Episcopally Speaking

Around the time of the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, I heard many references to Episcopalian Bishop Michael Curry. And then this summer during General Convention, I heard announcers say, "Episcopals debated same-sex marriage rites." Episcopalian. Episcopal. What's going on here? (Other than making this word-lover's ears bleed?)

People who belong to the Methodist Church are called Methodists. People who belong to the Presbyterian Church are called Presbyterians. But people who belong to the Episcopal Church are called Episcopalians. Why? I did a considerable amount of research trying to get to the bottom of this question, and finally decided that "because that's the way it's always been done" is probably the easiest and most efficient answer. (The phrase "The Protestant Episcopal Church" has been in use since 1780.)

In any case, episcopal comes from the Latin word for bishop. We are a Church that is governed by bishops. Episcopal is the adjective. The Episcopal Hymnal, the Episcopal Diocese, Episcopal Church Women, etc. Episcopalian is the noun. I am an Episcopalian. Episcopalians debated same-sex marriage rites. Episcopalians go to an Episcopal Church. She is an Episcopalian and she is also an Episcopal priest.

These are all upper-case usages of episcopal. There are some examples of lower-case episcopal that all relate back to its Latin origins. "Under the episcopal form of governing, the churches are guided by a bishop."

We'll leave episcopacy and episcopate for another time. --Amy Phillips Witzke