The Diocese in History By Cheryl White As the Episcopal Church seeks to administer itself today while simultaneously engaging and identifying with the broader Anglican Communion, there are potentially multiple points of conflict due to inexact corresponding structures within other global provinces. Perhaps the most obvious example of this is that some Communion provinces are … [Read more...] about Ordered Administration
Orderly Counsel
Spiritual Geographic
The Charisms and Challenges of Smaller DiocesesBy Michael B. CoverThe members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable. — 1 Cor. 12:22The impending merger between the Diocese of Chicago and the Diocese of Quincy is more than an isolated incident: it is a sign of the times. It shows that the current financial struggles faced by many small dioceses in the … [Read more...] about Spiritual Geographic
12 Theses on Bishops’ Ministry
By Ephraim Radner The Episcopal Church is struggling to redefine its order and mission in the face of rapidly declining membership amid a radically changing civil society. The role of bishops has always been central to our church — hence our church’s name — but this role is now itself a part of the struggle for the Episcopal Church’s faithful mission. What are bishops for? To … [Read more...] about 12 Theses on Bishops’ Ministry
A Pioneer for Anglican Unity
By Peter M. Doll What else other than an adventurous, romantic temperament would have prompted a privileged 18-year-old English youth of good family and prospects to have left all behind in 1828 to follow Bishop Philander Chase to his nascent college in the frontier wilderness of Ohio? Or to marry the bishop’s niece, Mary Chase Batchelor, when he was only 20? Or to go on to … [Read more...] about A Pioneer for Anglican Unity
One Use
By John C. Bauerschmidt“All the whole realm shall have but one use”: with this phrase the preface of the first Book of Common Prayer marked the end of the old liturgical regime that had prevailed in England in the Middle Ages, with various liturgical “uses” prevailing in different dioceses, religious orders, and cathedral churches, and the establishment of one use throughout … [Read more...] about One Use
A Measuring Rod
By Benjamin M. Guyer The English word canon comes from the Greek κανών. The term originally pertained to a measuring rod, but eventually referred to the standards which regulated various trades in the ancient world. After the rise of Christianity, it was also used to describe Christian norms. Many readers will be familiar with the phrase “canon of Scripture,” but canon has … [Read more...] about A Measuring Rod
Our Political Captivity
Correction: “The Political Captivity of General Convention” misstated a figure for average Sunday attendance. The Diocese of Fond du Lac’s average Sunday attendance in 2009, as reported in the 2011 Church Annual, was 2,266. The average Sunday attendance for Eau Claire in that year was 872.By Victoria Heard and Jordan HyldenWhatever General Convention will look like in 2015 and … [Read more...] about Our Political Captivity
Checks and Balances
By Derek OlsenLike the American Congress, General Convention has two houses and two presiding officers: the House of Deputies, led by its president, Bonnie Anderson, and the House of Bishops, led by Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori. Unlike the American government, the Episcopal Church has no separate and distinct executive branch. Instead, the church vests this … [Read more...] about Checks and Balances