Episcopal in principle means "of bishops", from the Latin for bishop, episcopus, itself from the ancient Greek επίσκοπος. A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight
It may therefore refer to:
- Anything pertaining to bishops, e. g. An Episcopal Conference in the Catholic Church
- An Episcopal Church, an alternative term for a church of the Anglican Communion, since Anglican churches are based on the concept of church governance by the bishops collectively (as an "Episcopal polity"). In the Roman Catholic Church, an Episcopal Conference, Conference of Bishops, or National Conference of Bishops is an official assembly of all the See also Anglicanism The Anglican Communion is an international association of national Anglican churches Anglicanism is a tradition of Christian faith Churches in this tradition either have historical connections to the Church of England or have similar beliefs Episcopal polity is a form of church governance which is hierarchical in structure with the chief authority over a local Christian church resting in a Bishop (Greek The term Episcopal is in several churches considered preferable to the term Anglican, which originates in ecclesia anglicana, a Medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 meaning "the English Church". Medieval Latin was the form of Latin used in the Middle Ages, primarily as a medium of scholarly exchange and as the Liturgical language of the medieval England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland [1] Some feel that this might imply that there is an English ecclesiastical or nationalistic superiority, which is disputed. A member of an Episcopal church is an Episcopalian.
- A number of minor churches which broke with the Anglican Communion use the title Episcopal Church in reference to their preservation of episcopal polity (i. Episcopal polity is a form of church governance which is hierarchical in structure with the chief authority over a local Christian church resting in a Bishop (Greek e. , governed by bishops).
- Any denomination that has bishops even if they may not be directly related to an Anglican Church such as the United Methodist Church, which was originally the Methodist Episcopal Church and was an offshoot of the Church of England, or the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which was not an offshoot. The United Methodist Church is the largest Methodist denomination and the second largest Protestant denomination in the United States. The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ( ELCA) is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago Illinois.
References
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"Anglicanism". Catholic Encyclopedia. The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to today as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language Encyclopedia published by The Encyclopedia (1913). New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Dictionary
episcopal
-adjective
- Of or relating to the affairs of a bishop in various Christian churches.
Episcopal
-adjective
- Of or relating to the affairs of an Anglican church, such as the Scottish Episcopal Church or the Episcopal Church in the United States.
-noun
- (informal) An adherent of an Anglican church, such as the Scottish Episcopal Church or the Episcopal Church in the United States; properly, an Episcopalian.
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