What's so weird about Episcopalianism compared to other religions?

[elshiva]

[havocmom]

1. It's a separate religion? Always thought of it as one of many Christian

denominations.

[elshiva]

3. A common misconception! It's really a cult!

[WhollyHeretic]

6. What's so weird about Republicanism compared to other cults?

[RevCheesehead]

2. Smells and Bells, baby.

And the priests can be married - just not the gay ones. :)

[elshiva]

4. In some parishs, there are blessings of gay unions.

My uncle, an Episcopalian priest, has blessed at least two lesbian couples. Depends on the area, of course. Yes he lives in VERMONT!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

8. Every Episcopal Church I've been to has used the Book of Common Prayer

and had its choir sing selections from the Oxford Book of Easy Anthems. :-)

Plus, we have our own lingo: rector, vestry, senior warden, junior warden, evensong, compline, dean, deacon, subdeacon, morning prayer, sexton, cotta, canon, curate, vicar, chapter.

Translations:

rector: a priest in charge of a parish who has been appointed by the vestry
vestry: the governing council of a parish, elected from among the members of the parish
senior warden: the top lay official, usually a member of the vestry, responsible for financial and personnel matters
junior warden: the second-ranking lay official, usually a member of the vestry, responsible for property and social life
evensong: a non-Communion service held in the late afternoon or early evening
compline: a non-Communion service held late at night, just before going to bed
dean: the priest in charge of the day-to-day operations of a cathedral
deacon: either an "intern" priest (transitional deacon) or a person who takes special training to do unpaid work for a parish to which he or she is appointed by the bishop
subdeacon: the priest who assists the priest who is celebrating the Eucharist
morning prayer: a non-Communion service that takes place in the morning
sexton: the janitor of an Episcopal church
cotta: the white robe that choir members wear over their black or purple robes
canon: a priest who is on a cathedral staff but isn't the dean
curate: a priest who is second-in-command to a rector or vicar
vicar: a priest who is appointed to a parish by the bishop
chapter: the governing council of a cathedral
cathedral: a church where a bishop is headquartered. It is usually, but not necessarily, large and ornate, and the site of the cathedral can move from one parish to another, as in the diocese of Oregon

[MasonJar]

5. Episcopals are Christians; in general they seem to be more

accepting than some other denominations. I am an ex-Baptist who is now Episcopal all the way and believe me it is 360 degrees. After all the Anglican Church was founded by Henry the 8th. Anglican in Britain; Episcopal here.

[elshiva]

7. So I have heard all my life being an Episcopalian even before

I was born, my mom going to services while pregnant...

BUT I thought all Christians were supposed to be fundies... :sarcasm:

[tjwmason]

16. It was not founded by Henry VIII

King Henry (not a nice man, b.t.w.) simply removed the connection with Rome, in no sense did he found anything new. It was under his son Edward VI that English language liturgies were introduced (Book of Common Prayer 1549 and 1552); then everything went back to pre-Henrician days under Queen Mary. It was with the accession of Queen Elizabeth I that Anglicanism as an idea was founded; the B.C.P. 1559 is essentially identical to that of 1662 (which is still the official liturgy of the Church of England) - more importantly the notion of the via media of being neither Roman Catholic nor protestant (frequently called reformed Catholic) was born as the 'Elizabethan Settlement'.

[Vanje]

9. One word....

(Two, actually): Red Doors

[elshiva]

10. Actually a lot of Lutheran Churches have red doors, too...

Old tradition of painting church doors red until the church was paid for...

[preciousdove]

11. Heard from a historical perspective...

Baptist Preachers walked; Methodists rode horses; Presbyterians
took the stage coach and Episcopalians waited for the trains.O8)

Wow, I made it to 500.

[Heidi]

15. Congrats on 500 +1, preciousdove! (nt)

[cestpaspossible]

12. It starts with 'e'. That usually is a sign of weirdness right there.

just kidding

[A HERETIC I AM]

13. Raised Episcopal, now Atheist....... .------>

Connection?


lol...I have great respect for the Episcopal faith. It is most certainly more tolerant than other protestant faiths and is, as a poster above pointed out, the American arm of the Anglican church or...the Church of England. The faith that the King or Queen is "The defender" of.

My Father sang in choirs all over the world in Episcopal and Anglican Churches and was also a member of the Masonic order. It always seemed to me to be rather racially exclusive as there was only one or two black families in every church we went to but those nice folks were ANYTHING but excluded or shunned, quite the contrary, those families were made to feel as welcome as anyone. No more, no less. It was an incredible lesson in understanding in my young years.

Decent, kind, understanding folks who don't take the bible too literally yet understand wholeheartedly that the message of the Christ is one to be studied and emulated.

My Mother is Episcopal (dad died in 2000) and it seems to me to make her a better person for many reasons but none better, in my opinion than it makes her feel good about herself. Her faith seems to amplify her virtue and she seems more versed in the 7 holy virtues, which she certainly personifies than most other Christians i know.
Faith
Hope
Charity
Juris
Prudence
Fortitude
Temperance

[tjwmason]

14. Good taste.

The rest is really up to you, but bad taste is the big no no of Anglicanism/Episcopalianism.