Cross, Episcopal

EPISCOPAL CROSS -  The Episcopal Church (TEC) is the United States-based member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a Christian church divided into nine provinces and has dioceses in the United States, Taiwan, Micronesia, the Caribbean, Central and South America, as well as the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe and the Navajo land Area Mission. The current Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church is Michael Curry, the first African American bishop to serve in that position.

In 2013, the Episcopal Church had 2,009,084 baptized members, of whom 1,866,758 were in the United States. In 2011, it was the nation's 14th largest denomination.  In 2015, Pew Research estimated that 1.2 percent of the adult population, or 3 million people, self-identify as mainline Episcopalians/Anglicans.  

The church was organized after the American Revolution, when it became separate from the Church of England, whose clergy are required to swear allegiance to the British monarch as Supreme Governor of the Church of England. The Episcopal Church describes itself as "Protestant, Yet Catholic".  The Episcopal Church considers itself to be apostolic, as it teaches that its bishops can be traced back to the apostles via holy orders. The Book of Common Prayer (BCP) is the United States version of the collection of traditional rites, blessings, liturgies, and prayers used throughout the Anglican Communion, and is central to Episcopalian worship.

The Episcopal Church was active in the Social Gospel movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  Since the 1960s and 1970s, the church has pursued a decidedly more liberal course. It has opposed the death penalty and supported the civil rights movement and affirmative action. Some of its leaders and priests are known for marching with influential civil rights demonstrators such as Martin Luther King, Jr..  The church calls for the full legal equality of gay and lesbian people, a movement partly inspired by their similar call for racial equality during the mid-1950s.  In 2015, the church's 78th annual General Convention passed resolutions allowing the blessing of same-sex marriages.