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The Reformed Episcopal Church (REC) is an
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
church of evangelical Episcopalian heritage. It was founded in 1873 in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
by
George David Cummins George David Cummins (December 11, 1822 – June 26, 1876) was an American Anglican Bishop and founder of the Reformed Episcopal Church. Life and career He was born in Delaware on December 11, 1822. Cummins graduated from Dickinson College, ...
, a former bishop of the
Protestant Episcopal Church The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine Ecclesiastical provinces and dioces ...
. The REC is a founding member of the
Anglican Church in North America The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is a Christian denomination in the Anglican tradition in the United States and Canada. It also includes ten congregations in Mexico, two mission churches in Guatemala, and a missionary diocese in Cuba ...
(ACNA), and its four U.S. dioceses are member dioceses of ACNA. The REC and ACNA are not members of the
Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
. The REC is in communion with the
Free Church of England The Free Church of England (FCE) is an episcopal church based in England. The church was founded when a number of congregations separated from the established Church of England in the middle of the 19th century. The doctrinal basis of the F ...
, the
Church of Nigeria The Church of Nigeria is the Anglicanism, Anglican Church body, church in Nigeria. It is the second-largest Province (Anglican), province in the Anglican Communion, as measured by baptised membership (not by attendance), after the Church of Englan ...
, and the
Anglican Province of America The Anglican Province of America (APA) is a Continuing Anglican church in the United States. The church was founded by former members of the Episcopal Church in the United States in order to follow what they consider to be a more truly Christian, ...
. Due to the death of Royal U. Grote Jr., the then Vice President of the Reformed Episcopal Church,
Ray Sutton Raymond Ronny Sutton (born 1950) is an American Anglican bishop. He was bishop coadjutor in the Diocese of Mid-America of the Reformed Episcopal Church, since 1999, a founding member of the Anglican Church in North America, in 2009. He is the ...
became the Presiding Bishop of the REC. At the 55th General Council of the Reformed Episcopal Church in June 2017 in Dallas, Texas, USA, Sutton was elected to be the Presiding Bishop, and David L. Hicks, Bishop Ordinary of the Diocese of the North East and Mid-Atlantic, was elected as Vice-President, of the Reformed Episcopal Church. As of 2016, the REC reports 108 parishes and missions in the United States and three in Canada, and also has churches in Croatia, Cuba, Germany, and Serbia. In 2009, the Reformed Episcopal Church reported 13,600 members.


History

In the 19th century, as the
Oxford Movement The Oxford Movement was a movement of high church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the University of O ...
urged that the
Protestant Episcopal Church The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine Ecclesiastical provinces and dioces ...
and the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
return to Anglicanism's roots in pre-Reformation Catholic Christianity,
George David Cummins George David Cummins (December 11, 1822 – June 26, 1876) was an American Anglican Bishop and founder of the Reformed Episcopal Church. Life and career He was born in Delaware on December 11, 1822. Cummins graduated from Dickinson College, ...
, the Assistant Bishop of the
Episcopal Diocese of Kentucky The Episcopal Diocese of Kentucky is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, encompassing the western half of the state of Kentucky. History The first verifiable religious services in Kentucky were held on May 28, 1 ...
, became concerned about the preservation of
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
,
Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...
, Reformed, and Confessional principles within the church. The founding of the Reformed Episcopal Church followed an 1873 controversy about ecumenical activity. In October of that year, Bishop Cummins joined with Dean Smith of Canterbury,
William Augustus Muhlenberg William Augustus Muhlenberg (September 16, 1796April 8, 1877) was an Episcopal clergyman and educator. Muhlenberg is considered the father of church schools in the United States. An early exponent of the Social Gospel, he founded St. Luke's Hos ...
, and some non-Anglican ministers at an ecumenical conference of the American branch of the
Evangelical Alliance The Evangelical Alliance (EA) is a national evangelical alliance, member of the World Evangelical Alliance. Founded in 1846, the activities of the Evangelical Alliance aim to promote evangelical Christian beliefs in government, media and societ ...
. During the conference, held in New York City, Cummins, Smith and the non-Episcopalian ministers presided at joint services of Holy Communion without using any version of the ''Book of Common Prayer''. Retired missionary bishop,
William Tozer William George Tozer (1829–1899) was a colonial bishop in the 19th century. He was born in Teignmouth and educated at St John's College, Oxford and ordained in 1854. His first post was a curacy at St Mary Magdalene Munster Square. Later he wa ...
, who was visiting New York at the time, criticized Smith and implicitly Cummins for participating in the rite. Tozer's criticism appeared in a letter published by the New York ''Tribune'' on October 6, 1873. Bishop Cummins defended his actions in a letter published 10 days later, but after criticisms from
Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches. The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglican ...
clergy and others for his choice not to seek preaching permission from the bishop in whose diocese he was preaching without authorization (New York), he submitted a letter of resignation to his own bishop on November 10. Three weeks later, joined by 21 Episcopalian clergy and lay people, Cummins organized the first general council of the Reformed Episcopal Church in New York City on December 2, 1873. Bishop Cummins and his followers considered his action not rash decisions but simply decisive action, founded upon their long-held convictions about the growing
Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches. The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglican ...
practices within the church. While these practices had existed from the founding of the Church of England, the Tractarian or
Oxford Movement The Oxford Movement was a movement of high church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the University of O ...
had been growing in influence, much to Cummins' dismay. He described his understanding's evolution in a letter to Bishop Cheney, stressing his earlier attempts to create reforms within the
Protestant Episcopal Church The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine Ecclesiastical provinces and dioces ...
. "We went before the General Conventions of 1868 and 1871 with petitions signed by hundreds of clergymen and laymen from all parts of the land, asking relief for Evangelical men. We asked but three things, the use of an alternate phrase in the baptismal office for infants, the repeal of the canon closing our pulpits against all non-Episcopal clergymen, and the insertion of a note in the Prayer-book, declaring the term "Priest" to be of equivalent meaning with the word Presbyter. We were met by an indignant and almost contemptuous refusal." These failed earlier attempts and Tozer's criticism of the ecumenical communion service Cummins thought an opportunity for decisive action. Some in the Protestant Episcopal Church saw Cummins' decision as schismatic. Others, however, disagreed. One correspondent of the publication "The Episcopalian" said, "If we say that this new church has begun in schism, the church of Rome alleges the same things against us. The real question is, which party is guilty of the schism, the party which separates and goes out? or the party that forces the separation, by making binding on the conscience what Christ has not made binding?" Rather than characterize this as schism, Bishop Cummins and his fellow reformers portrayed themselves as providing a Protestant, Anglican identity under which there could be a 'closer union of all Evangelical Christendom.' "The Reformed Episcopal Church would be what the Protestant Episcopal Church might have become had it not been paralyzed by the Tractarian virus." The term "Reformed" was never intended to denote any
Calvinistic Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Calv ...
sense of Reformed theology, but was intended to convey Cummins' purpose of an Episcopal Church that had been reformed against Catholic influences he founders of the church would often stylise the name as The Re-Formed Episcopal Church, for disambiguation so that it was known this was the Episcopal Church Re-Formed and not of a reformed theology Bishop Cummins was in attendance at a Convention on 21 October 1868 and was greatly disappointed by the "Catholic" practices which he witnessed: " tars erected, with super-altars, with burning candles, and floating clouds of incense; the communion service set in a Roman framework ... there is a departure from the doctrinal basis of the Reformation." Cummins' feelings grew stronger after reading an essay titled "Are There Romanising Germs in the Prayer Book?" which asserted that the Romanisation of the church and the Holy Eucharistic service was not an influence from the outside but, rather came from inside the church – it was in the Prayer Book itself, thus; Cummins started pushing stronger against the "Roman germs" which sadly, caused him to lose friends on both sides: Anglo-Catholics and Evangelicals alike. The REC has had several periods of a general distinct theology. Although it began as a way to preserve Protestantism within the Anglican identity, the Anglican aspect of the identity began to fade over time. With its growing and heavy emphasis on ecumenical relations with other Protestants, many of those who converted or were confirmed in the REC had identities from various other Protestant backgrounds. Due to this influx and the short-lived bishopric of the founders, the typical Reformed Episcopalian went from a Protestant, Latitudinarian pathos to a more Dispensationalist persuasion in a relatively short period of time, much of this happening in the early 1900s. Over the following several decades, the REC made the transition to more Reformed theology in the Calvinistic sense. It was not until the 1970s that the Presiding Bishop,
Leonard Riches Leonard Wayne Riches Sr. (born 1939) is an American Anglican Bishop. He served as Presiding Bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church from 1996 to June 2014, and was previously the bishop of the Diocese of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic in this chu ...
, pushed for the revitalization of Anglican theology and identity in the REC.


Early growth


In the United States

Within six months of its founding in 1873, the REC grew to about 1,500 communicants, two bishops and 15 other ministers. In 1875, over 500
African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
Protestant Episcopal communicants in South Carolina's Low Country joined the REC as a group.


In Canada

Within a year from the founding of the REC, like-minded Canadian Anglicans in
New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
and
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
seceded from that Church and formed Reformed Episcopal congregations. In October 1874, Edward Cridge, dean of the Anglican cathedral in
Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...
, withdrew with about 350 of his congregation to form the Church of Our Lord and join the Reformed Episcopal Church. Cridge was consecrated a bishop for the REC in 1876. Many of the Canadian Reformed Episcopal Churches joined the United Church at its founding. The Reformed Episcopal Church now has three churches in Canada, two in British Columbia and one in Ontario. St. George's Church, Hamilton is affiliated with the Diocese of the Northeast in the US, and both Holy Trinity Church in Colwood and Living Word in Courtenay are a part of the Diocese of Western Canada and Alaska.


In England

In 1877, in response to a petition from REC sympathizers in England, the REC's Fifth General Council acted to establish the Reformed Episcopal Church in that country. Former Church of England minister Thomas Huband Gregg was consecrated a bishop to lead adherents there. By 1910 there were 28 ministers and 1,990 communicant members constituting the Reformed Episcopal Church in that country. In 1927, the Reformed Episcopal Church in England merged with the
Free Church of England The Free Church of England (FCE) is an episcopal church based in England. The church was founded when a number of congregations separated from the established Church of England in the middle of the 19th century. The doctrinal basis of the F ...
.


Developments since 2000


Eastern Canada diocese merged

In 2009, Bishop Michael Fedechko retired as ordinary of the Diocese of Central and Eastern Canada, and the diocese's parishes came under the supervision of the Diocese of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Bishop Fedechko subsequently became affiliated with the
Independent Anglican Church Canada Synod The Independent Anglican Church (Canada Synod) (IACCS) is an Anglican jurisdiction with a presence in Canada and the United States of America. The Most Rev. Peter Wayne Goodrich of Niagara Falls, Ontario is its Primate. There are several suffragan ...
.


Revised Book of Common Prayer

Revised editions of the REC ''Book of Common Prayer'' were issued in 2003 and 2005 (see below).


Current status

The Reformed Episcopal Church reported that it had 13,600 members in 2009."History"
Reformed Episcopal Church official website. Accessed: 2009.01.09.


Dioceses


United States

The Reformed Episcopal Church was originally divided into four synods. The synods were renamed dioceses in 1984. As of 2016, there are four U.S. dioceses with 108 parishes and missions: * The Diocese of the Central States, founded in 2008, achieved full diocesan status in 2011. It has 20 parishes and missions in seven states and is led by Peter Manto. * The
Diocese of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic The Diocese of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, with the Convocation of Eastern Canada, formerly known as the New York and Philadelphia Synod, is a founding jurisdiction of the Reformed Episcopal Church in 1873 and, more recently, a founding dioces ...
, with the Convocation of Eastern Canada, created from the original New York and Philadelphia Synod, has 28 parishes and missions in Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Ontario, led by R. Charles Gillin. * The Diocese of Mid-America, with the Convocation of the West and Western Canada, was created from the original Synod of Chicago, and has 31 parishes and missions. The diocese is led by
Ray Sutton Raymond Ronny Sutton (born 1950) is an American Anglican bishop. He was bishop coadjutor in the Diocese of Mid-America of the Reformed Episcopal Church, since 1999, a founding member of the Anglican Church in North America, in 2009. He is the ...
, who is also the presiding bishop. It was previously led by the late Royal U. Grote Jr., with the Coadjutor being
Ray Sutton Raymond Ronny Sutton (born 1950) is an American Anglican bishop. He was bishop coadjutor in the Diocese of Mid-America of the Reformed Episcopal Church, since 1999, a founding member of the Anglican Church in North America, in 2009. He is the ...
. The Assisting Bishop for Canada and Cuba is Charles Dorrington. * The Diocese of the Southeast, created from the early formed Charleston-Charlotte and Atlanta Synod, with 32 parishes and missions in South Carolina and Georgia, led by William J. White. From 2008 to 2016 an additional U.S. Diocese of the West existed. It had been formed as a Missionary Diocese from the Diocese of Mid-America and attained full diocesan status when churches from the
Anglican Province of America The Anglican Province of America (APA) is a Continuing Anglican church in the United States. The church was founded by former members of the Episcopal Church in the United States in order to follow what they consider to be a more truly Christian, ...
joined the REC in 2008, led by
Winfield Mott Winfield Mott is an American Anglican bishop. He is a bishop in the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) and at the Reformed Episcopal Church. He became the second bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Diocese of the West in 2011. He was briefly th ...
. In April 2016, the diocesan synod voted to dissolve the diocese due to its small size and merge with ACNA's Missionary Diocese of All Saints. The
Diocese of Western Canada and Alaska The Diocese of Western Canada and Alaska is a former diocese of the Reformed Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church in North America, currently part of the Diocese of Mid-America, with the Convocation of the West and Western Canada. It also inc ...
, created in 1996, had two parishes in
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, led by Charles Dorrington, and also included the Missionary District of Cuba. Due to his small size, the diocese was extinct and incorporated in the Diocese of Mid-America as the Convocation of the West and Western Canada, of which Charles Dorrington is an Assisting Bishop.


Other countries

* The Missionary Diocese of Cuba, with over 30 parishes and missions, is under the supervision of Bishop Charles Dorrington, with Willians Mendez Suarez as Suffragan Bishop. * The
Protestant Reformed Christian Church in Croatia The Protestant Reformed Christian Church in Croatia is an overseas diocese of the Reformed Episcopal Church. It was founded on 24 May 2001, when several parishes withdraw from the Reformed Christian Church in Croatia. The oldest parish was founded ...
has three parishes and two missions in Croatia. It became the jurisdiction of the REC in 2011. The PRCC was founded in 2001 when several parishes left the
Reformed Christian Church in Croatia The Reformed Christian Church in Croatia (the ''Reformirana kršćanska kalvinska Crkva u Hrvatskoj'' in Croatian) became an autonomous church in 1993, following the disintegration of Yugoslavia. Croatia became an independent state. The first or ...
. The Assistant Bishop is . * In Germany, one of three expressions of the Anglican Church in Germany called "''Anglikanische Kirche in Deutschland''" or "''Reformierte Episkopalkirche''". It has ten congregations and missions. The Bishop Ordinary is Gerhard Meyer. The other two expressions, which (in contrast) belong to the
Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
, are the
Diocese of Europe The Diocese in Europe (short form for the Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe) is a diocese of the Church of England. It was originally formed in 1842 as the Diocese of Gibraltar. It is geographically the largest diocese of the Church of England and th ...
of the Church of England and the
Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe The Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe (formerly the Convocation of American Churches in Europe) is a jurisdiction of the Episcopal Church created in 1859 by an action of its general convention. The convocation includes all Episcopal cong ...
from the USA.


Relations with other jurisdictions


Formation of Anglican Church in North America

In 2009, the REC became a founding member of the
Anglican Church in North America The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is a Christian denomination in the Anglican tradition in the United States and Canada. It also includes ten congregations in Mexico, two mission churches in Guatemala, and a missionary diocese in Cuba ...
(ACNA), a denomination seeking to create a new
Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
province distinct from the Episcopal Church. ACNA is in communion with the Anglican Churches of Uganda, Nigeria and Sudan, with approximately 30 million members worldwide, representing approximately one-third of the faithful of the Anglican Communion.


Earlier developments

The REC in North America has been in full communion with the
Free Church of England The Free Church of England (FCE) is an episcopal church based in England. The church was founded when a number of congregations separated from the established Church of England in the middle of the 19th century. The doctrinal basis of the F ...
since 1927, when Reformed Episcopal congregations and clergy in England merged with the FCE. Bishops of the two churches take part in episcopal consecrations of the other, and there are periodic visits between them. On occasion REC clergy have served in FCE parishes and vice versa.The Free Church of England
/ref> As of 2018, there are two FCE dioceses in England and one diocese in South America. In 1998 the REC signed a concordat of intercommunion for the first time with an Anglo-Catholic communion, the
Anglican Province of America The Anglican Province of America (APA) is a Continuing Anglican church in the United States. The church was founded by former members of the Episcopal Church in the United States in order to follow what they consider to be a more truly Christian, ...
(APA). A 2005 renewal of the agreement also established intercommunion with the Anglican Communion's
Church of Nigeria The Church of Nigeria is the Anglicanism, Anglican Church body, church in Nigeria. It is the second-largest Province (Anglican), province in the Anglican Communion, as measured by baptised membership (not by attendance), after the Church of Englan ...
. This agreement of intercommunion between Reformed Episcopal Church and Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) gives privilege for Church of Nigeria Priests in diaspora to be licensed and practice in any jurisdiction of REC. Recently in 2018 NEMA-REC accepted and licensed priests who are immigrants in the United States. An additional proposal would have led to an eventual merger between the APA and the REC, but the APA's decision not to join the new Anglican Church in North America in 2008 is an obstacle to the proposed merger.


Social involvement

George David Cummins, the founding bishop of the REC, was the son of a slaveholder. His view of slavery was that there was nothing inherently sinful about slave-holding and that the practice, in and of itself, was never condemned in Scripture as being an abomination to God or harmful to mankind. Cummins qualified this statement with certain opinions pertaining to the practice. According to Cummins the African-American slave is "of one blood with ourselves, a sharer in common humanity, a partaker of our hopes and fear." Although Cummins was not anti-slavery, his view of slavery and the African-American differ drastically from that of many of his contemporaries. Indeed, many pro-slavers would not be thrilled at the notion of sharing of one blood or human commonality. This attitude of Cummins did not compel him to endorse emancipation, however, it did convince him of a kind of paternalism. Cummins charged slaveholders to be more responsible and caring of their slaves: "The Anglo-American sthe tutelar guardian of the African," adding that it is the responsibility of white Americans "to regard the African race in bondage as a solemn trust committed to these people from God, and that He has given this great mission of working out His purposes and mercy and love towards them." Cummins may have seen slavery as something that ought to train and discipline those in bondage as preparation for starting their own country/continent. Cummins was not an emancipationist, but was of the mind that freed slaves should return to Africa and create a livelihood for themselves.


REC and the ordination of black clergy

The passage of the
Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Thirteenth Amendment (Amendment XIII) to the United States Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. The amendment was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, by the House of Representative ...
brought an end to the system of slavery that had kept American blacks in bondage since colonial times. After slavery was abolished, there was somewhat of a cultural crisis in the Southern states. Even though black Americans had received their freedom from the unjust practice of slavery, they also lost a consistent form of shelter, food, and worship. Almost overnight, these became things that tens of thousands of freed slaves now had to provide for by themselves. As if this hurdle were not enough, many white Americans, uncomfortable with this societal change, created, endorsed, and enforced
Jim Crow The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...
laws as a way to segregate and suppress black Americans. One form of this discriminatory injustice was to segregate churches, chapels, and congregations. There were now black churches with black clergy and officiates seeking inclusion into various denominations and dioceses. While some dioceses of the Episcopal Church were more open to the inclusion of black congregations, there were many dioceses who, as a collective whole, disowned and rejected blacks from the Episcopal communion. Frank C. Ferguson, a former slave and a minister of a black congregation, experienced such discrimination. This ultimately led his congregation, and four others, to leave the Protestant Episcopal Church and move to the REC. Despite his earlier comments on slavery and emancipation, Bishop Cummins gladly welcomed black congregations and clergy into the REC. By doing so, Cummins had scored an important moral point by rising above the "color line" and making the REC's declarations about openness and liberty more than theological vocabulary. Of course, Cummins had not imagined that either he or the REC would become pioneers of racial justice, and in the 1870s he faced as much reluctance from Northern whites in his own General Council as from South Carolina whites in their diocesan convention. But Cummins could not square his own dreams of ecumenicity with racial exclusivism. The Reformed Episcopal Seminary itself is one of the first, if not the first, seminaries to be racially inclusive.


Doctrine


Founding principles

The founders of the Reformed Episcopal Church professed a faith rooted in the
English Reformation The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and poli ...
, regarding the
Holy Scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual prac ...
as the Word of God, and accepting the authority of the
Nicene The original Nicene Creed (; grc-gre, Σύμβολον τῆς Νικαίας; la, Symbolum Nicaenum) was first adopted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325. In 381, it was amended at the First Council of Constantinople. The amended form is a ...
, Apostles' and
Athanasian Creed The Athanasian Creed, also called the Pseudo-Athanasian Creed and sometimes known as ''Quicunque Vult'' (or ''Quicumque Vult''), which is both its Latin name and its opening words, meaning "Whosoever wishes", is a Christian statement of belief ...
s, the first four
ecumenical council An ecumenical council, also called general council, is a meeting of bishops and other church authorities to consider and rule on questions of Christian doctrine, administration, discipline, and other matters in which those entitled to vote are ...
s, the
Thirty-nine Articles The Thirty-nine Articles of Religion (commonly abbreviated as the Thirty-nine Articles or the XXXIX Articles) are the historically defining statements of doctrines and practices of the Church of England with respect to the controversies of the ...
of Religion (in the form published in 1801 by the Protestant Episcopal Church), and the ''Declaration of Principles of the Reformed Episcopal Church''.''The Constitutions and Canons of the Reformed Episcopal Church''
Version 3.2, October 2008
/ref> They emphasized the Protestant, Reformed, Evangelical and Reformational aspects in the history of the Church of England, making frequent allusions to
Archbishop Cranmer Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build the case for the annulment of Henry's ...
, Bishop Ridley, Bishop Hugh Latimer, Bishop John Hooper, Archbishop Matthew Parker, Bishop John Jewel, Archbishop Edmund Grindal and other Reformers in the Church of England. Early leaders of the Church, in lectures and sermons, warned against
Ritualism Ritualism, in the history of Christianity, refers to an emphasis on the rituals and liturgical ceremonies of the church. Specifically, the Christian ritual of Holy Communion. In the Church of England, Anglican church in the 19th century, the rol ...
as a denominational proclivity in the Episcopal Church. Concluding the final day of the First General Convention of The Reformed Episcopal Church, December 2, 1873, the principles and ethos were summarized:
"One in heart and in faith with our fathers, who at the very beginning of this nation sought to mold and fashion the ecclesiastical polity which they had inherited from the Reformed Church of England, by a judicious and thorough revision of the Book of Common Prayer, we return to their positions and claim to be the old and true Protestant Episcopalians of the days immediately succeeding the American Revolution, and through these, our ancestors, we claim an unbroken historical connection through the Church of England, with the Church of Christ, from the earliest Christian community."Price, p. 123.


Declaration of Principles

The first general council of the REC approved this declaration on 2 December 1873:
1. The Reformed Episcopal Church, holding "the faith once delivered unto the saints", declares its belief in the Holy Scriptures of the
Old Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...
and
New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
s as the Word of God, as the sole rule of Faith and Practice; in the Creed "commonly called the
Apostles' Creed The Apostles' Creed (Latin: ''Symbolum Apostolorum'' or ''Symbolum Apostolicum''), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith". The creed most likely originated in 5th-century Ga ...
;" in the Divine institution of the
Sacrament A sacrament is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite that is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments ...
s of
Baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...
and the
Lord's Supper The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instituted ...
; and in the doctrines of grace substantially as they are set forth in the
Thirty-Nine Articles The Thirty-nine Articles of Religion (commonly abbreviated as the Thirty-nine Articles or the XXXIX Articles) are the historically defining statements of doctrines and practices of the Church of England with respect to the controversies of the ...
of Religion.
2. This Church recognizes and adheres to
Episcopacy A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
, not as of Divine right, but as a very ancient and desirable form of Church
polity A polity is an identifiable Politics, political entity – a group of people with a collective identity, who are organized by some form of Institutionalisation, institutionalized social relation, social relations, and have a capacity to mobilize ...
.
3. This Church, retaining a liturgy which shall not be imperative or repressive of freedom in prayer, accepts The Book of Common Prayer, as it was revised, proposed, and recommended for use by the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church, A.D. 1785, reserving full liberty to alter, abridge, enlarge, and amend the same, as may seem most conducive to the edification of the people, "provided that the substance of the faith be kept entire."
4. This Church condemns and rejects the following erroneous and strange doctrines as contrary to God's Word: First, that the Church of Christ exists only in one order or form of ecclesiastical polity; Second, that Christian Ministers are "priests" in another sense than that in which all believers are a "royal priesthood"; Third, that the Lord's Table is an altar on which the
oblation Oblation, meaning "the act of offering; an instance of offering" and by extension "the thing offered" (Late Latin ''oblatio'', from ''offerre'', ''oblatum'', to offer), is a term used, particularly in ecclesiastical use, for a solemn offering, s ...
of the Body and Blood of Christ is offered anew to the Father; Fourth, that the Presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper is a presence in the elements of Bread and Wine; Fifth, that regeneration is inseparably connected with Baptism.


Doctrine on Baptism

The term regeneration has been used differently throughout the church's history, and the objection of the Reformed Episcopal Church's founders was based on the definition of the "new birth" then current amongst Evangelicals. If regeneration is an instantaneous work of the Spirit quickening the heart prior to conversion, a gift from God given only to His elect, then the language of baptismal regeneration would suggest that all the baptized are finally saved. It is for this reason that the Declaration of Principles denies that regeneration is inseparably connected with baptism. This of course has been an important issue for the REC since its founding. According to Guelzo, in his book, "For the Union of Evangelical Christendom" Cummins said, "the regeneration for which we thank God in baptism is not to be taken in any sense as descriptive of the renewing work of the Holy Spirit upon the heart, but only a term equivalent to baptism, a sacramental change, a change of covenant relation."


Doctrine on ministry

The Reformed Episcopal Church, according to its own Book of Common Prayer, holds that from Apostolic times, there have been three orders of ministry: Bishops, Presbyters and deacons.


=Bishops

= In a letter to a Protestant Episcopal cleric Bishop George Cummins wrote that the role of a bishop was an "office" of service not a "monarchialist order" contending that "the Episcopate is not of apostolic origin; that the Bishop is only ''primus inter pares,'' and not in any way superior in ''order'' to the Presbyter. We are ''acting'' on this principle. We set apart a Bishop to his work by a joint laying on of hands of a Bishop and the presbyters. I act as a Bishop, not claiming ''a jure divino'' right, or to be in any Apostolic Succession, but only as one chosen of his brethren to have the oversight. If ''others'' look upon me as retaining the succession, that does not commit us to their understanding." According to the church's early founders, bishops were "presiding presbyters, not diocesan Prelates". Mason Gallagher, one founding minister, argued that the true episcopate had come through the 1785 line of evangelicals. In his view, the Protestant Episcopal Church had changed its principles and thereby lost any claim to valid episcopacy when it adopted the 1789 ''Book of Common Prayer'' containing a "Scoto-Romish Communion service and a thoroughly Sacerdotal Institution Office", and when it created a House of Bishops with power to overrule the existing House of presbyters and laymen: "If there is such a thing as the Historic Episcopate, and it is of any value, the parties making this offer in the present case cannot deliver the goods." Bishops preside over Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry of the Church, "they are primarily the sign of unity in the church"


=Ministers

= At its founding in 1873, the REC designated its clergy as presbyters, pastors, and ministers, but not as "priests", and the word "priest" was expunged from the REC's ''Book of Common Prayer'' in favor of the word "minister". This usage reflected the terminology used in the Cranmerian 1552 ''Book of Common Prayer''.


=Acceptance of other Evangelical clergy

= REC ministers, like ministers of the Protestant Episcopal Church, exchanged pulpits with evangelical ministers of non-episcopal traditions. They viewed the ministries of the word and sacraments in other evangelical denominations as equally valid. True churches of Christ existed outside episcopal church structures, they held, contrary to
Tractarian The Oxford Movement was a movement of high church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the University of O ...
and
High Church The term ''high church'' refers to beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology that emphasize formality and resistance to modernisation. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term originate ...
teaching. Inter-evangelical collegiality was an important issue for the REC, because Bishop Cummins had been censured for participation with
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
and
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
ministers in an inter-church communion service. This practice of the founders' praxis and belief has now been abandoned. The current praxis is to require reordination and regularization of orders if ordained outside episcopal ordination. At its first general council on December 2, 1873, the REC also reformed the transfer of clergy credentials from other denominations. In the Episcopal Church, such transfers had involved a process of application, examination, reception, and in some cases, conferral of holy orders, understood as a "regularization". In contrast, the REC allowed for examination in points of doctrine and discipline for validation of conformity yet without reordination.


Contemporary positions and controversies


Theological diversity

Although the REC was founded as an evangelical and Reformed Anglican body, it now has Anglo-Catholics among its members and has entered into an intercommunion agreement with an Anglo-Catholic body, the APA. A 2006 document of the REC bishops, "True Unity by the Cross of Christ", grants wider flexibility to re-interpret the Thirty-nine Articles in an Anglo-Catholic manner while maintaining the perspective of the English Reformers. It uses the terms "priest", "altar", and "Real Presence", and speaks of the authority of tradition as well as that of Holy Scripture. Reformed critics characterize these developments as rejecting the ''35 Articles'', revising the force of the ''Declaration of Principles'', as well as departing from the Church's evangelical and Reformed heritage in order to accommodate Anglo-Catholicism.


Role of women in ministry

The church does not ordain women as
bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
s,
presbyter Presbyter () is an honorific title for Christian clergy. The word derives from the Greek ''presbyteros,'' which means elder or senior, although many in the Christian antiquity would understand ''presbyteros'' to refer to the bishop functioning as ...
s, or
deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...
s. In 2002, the denomination approved a canon that provides for the "setting apart" of qualified women as
deaconess The ministry of a deaconess is, in modern times, a usually non-ordained ministry for women in some Protestant, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Orthodox churches to provide pastoral care, especially for other women, and which may carry a limited ...
es who are not considered by the church to be ordained. While they are not considered ordained they do have important functions within the ministry of the church. Canon 22 states, "The duty of the Deaconess is to assist the Minister in the care of the poor and sick, the religious training of the young and others, and the work of moral reformation." Deaconesses in the Reformed Episcopal Church may have liturgical responsibilities; however they do not have eucharistic responsibilities beyond that allowed to any other member of the laity. Some conservative Anglicans, especially those within the Continuing Anglican churches, have criticized the REC for uniting with the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) since certain ACNA dioceses ordain women to Holy Orders. While only a few dioceses ordain women to the priesthood, there are more that ordain women to the diaconate.


Clergy transfers

Under the current canons of the Reformed Episcopal Church, a non-REC minister entering into the REC ministry as a deacon or presbyter is to receive Holy Orders if he has not already been ordained by a bishop recognized by REC as in the historic succession. If previously ordained in a non-episcopal church, the applicant to the REC may need to be regularized.


''Book of Common Prayer''


1873 edition

The founding First General Council of the REC approved a ''Book of Common Prayer'' for the church, with a text based on the proposed 1785 BCP prepared by William Smith and William White (later the first Episcopal Bishop of Pennsylvania). This text, published in 1786, had been offered to the First General Convention at Philadelphia held in 1785. Although initially authorized in some states, its changes met with considerable resistance, and the Episcopal Church adopted a different text in 1789 as its
Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...
. In accord with prevailing Evangelical preferences and in opposition to Tractarianism, the 1873 REC Council made various changes in order "to eliminate from the Prayer-Book the germs of Romish error, which the compromises of the Elizabethan era have transmitted to us." Cummins and other Evangelicals concerned about the influx of Anglo-Catholic Ritualism had been impressed by a tract, published by Frank S. Rising in 1868, entitled: "Are There Romanizing Germs in the Prayerbook?" The adoption of Bishop White's Book was an attempt to remove those portions of the BCP which were or could be made objectionable to the Evangelical conscience. The REC ''Book'' replaced the word "priest" with "minister" throughout, dropped saints' days from the calendar, and struck from the Apostles' Creed the words "He descended into hell". From the service of Holy Communion expressions such as "holy mysteries" and "eating the flesh and drinking the blood" were removed. References to baptismal regeneration were modified in accordance with evangelical views, as were the services of Ordination and Marriage. In 1875, the Third General Council of the REC voted to append to the prayerbook 35 Articles of Religion (modelled after the original 39 Articles of the English prayerbook, but further defining the church in opposition to Ritualism).


Later editions

The REC Book of Common Prayer was updated in 1930 and 1963, and incorporated elements of the 1928 BCP of the Protestant Episcopal Church, while retaining the Evangelical distinctions of the REC. The Reformed Episcopal Church began a process of historical return, theological transformation and liturgical revision in the 1990s with the first revised BCP for trial use being produced in 1999. The 49th and 50th General Councils of the REC approved a revision of the ''Book of Common Prayer'' to be based on the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
's 1662 ''Book of Common Prayer'', with elements drawn from several later Books (PECUSA 1928 and 1945, REC 1963, Australia 1978). Th
revised version
was issued in 2003.''Book of Common Prayer''
2003 Edition, 690 pages.
with a subsequen
update in 2005.


Seminaries

The Reformed Episcopal Church has three seminaries, operating at four sites.


Reformed Episcopal Seminary

The Theological Seminary of the Reformed Episcopal Church, otherwise known as Reformed Episcopal Seminary, is the largest and oldest of the seminaries of the Reformed Episcopal Church and is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools. It began offering classes in 1886 in West Philadelphia and was chartered in 1887. Now located in
Blue Bell, Pennsylvania Blue Bell is a census-designated place (CDP) in Whitpain Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 6,067. Blue Bell was originally known as Pigeontown, after the large flocks of the n ...
, it offers
Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and divi ...
(M.Div.), a Certificate in Bible and Theology, and a Licentiate in Diaconal or Deaconess Ministry. The Reformed Episcopal Seminary has been at its current location for 17 years and recently acquired the building across the lot for additional classroom space and to house the book store. The new classroom space is being used for the language lab and some of the Old Testament Theology classes, the Bishop Nicholson classroom. The Main Campus building has also expanded classroom space this year by adding an additional classroom upstairs, the Bishop Rudolph classroom. Also, the library has been growing in volumes exponentially from generous donations. The expansive collection spans the main floor as well as the basement now.


Cummins Seminary

Cummins Memorial Theological Seminary, located in
Summerville, South Carolina Summerville is a town in the U.S. state of South Carolina situated mostly in Dorchester County, with small portions in Berkeley and Charleston counties. It is part of the Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville Metropolitan Statistical Area. Su ...
, near Charleston, is named for Bishop George Cummins, the founder of the Reformed Episcopal Church. The seminary which is conservative, evangelical, biblical and Anglican was founded in the latter part of the nineteenth century as a rogative college, meaning it was located wherever the Bishop of the Southeast took up residence. Colonel Stevens from the Citadel was the first bishop. The founding bishop was Bishop David Cummins. In 1912, the Diocese of the Southeast purchased a property for a permanent campus. Its motto is to "enter to learn and depart to serve". Its purpose is to equip generations of Church leaders for excellence in ministry and service with the theological foundation and skills to meet the spiritual, emotional and physical needs of communities through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The seminary offers residential programs leading to the degrees
Bachelor of Theology The Bachelor of Theology degree (BTh, ThB, or BTheol) is a three- to five-year undergraduate degree in theological disciplines and is typically pursued by those seeking ordination for ministry in a church, denomination, or parachurch organization. ...
and
Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and divi ...
, and the Certificate in Theological Studies. The Seminary formerly offered distance education through an External Studies Department. In 2016, Cummins President Dr. Julius Barnes appointed to the faculty the noted theologian John G. Panagiotou.


Cranmer House

Cranmer Theological House was founded in 1994 in
Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...
, and is named for the English reformer,
Thomas Cranmer Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build the case for the annulment of Henry' ...
,
Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
. With courses offered in
Katy, Texas Katy is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the Greater Katy area, itself forming the western part of the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Homes and businesses may have Katy postal addresses without being in the City of Katy. The city of ...
, just west of
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
, as well as in
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
, Cranmer House offers residential and distance learning programs for people not seeking ordination, a certificate in
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
Studies, a
Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
in Religion (MAR),
Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and divi ...
(M.Div.), and
Master of Theology Master of Theology ( la, Theologiae Magister, abbreviated MTh, ThM, or MTheol) is a post-graduate degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. It can serve as a transition degree for entrance into a PhD program or as a stand ...
(Th.M.). A Deaconess Studies program was added to the 2009–2010 academic catalog.


See also

*
List of bishops of the Reformed Episcopal Church These are the bishops consecrated in the Reformed Episcopal Church from its founding in 1873 to the present, along with the bishops consecrated in the Free Church of England from REC episcopal succession. See also * List of bishops of the Angl ...
*
Anglican Church in North America The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is a Christian denomination in the Anglican tradition in the United States and Canada. It also includes ten congregations in Mexico, two mission churches in Guatemala, and a missionary diocese in Cuba ...
*
Federation of Anglican Churches in the Americas The Federation of Anglican Churches in the Americas (FACA) is an association of six Continuing Anglican jurisdictions with nearly 600 parishes in the New World. The Federation, which was founded in 2006 to enable a closer association of the ...
*
Anglican Province of America The Anglican Province of America (APA) is a Continuing Anglican church in the United States. The church was founded by former members of the Episcopal Church in the United States in order to follow what they consider to be a more truly Christian, ...
*
Free Church of England The Free Church of England (FCE) is an episcopal church based in England. The church was founded when a number of congregations separated from the established Church of England in the middle of the 19th century. The doctrinal basis of the F ...
*
Continuing Anglican movement The Continuing Anglican Movement, also known as the Anglican Continuum, encompasses a number of Christian churches, principally based in North America, that have an Anglican identity and tradition but are not part of the Anglican Communion. The ...


References


Bibliography

* Acker, Keith J., Susanne Barrett, and Alice Acker
Book of Common Prayer 2011
And Administration of the Sacraments, Other Rites, and Ceremonies of the Church Together with the Form and Manner of Making, Ordaining and Consecrating Bishops, Priests, and Deacons: Together with the Psalter. San Diego, CA: Lava Rock Media, 2011. * Free Church of England
Constitution and Canons Ecclesiastical
lace of publication not identified Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread (yarn), thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is divided into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, suc ...
ublisher not identified 1983. * Holy Trinity Reformed Episcopal Church (Charleston, S.C.)
Historic Holy Trinity Reformed Episcopal Church One Hundred and Fifteenth Church Anniversary, 1875-1990
Sunday July 1, 1990, 4:00 Pm, 51 Bull Street, Charleston, South Carolina ; Rev. Fred Garnett, Paster ic harleston, S.C.
oly Trinity Reformed Episcopal Church Oly may refer to: * Oly, informal name for Olympia, Washington, United States * OLY (: ), postnominals granted to participants in the Olympics People with the name * Oly (born 1992), American singer-songwriter and musician * Oly Hicks (born 1968 ...
1990. * Reformed Episcopal Church
Book of Common Praise
Anglican House Pub Inc, 2018. . * Reformed Episcopal Church
The Book of Common Prayer
And Administration of the Sacraments and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church, According to the Use of the Reformed Episcopal Church in North America, Together with the Psalter or Psalms of David. hiladelphia, Pa.? ublication Society of the Reformed Episcopal Church? 2005. * Reformed Episcopal Church
The Reformed Episcopal Church: What Is It
Philadelphia, Pa: Reformed Episcopal Publication Society, 1950. * Reformed Episcopal Church in Canada. St. Bartholomew (Montréal, Québec). Québec, Ile-De-Montréal, Montréal
Church Records
ainte-Foy, Québec Archives nationales du Québec, 1986. Notes: Images numériques des originals in the Archives nationales du Québec at Sainte-Foy, Québec. These records were created by the clergy to be turned in as part of civil registration in Québec. Contains baptisms, marriages and burials with some volumes indexed, 1878–1882.


External links

* {{Official website, http://www.rechurch.org
The Reformed Episcopal Church Board of Foreign Missions

Historical documents on the Reformed Episcopal Church
from
Project Canterbury Project Canterbury (sometimes abbreviated as PC) is an online archive of material related to the history of Anglicanism. It was founded by Richard Mammana, Jr. in 1999 with a grant from Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold, and is ho ...

1963 Reformed Episcopal Book of Common Prayer

2003 Reformed Episcopal Book of Common Prayer

2005 Reformed Episcopal Book of Common Prayer

The REC Order of Deaconesses

Profile of the Reformed Episcopal Church on the Association of Religion Data Archives website


Resources from earlier years of the REC and concerns of a former Reformed Episcopalian:
Traditional REC Resources
Seminaries:
Cranmer Theological House

Cummins Memorial Theological Seminary

Reformed Episcopal Seminary
Reformed denominations in the United States Reformed denominations in Canada Anglicanism in Canada Anglicanism in the United States Religious organizations established in 1873 Anglican Church in North America Anglican denominations in North America Anglican realignment Anglican organizations established in the 19th century Protestant denominations established in the 19th century 1873 establishments in New York (state) Evangelical denominations in North America