What's an Episcopalian?

For the first time in its 175 years, the Protestant Episcopal Church knows exactly what an Episcopalian is. At the 60th triennial General Convention in Detroit, the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies last week agreed on definitions of three terms: member, member in good standing, and communicant in good standing.

Shorn of its brain-braiding legal language, the new church law defines a member as one who has been baptized and whose baptism has been recorded in the

Episcopal Church. Members in good standing are baptized Episcopalians who have gone to church every Sunday during the past year "unless for good cause prevented." Communicants in good standing are members in good standing who have also been confirmed and who have received Holy Communion at least three times during the preceding year "unless for good cause prevented."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.