The Episcopal tradition values all parts of the human person – heart, mind, and soul. We believe that all three are gifts from God, and God both sustains them and invites us to use them in God’s service.
Our History as a List of Firsts
The Episcopal Church was born out of the American Revolution and officially became independent from the Church of England in the year 1789. Today, the Episcopal Church values its association with the Church of England and is part of the larger Anglican Communion.
1784
Samuel Seabury, the first American Episcopal bishop was consecrated in Scotland. In the following year four men were ordained deacons and later priests. They were the first clergy ordained on American soil.
1795
Absalom Jones was the first African-American ordained a Deacon in the Episcopal Church. He became a priest nine years later in the year 1805.
1970s
Women’s ordination to both the diaconate and priesthood was embraced by our denomination.
1989
Barbara Harris was the first woman elected Bishop. She was also of African-American descent.
2003
Gene Robinson was the first openly gay and partnered priest elected bishop in the Episcopal Church (New Hampshire).
2006
Katherine Jeffers Schori was the first women elected to serve as the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.
2015
Michael Curry, the Diocesan bishop of North Carolina, was elected as our new Presiding Bishop at the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the summer of 2015. He is the first Presiding Bishop of our church of African-American descent.