Denominations

The Episcopal Church

On the sources. Rebuilt from the Constitution and Canons as revised by the 81st General Convention (2024 edition, certified by the Custodian) read directly. An earlier version rested on official and secondary quotations of the canons, and reading the published edition corrected it in one important place. That version stated that a bishop objecting to a vestry's choice could force a second meeting and a unanimous vote. That is not in the national canons — III.9.3.a.2 requires only that nominees' names go to the Ecclesiastical Authority, that up to sixty days be allowed for it to communicate, and that the vestry consider the communication. The thirty-day-and-unanimous-vote rule I had described comes from diocesan canons, and I attributed it to the national ones. The correction runs in a direction worth noticing: the national canons give the bishop *less* say over a call than the profile claimed, which strengthens rather than weakens the contrast drawn with the Anglican Church in North America. Eleven fields remain open, most of them concerning diocesan practice, corporate form and tax status rather than the canons. The departure litigation is the most contested subject in this body's recent life and much of the accessible writing about it was produced by participants; it is cited only for the fact that outcomes diverged by state, and no individual case is narrated.

Identity

Founded

Organised in the United States after the Revolution, as the American successor to the Church of England — a separation forced by independence rather than chosen doctrinally, which is why its polity kept bishops while acquiring a written constitution and an elected legislature. It is profiled here alongside the Anglican Church in North America, formed in 2009 by congregations and dioceses departing it, which makes this the third causal pair on the site after the two Presbyterian bodies and the two Methodist ones.

  • governing document Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church, Title I.7.4 (the Dennis Canon, adopted by General Convention 1979)

Headquarters

New York, where the Presiding Bishop's office and the church centre are based, though government runs through General Convention and through dioceses rather than from that office. Around 100 dioceses in the United States and elsewhere.

What it calls itself

Calls itself a church, episcopally led and synodically governed — the phrase Anglicans use for a body that keeps bishops while placing legislative power in an assembly of bishops, clergy and laity together. On this site's questions the combination matters: the bishops are real, and so is the constitution that binds them.

Congregations

Average Sunday attendance across the church was about 413,000 in 2024, essentially unchanged from 2023 after a post-pandemic recovery, against a decline of roughly 32% since 2014. The distribution matters more than the total: 92% of congregations have an average Sunday attendance below 150, and the median congregation reports 38. The share of congregations with full-time clergy fell from 63% in 2010 to 44% in 2023. Churchwide income was about $2.5 billion in 2024, and nearly three-quarters of congregations report an endowment or investment account.

Adherents or attendance

No baptized membership figure was published for 2024. The church reported that confusion in parochial report filing left the membership data unusable for that year, which is worth recording rather than working around: a denomination that has reported membership annually for generations did not do so, and any 2024 membership figure circulating elsewhere is not from the church.

Property

Who holds title

The congregation, held in trust for the denomination

Title sits with the parish; the beneficial interest is asserted above it. The governing provision is Title I.7.4, adopted by General Convention in 1979 and known universally as the Dennis Canon: "All real and personal property held by or for the benefit of any Parish, Mission or Congregation is held in trust for this Church and the Diocese thereof in which such Parish, Mission or Congregation is located." Note that the trust runs to two beneficiaries at once — the national church *and* the diocese — which is a structural difference from the United Methodist and PC(USA) formulations, and which mattered when whole dioceses attempted to depart. The canon then adds the qualification that decides how it feels in ordinary times: the trust "shall in no way limit the power and authority of the Parish, Mission or Congregation otherwise existing over such property so long as the particular Parish, Mission or Congregation remains a part of, and subject to, this Church and its Constitution and Canons." A parish in good standing notices nothing. The interest materialises precisely when the parish tries to leave.

  • governing document Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church, Title I.7.4

The instrument

A canon rather than a deed provision, and the canons anticipate the objection that raises. Section 5 of the same canon provides that "the several Dioceses may, at their election, further confirm the trust declared under the foregoing section 4 by appropriate action, but no such action shall be necessary for the existence and validity of the trust." That sentence is the church legislating against the argument its opponents would later make in civil court — that a denomination cannot create a trust over property it does not own simply by enacting one. The canon invites confirmation and simultaneously declares it unnecessary. Whether a church can settle that question by saying so is exactly what divided the state courts. Two further provisions give the trust practical grip in ordinary times. Under I.7.3 no body holding property for a parish may "encumber or alienate the same or any part thereof without the written consent of the Bishop and Standing Committee of the Diocese" — a double consent, stricter than the PC(USA)'s single presbytery permission. And under II.7.4 any dedicated and consecrated church or chapel is expressly subject to the I.7.4 trust. The contrast with the United Methodist approach remains: that Discipline requires prescribed trust language in the instrument of conveyance itself, so the trust reaches the deed. Here it rests on the canon and on whatever a given state's courts will make of it.

  • governing document Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church (2024), Canon I.7.4 and I.7.5
  • governing document Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church (2024), Canon I.7.3 and Canon II.7.4
  • governing document Book of Discipline (UMC) 2024 ¶2503, requiring the trust clause in the deed, for the contrast

When a congregation closes

Not established.The canons governing the disposition of property when a parish closes or is dissolved by its diocese were not read for this profile. Because dioceses hold the beneficial interest alongside the national church under I.7.4, and because closure is a diocesan act, the answer is expected to be diocesan — but the provisions were not checked and diocesan canons vary.

When a congregation departs

This is the most litigated property question in modern American church life, and its answer is that it depended on the state. Between roughly 2003 and the early 2020s a number of parishes and several whole dioceses attempted to leave, and the Dennis Canon was tested repeatedly in civil courts. Outcomes diverged: some courts gave effect to the canon and awarded property to the continuing diocese and national church; others, applying neutral principles and looking to deeds and state trust law, held that a denomination could not create a trust over property it did not own by its own enactment, and left the property with the departing congregation. For this site the point is structural rather than partisan. A trust asserted by canon is only as strong as the weakest state whose law governs a given deed, and a denomination relying on one cannot know in advance what it holds. This profile does not narrate individual cases, and the outcomes summarised here should be checked against a proper survey of the litigation before being relied on in detail.

Money

Where the money goes The Episcopal Church: Diocesan assessment and the churchwide asking, assessed by formula. The parish Diocesan assessment and the churchwide asking Assessed by formula
Generated from this profile's own data rather than drawn by hand, so it cannot drift from the text. Rates are abbreviated here; the full terms and their qualifications are below.

Diocesan assessment and the churchwide asking

Assessed by formula

Parishes are assessed by their dioceses, and dioceses in turn contribute to the churchwide budget on a formula set by General Convention. The specific canons, the current rates, and the treatment of a diocese or parish that does not pay in full were not read for this profile, and this entry records the mechanism's assessed character rather than its terms. Treat it as thinner than the property and clergy sections.

What happens if it is not paid

Not established.Not established for this profile.

Money that flows down

Not established.Whether dioceses subsidise parishes unable to support clergy was not established. The parochial data showing full-time clergy falling from 63% to 44% of congregations in thirteen years suggests the question is live, but that is an observation rather than a sourced finding about subsidy.

Who sets the pastor's pay

Negotiated between congregation and pastor

Settled between vestry and cleric in the call, within diocesan compensation standards where a diocese sets them. The provisions were not read for this profile beyond the canonical framework of the call described under placement.

  • governing document Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church, Title III, on the calling of a rector

Who pays the pastor

The local congregation

The parish pays its clergy from its own income.

  • governing document Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church, Title III

Minimum standards

Not established.Diocesan compensation minimums were not examined for this profile.

Pension and benefits

Clergy pensions run through the Church Pension Fund, established in 1914 and operating church-wide rather than diocese by diocese. Its creation is bound up with the church's mandatory retirement age, which was introduced alongside it. The current assessment rates and the scope of required participation were not established for this profile.

Clergy

Who credentials clergy

A regional body

The diocese, through its bishop and standing committee. Clergy are canonically resident in a diocese rather than members of the parish they serve, on the pattern common to episcopal and presbyterian bodies alike. The ordination canons were not read in detail for this profile.

  • governing document Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church, Title III

How a pastor is placed

Both — call within a supervised process

The vestry elects, and the bishop is entitled to be heard but not to consent. Canon III.9.3.a.2: "No Parish may elect a Rector until the names of the proposed nominees have been forwarded to the Ecclesiastical Authority and a time, not exceeding sixty days, given to the Ecclesiastical Authority to communicate with the Vestry, nor until any such communication has been considered by the Vestry at a meeting duly called and held for that purpose." So the requirement is procedural rather than substantive: names go up, the bishop has up to sixty days to say something, and the vestry must actually convene and consider whatever is said. Nothing obliges the vestry to agree. The one substantive check comes afterwards and is deliberately narrow. On written notice of the election, the Ecclesiastical Authority records it if satisfied "that the person so elected is a duly qualified Priest" who has accepted — and the canon then restricts what may enter that judgement: "Race, color, ethnic origin, sex, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, disabilities or age... shall not be a factor in the determination." This makes the contrast with the Anglican Church in North America sharper than the two bodies' shared vocabulary suggests. There, no rector may be called or dismissed without the bishop's consent. Here the bishop gets a hearing and a qualification check. The body with the trust clause holds *less* power over the pulpit than the body without one.

  • governing document Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church (2024, 81st General Convention), Canon III.9.3.a.2-3

Employer of record

The local congregation

The parish employs, pays and calls — but cannot dismiss. Once installed a rector has tenure, and the rectorship "shall continue until dissolved by mutual consent and affirmed by the Bishop or by arbitration and decision" under the canons. A vestry that wants rid of its rector must obtain consent or go to a canonical process; it cannot simply terminate. This is a fourth arrangement on the site's employment question, distinct from all three already recorded. A Southern Baptist vestry-equivalent hires and fires. A United Methodist congregation does neither. A Presbyterian congregation calls with a court's concurrence and cannot dissolve alone. Here the parish both chooses and pays, and is then bound to its choice more tightly than any of them.

  • governing document Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church, Title III, Canon 9, on dissolution of the pastoral relation

Removal

Dissolution of the pastoral relation requires mutual consent affirmed by the bishop, or arbitration and decision under Title III Canon 9; disciplinary removal runs through Title IV. The vestry acting alone cannot end a rector's tenure.

  • governing document Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church, Title III Canon 9 and Title IV

Security of tenure

The strongest tenure on this site, and it binds both parties. Canon III.9.15.a: "Except upon mandatory resignation by reason of age, a Rector may not resign as Rector of a parish without the consent of its Vestry, nor may any Rector canonically or lawfully elected and in charge of a Parish be removed there from by the Vestry against the Rector's will, except as hereinafter provided." Neither side can end the relationship alone. Where a disagreement is genuine, either may give written notice to the Ecclesiastical Authority setting out the nature, causes and specifics, and the bishop has sixty days to attempt mediation and reconciliation — and may appoint a committee of at least one presbyter and one lay person, none connected to the parish, to interview both sides and report. Compare the two other protections on the site. A United Methodist elder in good standing is guaranteed an appointment somewhere, but may be moved from any particular one. An Episcopal rector may not be moved at all without process — and correspondingly has no guarantee of another post if the relationship is dissolved. The Methodist provision protects the person's employment; this one protects the relationship.

  • governing document Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church (2024), Canon III.9.15.a-c

Governance

The legislative body

A bicameral General Convention meeting triennially, with an Executive Council acting between sessions. The House of Bishops seats all bishops, active and retired, with about 140 active members; the House of Deputies seats up to four lay and four clerical deputies from each diocese, elected as each diocese determines, and numbers over 750 including alternates. The two houses meet and act separately and must concur for legislation to pass — so the bishops cannot legislate over the clergy and laity, and the deputies cannot legislate over the bishops.

Who oversees the congregation

A bishop, holding office for life

A diocesan bishop, elected once and serving without term or re-election until mandatory retirement — bishops must retire within ninety days of their seventy-second birthday. The enum's "life" should be read as "no term and no re-election" rather than literally until death; the same qualification applies to the United Methodist entry, which is the closest comparator. What distinguishes this body is the consent requirement. A bishop is elected by the diocese that will receive them, but the election does not take effect on the diocese's say-so: under Canon III.11.4(a) a majority of diocesan bishops *and* a majority of diocesan standing committees must consent, separately, within 120 days of notice. So every diocese holds a vote over every other diocese's bishop, and a standing committee elected by a diocesan convention hundreds of miles away can block a choice. Oversight here is neither purely local, as the election suggests, nor centrally appointed, as in the Roman Catholic case — it is peer-confirmed.

Calling a bishop to account

A standing court exists for the purpose. The Disciplinary Board for Bishops is "established as a court of the Church to have original jurisdiction over matters of discipline of Bishops," and it also hears a bishop's own appeal against restriction on ministry or placement on administrative leave — so it sits on both sides of the question, as the body that judges a bishop and as the body a bishop appeals to. Its composition is the interesting part, because it is elected by both houses separately: ten bishops elected by the House of Bishops, and six other clergy — including at least one deacon — and six lay persons elected by the House of Deputies. Lay members must be confirmed adult communicants in good standing, and terms are staggered so that half turn over at each General Convention. Bishops are therefore a minority of their own disciplinary court, and the clergy and lay members reach it through a chamber the bishops do not sit in. Separately from misconduct, the canons provide for abandonment of the Church — by open renunciation of its doctrine, discipline or worship; by formal admission into a religious body not in full communion; or by exercising episcopal acts for such a body. On information suggesting abandonment the Board notifies the Presiding Bishop and the bishop concerned, and the Presiding Bishop may, with the advice and consent of an Advisory Council, restrict that bishop's ministry while the matter is considered.

  • governing document Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church (2024), Canon IV.17.3, the Disciplinary Board for Bishops and its membership
  • governing document Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church (2024), Title IV, certification of abandonment and interim restriction

Who may plant or close a church

Not established.The canons governing the establishment of new congregations and the closing of parishes were not read for this profile. The distinction the canons draw between a parish and a mission is likely material here and was not examined.

Who owns the name

Not established.Not researched. Whether the church controls use of its name and shield by congregations, and what a departing parish may continue to call itself, was not established — a question with obvious practical bite given the number of departures, and one that deserves proper sourcing.

Discipline

Title IV of the canons governs clergy discipline, operating through diocesan and churchwide structures. Its procedure was not read for this profile and is not described here beyond noting that it is the route by which a cleric may be removed, as distinct from the dissolution of a particular pastoral relation under Title III.

  • governing document Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church, Title IV

Joining and leaving

How a congregation joins

Not established.The canonical route by which a congregation is admitted into union with a diocesan convention was not read for this profile.

How a congregation leaves

Disputed in practice

No canonical route out exists, and what happened instead was two decades of litigation. Parishes and several whole dioceses attempted to depart in the 2000s and 2010s; the church's position was that neither a parish nor a diocese can unilaterally sever its relationship, and that the property is held in trust regardless. Civil courts divided on the second question, as set out under property above. "Contested" is the same value the PC(USA) carries, and for the same underlying reason: a constitution silent on departure plus a trust clause equals litigation. The difference is that the PC(USA) devolved a discretionary answer to its presbyteries through gracious dismissal policies, producing many negotiated settlements, while here the disputes more often reached the courts.

What leaves with them

In the cases where departing congregations kept their buildings, they did so because a civil court declined to give effect to the canon, not because the church released them. Clergy standing does not travel: a priest leaving with a departing parish leaves the diocese in which they are canonically resident. Many departing congregations joined the Anglican Church in North America, profiled separately.

When the body removes a congregation

Not established.The canonical means by which a diocese may dissolve a parish or place it under diocesan control, as distinct from a parish attempting to depart, were not read for this profile.

Legal form

Corporate structure

Not established.Parishes incorporate under state law and dioceses are separately incorporated, but the details were not established here — and this is the question on which the property litigation actually turned, so it deserves proper research rather than a summary.

Tax status

Not established.Whether the church administers a group exemption ruling covering parishes, as the United Methodist finance agency does, was not established.

Liability

Not established.Not researched.

Further reading

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