A Brief History of the Episcopal Church


Book Description

A readable and accurate account of the beginnings of the Anglican Church in America at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607, to the establishment of the Protestant Church in America after the War of Independence to the present day. All who are insterested in Americn church history and in the influence of the Espicopal Church on American history will find Holmes' book most enlightening.




A History of the Episcopal Church Schism in South Carolina


Book Description

In 2012, the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina declared its independence from the Episcopal Church. It was the fifth of the 111 dioceses of the Church to do so since 2007. A History of the Episcopal Church Schism in South Carolina is the sweeping story of how one diocese moved from the mainstream of the Episcopal Church to separate from the church. It examines the underlying issues, the immediate causes, and the initiating events as well as the nature and results of the schism. The book traces the escalating conflict between the diocese and the church that led up to the schism. It also examines the legal war between the two post-schism dioceses, the majority in the independent Diocese of South Carolina and the minority in the Episcopal Church in South Carolina. This is the first scholarly history of a diocesan schism from the Episcopal Church. It is extensively researched from original and secondary sources and documented in over 2,000 notes citing nearly 900 works. This story stands as a cautionary tale of what happens in a major Christian denomination when majority and minority factions increasingly differentiate themselves and what impact that can have for both parties.




Noble Powell and the Episcopal Establishment in the Twentieth Century


Book Description

Hein skillfully provides regional, religious, and historical contexts for Powell's life and furnishes penetrating insights into the man and the entire Episcopal establishment of this era. [The author] resourcefully combines secondary scholarship, personal conversations and communications, and conventional primary documents to capture Powell's personality, career, and relationships.... Anyone with a serious interest in American religious history will find this compelling biography to be both informative and thought provoking. -- Samuel C. Shepherd Jr., Journal of Southern History Hein's wide knowledge of the sociocultural forces at work in the mid-twentieth century, and especially the forces that generated the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, have enabled him to illuminate an entire period of Episcopal Church history through the life and work of one man. . . . Hein's gracious style, judicious insights, and especially his striking ability to penetrate the subtleties of southern religion in brief and trenchant observations make this book a pleasure to read. -- Susan J. White, Anglican and Episcopal History [A] painstaking, thoughtful biography. . . . To this story Hein ... brings balance, sensitivity, and exhaustive research. As 'the last bishop of the old church,' Noble Powell will be remembered longer than many of his predecessors. -- James Bready, Baltimore Sun [This] biography . . . is meticulously researched, full of primary source material and rich documentation. [It] is fun to read for anyone with an interest in American Protestant history. -- David E. Sumner, Journal of American History




Around the Family Altar


Book Description

Informative and controversial, this book explores the issue of domesticity in the 19th-century African Methodist Episcopal Church. For many in the church, their power to shape the dynamics of the family was the key to strengthening the spirit and role of African-Americans following the Civil War. In the midst of a hostile racial and political climate, black ministers and their congregations embraced Victorian notions of domesticity as a stabilizing force. Julius H. Bailey shows that they used the ideology to overcome regional tensions, restore families torn apart during slavery, challenge the legitimacy of female preachers, and nurture the spiritual growth of children and the religious life of the home. He also examines the ways male church leaders used the concept to defend their leadership, express hopes and fears, and fend off Social Darwinian attacks on their character. Discussions of domesticity helped African-Americans to understand the traits of a good father and mother, even as 19th-century ideas about the home were shifting. Were fathers to be stern heads of households or reclusive, prayerful figures who deferred to mothers? Were mothers natural nurturers? Or should they seek training to become domestic educators? For many of the diverse 19th-century black families, ministers of the AME church offered a universal familial philosophy that could bring harmony to the home. Using the voices of men and women and of clergy and laity and mining the principal publications of the AME church, Bailey presents a new understanding of family life in American religious history.




Robert H. Gardiner and the Reunification of Worldwide Christianity in the Progressive Era


Book Description

"Biography of Robert Hallowell Gardiner III, Progressive Era leader of the Christian ecumenical movement, the Young Manhood Movement, and the World Council of Churches. Includes discussions of George Wharton Pepper, Francis Stetson, John R. Mott, Newman Smyth, Cardinal James Gibbons, Bishop Charles Henry Brent, Vida D. Scudder, and others"--Provided by publisher.




The Wisconsin Oneidas and the Episcopal Church


Book Description

This unique collaboration by academic historians, Oneida elders, and Episcopal clergy tells the fascinating story of how the oldest Protestant mission and house of worship in the upper Midwest took root in the Oneida community. Personal bonds that developed between the Episcopal clergy and the Wisconsin Oneidas proved more important than theology in allowing the community to accept the Christian message brought by outsiders. Episcopal bishops and missionaries in Wisconsin were at times defenders of the Oneidas against outside whites attempting to get at their lands and resources. At other times, these clergy initiated projects that the Oneidas saw as beneficial—a school, a hospital, or a lace-making program for Oneida women that provided a source of income and national recognition for their artistry. The clergy incorporated the Episcopal faith into an Iroquoian cultural and religious framework—the Condolence Council ritual—that had a longstanding history among the Six Nations. In turn, the Oneidas modified the very form of the Episcopal faith by using their own language in the Gloria in Excelsis and the Te Deum as well as by employing Oneida in their singing of Christian hymns. Christianity continues to have real meaning for many American Indians. The Wisconsin Oneidas and the Episcopal Church testifies to the power and legacy of that relationship.




The Living Church


Book Description







Commentary on the American Prayer Book


Book Description

Traces and comments upon the sources, history, and development of each of the rites and formularies of the book from the earliest known forms until the present day.