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EPISCOPAL 101 Session 3

Today’s Topics

• The Sacraments • Apostolic Succession • A Brief History of Christianity

• A Brief History of the Episcopal Church

The Sacraments

Q. What are the sacraments? A. The sacraments are outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace, given by Christ as sure and certain means by which we receive that grace.

The Sacraments

Q. What are the two great sacraments of the Gospel? A. The two great sacraments given by Christ to his Church are Holy Baptism and the Holy Eucharist.

The Other Sacraments

•  Confirmation •  the adult affirmation of our baptismal vows

•  Reconciliation of a Penitent •  private confession

•  Matrimony •  Christian marriage

•  Orders •  ordination to deacon, priest, or bishop

•  Unction •  anointing with oil those who are sick or dying

Anglican view of Sacraments

Henry VIII Defence of the Seven Sacraments

The Catholic view of the Sacraments, codified in the Council of Trent (the Counterreformation), is that they are seven-fold. This list of sacraments is sometimes organized into three groups: the three sacraments of initiation (into the Church, the body of Christ), consisting of Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist; the two sacraments of healing, consisting of Penance and Anointing of the Sick; and the two sacraments of service: Holy Orders and Matrimony.

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Anglican view of Sacraments

Sacraments in the Articles of Religion (1553, 1563, 1571).

The Articles draw a sharp distinction (Art. 25) between the two sacraments of the gospel, baptism and holy communion, and other practices which have been commonly called sacraments, such as the rest of the seven sacraments of the mediaeval church (confirmation, penance, extreme unction, marriage and ordination). The distinction made is that baptism and holy communion are based on a New Testament command (‘ordained by Christ our Lord in the Gospel’), whereas the other five have at most a New Testament example; and secondly, that this command includes ‘a visible sign or ceremony ordained of God’, whereas in some of the other five cases the visible sign is uncertain or variable.

Anglican view of Sacraments

Sacraments in the Articles of Religion (1553, 1563, 1571). The Catechism adds the further distinction that the two great sacraments are directly concerned with the salvation of those who receive them: ‘Question: How many sacraments hath Christ ordained in his Church? Answer. Two only, as generally necessary to salvation.’ The other five, though they may be helpful, are not divinely commanded, and therefore not strictly necessary.

Anglican view of Sacraments

Cranmer: Sacraments as “effectual signs of grace” • …our Saviour Christ, knowing us to be in this world, as it

were, but babes and weaklings in faith, hath ordained sensible signs and tokens whereby to allure and to draw us to more strength and more constant faith in him.

Anglican view of Sacraments

In the 19th century (1831+) Debates and arguments revived as theologians in Oxford (Tractarian) Movement sought to elevate the other five sacraments to conform to Roman practice

The Sacraments

Bapt

ism

Com

mun

ion

Conf

irmat

ion

Reco

ncila

tion

Mat

rimon

y

Ord

ers

Unct

ion

Episcopal YES YES YES YES YES YES YESRoman Catholic YES YES YES YES YES YES YESOrthodox yes yes yes yes yes yes yesLutheran YES YES No No No No NoMethodist YES YES No No No No NoBaptist YES YES No No No No NoPresbyterian YES YES No No No No NoUCC YES YES No No No No NoUnitarians No No No No No No No

Confirmation

Q. What is Confirmation? A. Confirmation is the rite in which we express a mature commitment to Christ, and receive strength from the Holy Spirit through prayer and the laying on of hands by a bishop. Q. What is required of those to be confirmed? A. It is required of those to be confirmed that they have been baptized, are sufficiently instructed in the Christian Faith, are penitent for their sins, and are ready to affirm their confession of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

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Apostolic Succession

The uninterrupted transmission of spiritual authority from the Apostles through successive popes and bishops.

Apostolic Succession • The belief that bishops are the successors to the apostles and that episcopal authority is derived from the apostles by an unbroken succession in the ministry.

• This authority is specifically derived through the laying on of hands for the ordination of bishops in lineal sequence from the apostles

• The apostolic succession may also be understood as a continuity in doctrinal teaching from the time of the apostles to the present.

• The apostolic succession is said to be a "sign, though not a guarantee" of the church's basic continuity with the apostles and their time.

Apostolic Succession

Jesus The Twelve Peter noted as 1st Bishop of Rome The Bishop of Rome (Popes) 2nd Linus in 67 75th Vitalianus 657- 672 Archbishop of Canterbury 8th Theodore 658 89th John More 1783-1805 Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church 1st William White – 1789 26th Katherine Jefferts Schori Bishop of Newark 10th Mark Beckwith

History of the Episcopal Church

1529

Eastern Orthodox

1054 – The Great Schism

50 CE – Council of Jerusalem

1784

Anglican Church History

597 – Augustine, first Archbishop of Canterbury

Roman Protestant

The Church in England

•  The early years of the English Church •  The Reformation period •  The Elizabethan settlement (1558-1603)\ •  Later Developments in the Church of

England •  The Oxford Movement (1833) •  First Lambeth Conference – 1867

The Episcopal Church In USA

•  The Pre-Revolutionary Period – the Church of England in the Colonies •  Virginia, New York and elsewhere •  The problem of ordination of priests •  The Church during the Revolution

•  After the Revolution •  The problem of consecration of bishops •  The consecration in Scotland of Samuel Seabury, the first

American bishop – 1784 •  First General Convention and American BCP – 1789. William

White, Presiding Bishop. Church and state are now separated. •  The Church and the Civil War •  The modern period

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High Five Willie

Words of Administration

BCP 1549: “The body of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was given for thee, preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life.” “The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was shed for thee, preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life.” BCP 1552: “Take and eat this in remembrance that Christ died for thee, and feed on him in thy heart with thanksgiving.” “Drink this in remembrance that Christ’s blood was shed for thee, and be thankful.” BCP 1559 and thereafter: “The body of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was given for thee, preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life: Take and eat this in remembrance that Christ died for thee, and feed on him in thy heart with thanksgiving.” “The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was shed for thee, preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life: Drink this in remembrance that Christ’s blood was shed for thee, and be thankful.”

EPISCOPAL 101 Session 4 – January 29 •  The Episcopal Church Data & Hierarchy •  The Anglican Communion