene Creed and clarified central pillars of the faith. The Canon of Holy Scripture also came into clearer focus, giving us the selection of books that are in our Bibles today. Finally, Christianity became the religion of the Roman Empire; as religion of the state instead of a minority of people, it changed a lot of things for the early Christians!
4. Christianity continues to spread, including a leap over to the British Isles. This begins the distinct part of our history, even though the Church of England would not break away for another thousand years in the 1500s, around the time that early explorers were setting out to discover the ‘New World.’
5. The Church of England is one of the groups that break away from the Catholic Church. Martin Luther expressed differences and then broke away first, but England was not far behind. One of the main motivations was about power; the church having political and monetary authority over people in many kingdoms was challenged by King Henry VIII, who also challenged the spiritual authority of the church. Both of these challenges led to King Henry VIII separating the English church from Rome. And yes, a divorce was involved too; listen to learn more!
6. Also involved was translating the Bible into the language of the people, as well as the prayers. This led to one of the greatest gifts to the church that the English church has offered, the Book of Common Prayer. Yet they did not depart from the tradition of the church any more than necessary. The polity and structure changed of the church changed, but the belief in God stayed central.
7. Our reflection question is: If you would change anything in the church, what would you change, and why?
Join us next time for some more history of The Episcopal Church, and who we are and where we are now!
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By St. John's Lynchburg
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A new version of this episode is now available! Scroll up and check out Season 4, Episode 4!
This episode, we explore the history that led to The Episcopal Church, tracing our origins from the Acts of the Apostles all the way up to the Revolutionary war. Along the way, we see how the faith continued to evolve, while remaining centered on our creeds and the things we’ve talked about that Christians around the world share in common.
Episode page: https://www.stjohnslynchburg.org/why-episcopal-i
Show notes:
1. Chris read a quote from A History of Global Anglicanism, by Kevin Ward (2010), about the common history, faith and liturgy of the Anglican Communion. Find out more about the Anglican Communion here: https://www.anglicancommunion.org/
2. The history of the church, or her birthday, starts at a Pentecost celebration, almost 2000 years ago, as written in the first chapter of Acts of the Apostles. Not everyone was the same—there was diversity in language, culture, and more from the beginning of Christianity. As Christianity initially spread, it remained in unity about the faith, but the expressions changed for different places and times.
3. The Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D./C.E. set down the Nicene Creed and clarified central pillars of the faith. The Canon of Holy Scripture also came into clearer focus, giving us the selection of books that are in our Bibles today. Finally, Christianity became the religion of the Roman Empire; as religion of the state instead of a minority of people, it changed a lot of things for the early Christians!
4. Christianity continues to spread, including a leap over to the British Isles. This begins the distinct part of our history, even though the Church of England would not break away for another thousand years in the 1500s, around the time that early explorers were setting out to discover the ‘New World.’
5. The Church of England is one of the groups that break away from the Catholic Church. Martin Luther expressed differences and then broke away first, but England was not far behind. One of the main motivations was about power; the church having political and monetary authority over people in many kingdoms was challenged by King Henry VIII, who also challenged the spiritual authority of the church. Both of these challenges led to King Henry VIII separating the English church from Rome. And yes, a divorce was involved too; listen to learn more!
6. Also involved was translating the Bible into the language of the people, as well as the prayers. This led to one of the greatest gifts to the church that the English church has offered, the Book of Common Prayer. Yet they did not depart from the tradition of the church any more than necessary. The polity and structure changed of the church changed, but the belief in God stayed central.
7. Our reflection question is: If you would change anything in the church, what would you change, and why?
Join us next time for some more history of The Episcopal Church, and who we are and where we are now!