| United Episcopal Church of North America | |
| The UECNA crest. | |
| Classification | Continuing Anglican |
|---|---|
| Orientation | Central Church, Low Church |
| Polity | Episcopal, (with Apostolic Succession) |
| Leader | Archbishop Peter D. Robinson |
| Associations | Inter-Communion with Anglican Catholic Church and the Anglican Province of Christ the King |
| Geographical areas | North America |
| Founder | Charles D.D. Doren |
| Origin | 1981 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Separated from | Anglican Catholic Church |
| Congregations | 18 parishes and 6 missions in formation [1] |
| http://www.unitedepiscopalchurch.org/ | |
The United Episcopal Church of North America (UECNA) is a traditional Anglican Christian church that is part of the Continuing Anglican movement. It is not part of the Anglican Communion.
The UECNA describes itself as orthodox, catholic and evangelical in scope, "embracing the broad base of ceremonial practice inherent in the Historic Anglican Communion - The Anglican Catholic Episcopal Tradition." The UECNA uses the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. The church does not consider itself to be a Protestant denomination or part of the American fundamentalist movement, but rather a continuation of the ancient Christian church.
The changes in the mainline denominations that it and other continuing churches object to include the acceptance of abortion rights, broadened definitions of marital relationships, the ordination of women, and changes to the theology of the Book of Common Prayer. They now also object to the ordination of openly homosexual clergy.
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Bishop Charles D. D. Doren is considered the founder of the UECNA. The church was established in 1981 after he and three parishes left the Anglican Catholic Church (ACC) to create the UECNA as a home for Anglicans of the Low Church tradition. Since the mid-1990s the range of Churchmanship within the United Episcopal Church has widened, but the Church still requires of candidates for the ministry a commitment to uphold the doctrines of Church as contained in the Thirty-nine Articles and the Book of Common Prayer.
The UECNA now has cordial relations with both the ACC and APCK and, as of 2007, has an intercommunion agreement with the ACC. [2] Currently, the three churches are exploring the possibility of achieving organic unity. Bishop Presley Hutchens of the ACC addressed delegates to the UECNA convention of 2008 and discussed the possibility of uniting the ACC and UECNA. [3] Subsequently, the present Presiding Bishop of the UECNA has pointed out that the two bodies will have to reach agreement on the status of the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion in order for further progress to be made.
At that convention the clergy and delegates elected three suffragan bishops with the intention that they would serve the UECNA and also assist the ACC and APCK when requested. Two of them subsequently departed the UECNA for the Reformed Episcopal Church, leaving Bishop Peter D. Robinson as the sole suffragan bishop in UECNA until his appointment as Bishop of the Missionary District of the West in November 2009. Bishop Robinson succeeded the Most Rev. Stephen C. Reber as Archbishop of the UECNA on September 6th, 2010.
There are 18 UECNA churches in 10 states including: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, and Virginia.[1] The UECNA also has clergy and/or congregations in Canada and the United Kingdom. There are also a total of 6 missions in formation.
The UECNA traces its apostolic succession from the Church of England as follows:
And from the Scottish Episcopal Church the line is traced from:
See: Anglicanism
The UECNA has effected intercommunion agreements with a number of other Continuing Anglican churches. Those presently in effect are with:
The UECNA once had an intercommunion arrangement with the Anglican Province of America, but subsequently ended it citing the APA's signing of a similar agreement with the Reformed Episcopal Church.
The National Council is composed of the Archbishop, two other bishops, three priests and six laypersons. The Bishops are elected by the House of Bishops and the clergy and lay members are elected members by the House of Deputies. The Council also contains two representatives from the women's auxiliary, the United Episcopal Church Women (UECW). The National Council meets regularly each year, usually in April or May. However, the Archbishop has the authority to convene special meetings should circumstances require.
According to the Most Reverend Stephen C. Reber, the UECNA's archbishop from 1996 to 2010:
"As Anglicans, we (then) accept the components of the faith revealed; the Scriptures, Creeds, Councils, Sacraments, Worship, Ministry, and Tradition. We believe that all of the components are like strands of a rope; a unity which holds the church together. In this belief we share a Catholic ideal way of faith.
"The Reformation of the 16th century was the most comprehensive and far reaching effect to return the Christian faith to its legitimate roots of faith and practice. We accept the English Reformation as that which diligently sought the true sources of faith and discredited the many corruptions and distortions of the Middle Ages. Actually, the Articles of Religion found in the Prayer Book were written not as a statement of faith, but to deal with the above mentioned distortions and corruptions of the medieval church."
Explaining the UECNA's view of itself and its mission, the statement continues:
"We do believe God has given us a special position as a “bridge church” — a bridge between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism....We are a church truly catholic and evangelical in scope and embrace a broad base of ceremonial practice inherent in the Historic Anglican Tradition."[5]
However, his successor, the Most Rev. Peter D. Robinson, is wary of the 'Bridge Church' concept of Anglicanism, and lay a renewed emphasis on 'Classical Anglicanism' and what he refers to as 'Reformed Catholicism' as contained in the formularies of the Church - the Thirty-nine Articles and the Book of Common Prayer. He describes himself as a "old-fashioned High Churchman" and especially values the writings of the Caroline Divines, High Church Protestants such as Daniel Waterland and Christopher Wordsworth, and the Tractarians whilst not neglecting the Evangelical tradition as represented by J C Ryle and J I Packer. Bishop Robinson is also quick to point out that whilst the UECNA is now a broader Church that has a number of High Church parishes, it still primarily serves those whose churchmanship was Middle to Low/Evangelical.
See: Episcopal polity
The UECNA's leadership is divided among lay leaders and ordained ministers as follows:
Those in ordained positions (including students admitted to postulancy) include the following:[6]:
The UECW is an official organization of women who serve the church.
The church recognizes one monastic order, which is named the Order of St. Benedict.[7] The order uses a modified version of the Rule of St. Benedict.[8]
Membership is open to married or single men and women over the age of 21 who are convicted that they are called to the religious life.
The order has no established communities and does not establish communities. Instead, "[m]embers provide for their own living quarters and obtain their livelihood through secular or religious employment"
The stages of development are: