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Christian Denominations: Episcopal

This research guide provides resources for studying Christianity and its many denominations.

Research and Reference

Internet Resources

Streaming Media

Perspectives

The Episcopalians

The story of the Episcopalians in America is the story of an influential denomination that has furnished a disproportionately large share of the American political and cultural leadership. Beginning with the denomination's roots in 16th-century England, this book offers a fresh account of the Episcopal Church's rise to prominence in America. Chronologically arranged, it follows the establishment of colonial Anglicanism in the New World, the national organization of the denomination following the Revolution, its rise during the 19th century, and the complex array of forces that affected the church in the 20th century--and continue to affect it today. The authors pay particular attention to the established leadership of the Episcopal Church, as well as to the experience of the ordinary layperson, the form and function of sacred space, developments in church parties and theology, relations with other Christian communities, and the evolving roles and status of women and minorities. Shining a light on the lives of ordinary churchgoers and historically marginalized groups, the authors reveal the strengths and weaknesses of the Episcopal Church. While the church evolved into the denomination of the urban establishment, a politically, theologically, and socially moderate religious body that appealed to those seeking the society of their largely middle- and upper-middle-class peers, it also appealed to those whom the dominant society excluded from power: African and Hispanic Americans, women, and American Indians. The volume concludes with a chronology of important events and biographical sketches of major figures in the Episcopal Church.

Songs of Zion: The African Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States and South Africa

Founded by free people of color in Philadelphia in the aftermath of the American Revolution, the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church emerged in the nineteenth century as the preeminent black institution in the United States. In 1896, the church opened mission work in South Africa, absorbing an independent ?Ethiopian? church founded by dissident African Christians a few years earlier. In the process, the church helped ignite one of the most influential popular movements in South African history. Songs of Zion examines this remarkable historical convergence from both sides of the Atlantic. James Campbell charts the origins and evolution of black American independent churches, arguing that the very act of becoming Christian forced African Americans to reflect on their relationship to their ancestral continent. He then turns to South Africa, exploring the AME Church?s entrance and evolution in a series of specific South African contexts. Throughout the book, Campbell focuses on the comparisons that Africans and African Americans themselves drew between their situations. Their transatlantic encounter, he argues, enabled both groups to understand and act upon their worlds in new ways.

The Oxford Guide to the Book of Common Prayer

The Book of Common Prayer runs like a golden thread through the history of the Church of England and the worldwide Anglican Communion. The Oxford Guide to the Book of Common Prayer is the first comprehensive guide to the history and usage of the original Book of Common Prayer and its numerous descendants throughout the world. It shows how a seminal text for Christian worship and devotion has inspired a varied family of religious resources that have had an influence far beyond their use in the churches of a single tradition. The Guide is unique. In it experts from every part of the globe and every branch of Anglicanism, as well as from the Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Methodist, and Unitarian traditions, provide an unparalleled examination of The Book of Common Prayer and its lineage. From 1549 to the Twenty-first Century, The Oxford Guide to the Book of Common Prayer offers a fascinating journey through the history and development of a classic of world literature. Much more than simply a history, this volume describes how Anglican churches at all points of the compass have developed their own Prayer Books and adapted the time-honored Anglican liturgies to their diverse local cultures. In the dozens of editions now in use throughout the world, the same texts - Daily Prayers, the Eucharist, Marriage and Funerals, and many others - resemble each other, and yet differ from each other in interesting ways. A brief look at "electronic Prayer Books" offers a glimpse at how this story of development and adaptation may continue in the Information Age. Oxford is pleased to publish a varied selection of The Book of Common Prayer in formats, features, and prices to suit every need and budget. We invite you to explore our Web site for further information regarding these fine resources.