Episcopal Church in the United States of America
The Episcopal Church in the USA, abbreviated ECUSA, and also known as the The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, is the American arm of the Worldwide Anglican Communion. The Church has about 2.5 million members.
Worship in the Episcopal Church is according to the Book of Common Prayer, a book of worship services for use in the church. The current edition was published in 1979. The previous edition was published in 1928. Worship styles within the Episcopal Church can range from "high church" (emphasizing ritual, sung liturgy, candles and incense, genuflecting, etc. with services resembling a Roman Catholic service) to "low church" (emphasizing preaching and personal conversion and eschewing ritual, with services resembling other low church Protestant denominations). Many Episcopal churches have a "broad church" stance, meaning they take a middle ground and try to incorporate elements of both high and low church styles.
Episcopal theology is summarized by the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, principally written by Thomas Cramner and adopted by the Anglican Church in 1563.
The National Cathedral in Washington is an Episcopal church, and is the official seat of the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the USA. Twelve of the forty-three Presidents have been Episcopalian, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, George H. W. Bush, and Gerald Ford.
Changes made in the church during the 1970s, specifically the ordination of women and the adoption of a new Book of Common Prayer in 1979, led to a movement of breakaway churches called the Continuing Anglican movement.
There is currently a controversy within the Episcopal church about the role of homosexuals within the church. The church was given until September 30, 2007 to determine whether or not it would continue to consecrate homosexuals. The Episcopal church's liberal stance is alienating it from other memebers of the communion, specifically the churches in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.
