About the Episcopal Church

The Episcopal Church in the United States consists of over 2 million members.  It is one of 28 independent provinces of the Anglican Communion, a global community of 70 million Christians.  The Anglican Communion began with the Church of England, which separated from the Roman Catholic Church during the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century.  The Church of England came to America during the colonial era.  Following the American Revolution, the American church became the independent Protestant Episcopal Church in the USA.

The Episcopal Church takes it name from the Greek word Episkopos, which means Bishop.  The chief pastor of an Episcopal Church is its Bishop, who oversees the spiritual needs of a geographic area known as a Diocese.  Our church is one of 84 congregations in the Diocese of Southern Ohio, which covers the southern half of the state including Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, and numerous smaller cities and towns such as Marietta.  Our Diocesan bishop's office is in Cincinnati, while our assistant (Suffragan) bishop has offices in Columbus. The Bishop is assisted in the field (local congregations) by ordained persons - Priests and Deacons.

The authority of the Episcopal Church in the U.S.A. is called the General Convention, a democratically elected group with lay people and clergy in one "House" of the legislative body and the bishops in another.  For anything to become Church policy, it must be approved by both Houses.  The head of the national church is the Presiding Bishop, who is elected at a General Convention for a term of 9 years.  The Church of England's Archbishop of Canterbury is regarded as the spiritual, but not authoritarian, head of the Anglican Communion.

For more information regarding the Anglican Communion, the Episcopal Church in the U.S.A., or the Diocese of Southern Ohio, click on the Links button.