Origin and History

The British had been greatly influenced by missionaries from Rome and therefore were especially devoted to the Pope and remained so until the reformation. During the fourteenth century the first signs of a reaction against papal authority came from an Oxford professor, John Wyclif, often called the “Morning Star of the Reformation.”

Wyclif became concerned about the state of church affairs in England and questioned many of the practices of the Catholic Church. He spoke out against the vast land holdings of the bishops and the political power of the Pope, quickly bringing upon himself the wrath of Rome. The Pope denounced Wyclif, yet his personal popularity saved him from certain martyrdom and he died a natural death.

One of Wyclif’s principal tenets was that the Scriptures should be the only law for the church. To spread his message he sent out “poor priests,” barefoot preachers known as Lollards. The name was probably derived from an old German word meaning “to sing” and referred to their practice of singing psalms.

A century and half later, Henry VIII was on the throne. There were remnants of the Wyclif movement still present in England, but a new factor to be reckoned with was the German reformation under Luther. During the first part of his reign Henry was faithful to Rome and, because of his suppression of Luther’s writings in England, the Pope declared Henry “Defender of the Faith”. This became a title worn by the monarchs of England to this day.

However, English support for the Catholic Church soon began to erode. A series of events, some religious and some political, led to the formation of a rift between Henry VIII and the Pope. This rift continued to widen until 1534, when things got much worse. It is generally accepted that the final event that led to the break between England and Rome centered on Henry VIII’s request for an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon on the grounds she had not borne him a male heir for the throne. The Pope at first avoided making a decision for fear this would hurt him with Catherine’s nephew, Charles V, who had gained tremendous influence in Europe.

Finally, Henry took matters into his own hands. He declared the Church of England free from any ties to Rome. He also had himself declared the “Protector and Supreme Head of the Church and Clergy of England” in 1534. The Church of England (sometimes referred to as the Anglican Church) severed all ties with the Roman Catholic Church.

Henry forbade the sending of revenues to Rome and the English clergy were required to take an oath of allegiance to the King and to repudiate loyalty to the Pope. Henry then requested an annulment from the archbishop of Canterbury, the chief ecclesiastical official in England, and received it so he could marry Anne Boleyn. Henry had no intention of founding a church. His aim was only to separate the Church of England, which was then a part of the Roman Church, from any ties to Rome. But after Henry’s death the movement for reformation of church doctrine gained strength.

The liturgy, or procedures for worship, were revised and translated into English. The resulting document was called “The Book of Common Prayer.” Services were conducted in English with the congregation participating by following the order of services set forth in the Prayer Book. Various Romish doctrines were repudiated such as purgatory, indulgences, and the use of images. Priests were allowed to marry and, as an alternate option to the private confession to a priest, a congregational confession was substituted.

Episcopalians in America

Brought to America in 1607 by Chaplain Robert Hunt, the Episcopalian Church slowly began growing and taking its place among some of the other commonly accepted denominations. In America the Church of England naturally held a favored position since the colonies were governed by England. In fact, the churches in Virginia and the other colonies were still under the authority of the Bishop of London until the Revolutionary War.

After the United States declared their independence, the Church of England became known as the Protestant Episcopal Church in America. The term “Protestant” was chosen to distinguish it from the Roman Catholic Church and the term “Episcopal” to distinguish it from the Congregational Churches. The name Episcopalian comes from the Greek word episkopos, meaning “bishop,” and it is a term that glorified their system of organization. However, the Episcopal Church still maintains communion with and is united with the Church of England.

The Final Word Bestowed upon the Church

Through the influence of Henry VIII, Thomas Cranmer wrote the Book of Common Prayer that, along with the Forty-Two Articles of Religion and several other creeds became the Episcopalians new standard creed book. They also bestowed the final word of all doctrinal discussions upon the church and declared it even more accurate than the Bible. In this, they follow the same pattern as the Roman Catholic Church in declaring the church to be more accurate than the Bible – and more current as well.

While they believe the Bible to be inspired, they do not mean by that it is “verbally” inspired in the sense that each word and statement therein is inspired of God as the Scriptures teach (cf. 1 Cor. 2:13; 2 Tim 3:16-17; 1 Cor. 4:6; 2 John 9-11; 1 Pet. 4:11). They believe that the Scriptures are inspired only in a general way, according to a phone conversation Donald P. Ames had with the Bishop of New York on December 1, 2004. They do not hesitate to advance their own ideas over those of the Bible and to dismiss portions of the Bible with which they disagree.

The Organizational Structure Is Contrary To Scripture

As noted above, the Episcopal Church gets its name from its organizational structure. The Greek word “episkopos” means “bishop” or “overseer.” It is used in the New Testament with reference to the elders. The terms elder, presbyter, bishop and overseer were all used to refer to men who were to be appointed by local churches to oversee the church of the Lord in a given location (cf. Acts 14:23; Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-8).

However, the Episcopal Church’s teaching concerning bishops is very similar to the Catholic teaching. In the Episcopal Church, a bishop is the head of a geographical area known as a “diocese.” Each diocese is made up of smaller, self-supporting congregations known as “parishes.” The minister of a parish is called a “rector” and is considered a priest. His assistant is called a “deacon.” The rector or priest has control of all the spiritual affairs of the congregation, but the financial affairs are in the hands of the vestry. The vestry consists of a group of men elected by the congregation. The vestry has the authority to select the rector with the bishop’s consent, and the rector cannot be dismissed by the vestry against the bishop’s will.

Each diocese, which must include at least six parishes, is supervised by a bishop. The bishop is elected by the diocese, but this election must be approved by the majority of the other bishops and dioceses. The bishop alone has authority over the diocese, but he does meet with the lower clergy and lay-people once a year to discuss whatever issues need to be discussed. The bishops all meet in a General Convention once every three years. The final authority in the Episcopal Church resides in the General Convention. The Convention is composed of two houses: a house of bishops and a house of deputies. The house of deputies has equal representation from the clergy and the laity.

This organizational structure of the Episcopalian Church is far different than the New Testament church. Each church in the New Testament was independent of every other church. Each local church was overseen by men called elders, presbyters, bishops or overseers as noted above. There is no Biblical authority for the organizational structure of the Episcopal Church.

Some False Doctrines Advocated

Depravity

The Episcopal Church adopted John Calvin’s position regarding depravity. They believe and teach that children are born into this world guilty not only of their own sins but also guilty of the “original sin” of Adam as well (Book of Common Prayer, p. 603). The Bible teaches the very opposite (cf. Ezek. 18:20; Matt. 18:3; 19:14, etc). Children are not born guilty of any sins. Furthermore, infants are too young to be taught, to believe, to repent, and to confess. Therefore, they are not subjects for baptism.

The Episcopal Church refers to baptism as a “sprinkling” or “pouring,” and it is to be administered to infants to free them from the “original sin” passed down from Adam (ibid. p. 608). However, there is not a single case of infant baptism in the New Testament. In every case it was administered to people old enough to believe, repent, confess, and be baptized (cf. Mk. 16:15-16; Acts 2:36-41; Acts 8:31-39). The word “baptism” in the Greek means to “immerse, plunge under,” and such passages as Romans 6:3-4, Colossians 2:12 and Acts 8:38-39 demonstrate the accurate meaning of the term. Sprinkling was never practiced in the first century.

Baptism and the Lord’s Supper

Whereas the Roman Catholic Church teaches there are “seven sacraments,” the Episcopalian Church lists only baptism and the Lord’s Supper (which they call “sacraments”). Their position is that those who engage in such are cleansed of their sins automatically, whether or not they do anything else. As one studies the Bible it is clear that these alone do not make a faithful Christian.

Justification by Faith Alone

“We are justified by Faith only is a most wholesome Doctrine, and very full of comfort” (Book of Common Prayer, p. 605) is the position taken by the Episcopalian Church. While the Bible speaks of being justified by faith (Rom. 5:1), it is not by faith alone, or only. The Bible speaks of a working faith (cf. Rom. 1:5; 6:16-18; 15:26; Gal. 5:6). Nowhere does the Bible speak of one being justified by “faith only.” In fact, the only time the term “only” appears in the Bible in reference to faith is in a statement by James when he wrote, “Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only” (James 2:24; cf. also James 2:19-26).

Wearing of Religious Titles

They wear a variety of titles, including “Father,” “Reverend,” “Right Reverend,” and “Very Reverend.” According to the bishop of New York these are “old English terms” that have just been “carried forth” and continue in use today. He said the term “Right Reverend” was actually the equivalent of the term “Bishop,” and he preferred to be addressed by the term “Bishop” instead, “since it was a Bible term, and the other is not.” Even though the term bishop is a Bible term, it is not used in the way they use the term (see earlier comments). Regarding the other titles, they need to pause and consider such passages as Matthew 23:9, Psa. 111:9 and 89:7. “He has sent redemption to His people; He has commanded His covenant forever; Holy and reverend is His name” (Psa. 111:9). Certainly no man would dare to presume he is to be “feared” in the same sense God is!

Women Serve as Priests and Bishops

This is illustrated by Catherine Waynick, the “bishop of Indianapolis” and is another corruption of God’s word. This is clearly contradictory to what the Bible sets forth in 1 Timothy 2:8-9 where the woman is not allowed to “usurp authority” over a man, and yet, as a preacher, Titus was to speak “with all authority.” Qualifications are given in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 regarding men serving as elders or bishops over a particular church.

“Practicing Homosexuals” Serving as Priests

This is a major issue in the Episcopalian Church and the controversy is growing. The bishop interviewed by Donald P. Ames said that the church did take a stand presently against any kind of recognition or approval of homosexual marriages or living together arrangements. But they have opened the door to accept practicing homosexuals as members without repentance. The Bible calls for repentance of such sins and living a righteous life (1 Cor. 6:9-11). The practice of homosexuality is condemned throughout the Bible (Gen. 19; Lev. 18:21-29; 20:13; Rom. 1:26f) and yet we have churches today who disregard the plain teaching of God’s word and accept homosexuals without requiring repentance.

There are other false positions taken by the Episcopal Church such as the rejection of some of the miracles of the Bible; they accept church sponsored recreation; they now accept those marriages in violation of Matthew 19:9; they accept many Roman Catholic holy days, such as Easter, Lent, and Christmas; they push tithing of the Old Testament and bind the Ten Commandments.

Our Sincere Plea to Our Episcopalian Friends

One does not have to look too hard to realize that the Episcopal Church could not possibly be the church of the New Testament. There are many good people caught up in this system of religion that originates with man and not with God. We plead for our friends to come back to God’s word and let the heavenly Father be their guide. We are concerned only with serving the Lord Jesus Christ according to His divine word as revealed in the New Testament. If there is a reputable preacher for the Episcopal Church who will defend their doctrines in an open forum or public debate we will be happy to work out the arrangements and discuss these matters.

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