Anglican Adjectives pt. 5: Episcopal
For those of you desiring to learn more about the Anglican tradition and its history, I invite you to pick up JI Packer’s wonderful book The Heritage of Anglican Theology. In this book, Packer lays out seven shared “Anglican adjectives” — essentials shared by all Anglicans.
The seven adjectives are: biblical, liturgical, evangelical, pastoral, episcopal, national, and ecumenical. In this series of brief posts, I plan to tease each of those adjectives out.
What It Means To Be “Episcopal”
When you hear the word “episcopal” you may immediately think of the Episcopalian Church in the US. That’s NOT what Packer is talking about here. He’s referring to the governing structure of the church.
You’re likely familiar with “Congregationalism” or “Presbyterianism/Elder-Ruler” church governments. The Episcopal form of church government is absolutely the most ancient, and it is essentially unquestioned in the church until the 16th century. This understanding of church government flows from the formal offices listed in the New Testament and early church practice—we see this structure in place in the generation immediately following the Apostles.
At the heart of this episcopal structure is the bishop. The Bishop leads and oversees numerous churches—churches that together compose a singular diocese (association of partnering churches) You also have pastors/priests, who leads and oversees particular churches, while still being under the Bishop’s care. And finally you have deacons, who serve in a unique role of service within the local church—under the care of the pastor and the bishop.
So why is this form of church structure so important to Packer, Anglicans, and others? It’s because the bishop stands as a figure of unity and continuity within the church—the Bishop connects the modern church together and to the past, while connecting the church to itself today. “The bishop is a happy token of continuity with the historic Christian church. The bishop is the standard of an authentic Christian faith, the chief discipline officer of the diocese, and the first counseling resource for the clergy of the diocese.”
One theologian called Anglican church government a perfect balance of hierarchy and congregationalism—the local church is still its own unique self with a fair degree of autonomy, but that local church is not isolated, disjointed, or without help in trouble. The bishop functions as a spiritual director, guide, and aid in times of trouble. Yet, he’s not a dictator. He works together in partnership with the churches for the good of The Church.
Additional Resources
If you’re interested in further researching this week’s topic, let me point you to two resources —
Credo Podcast w/ Matthew Barrett: Matthew Barrett is long-time baptist scholar recently turned Anglican. This podcast conversation speaks into his denominational change and a bit on the topic of episcopacy.
Word & Table Podcast: I discovered this podcast earlier this month, and I’ve really appreciated what I’ve listened to. This episode covers the topic of Anglican church government.