Principles

I observed Independence Day by finishing H. W. Brands’ book, Our First Civil War: Patriots and Loyalists in the American Revolution. As the title suggests, the Revolution not only divided the colonies from Great Britain but also patriots from loyalists. Many colonists never stopped seeing themselves as subjects of King George III. This included more than half of Anglican clergy who, unable to reconcile their oath of allegiance to the king with the cause of independence, resigned their positions and returned to England.

Political independence, therefore, was only one consequence of the American Revolution. Religion was also impacted. As explained in the Preface to The Book of Common Prayer (written for the 1789 Prayer Book and included in all subsequent editions): “But when in the course of Divine Providence, these American States became independent with respect to civil government, their ecclesiastical independence was necessarily included.”

Though the Preface does not tell the story of how The Episcopal Church came into being, it does offer a succinct overview of four principles that guided the formation of the church and continue to influence us today. Here is the relevant passage from pages nine and 10 of the Prayer Book:

The attention of this Church was in the first place drawn to those alterations in the Liturgy which became necessary in the prayers for our Civil Rulers, in consequence of the Revolution. … But while these alterations were in review before the Convention, they could not but, with gratitude to God, embrace the happy occasion which was offered to them (uninfluenced and unrestrained by any worldly authority whatsoever) to take a further review of the Public Service, and to establish such other alterations and amendments therein as might be deemed expedient.

The first principle: we do not settle for small alterations when more is needed. Our founders could have been satisfied with eliminating references to the king. Instead, they listened to the Holy Spirit to initiate a more significant reformation.

The second principle: we believe in shared governance. Both the worship and polity of The Episcopal Church were developed in “Convention,” which refers to the first General Convention in which laity, clergy and bishops participated equally. No single group dominated. All orders of ministry worked together to reach consensus.

The third principle: we are accountable to God not to the state. Our founders were not restrained by “any worldly authority” which would limit their freedom to be the people God called them to be. They were guided by the Holy Spirit as revealed in the discernment of the whole church.

The fourth principle: we do not make eternal that which is temporal. Our founders understood that God is eternal, but our specific forms of worship are not. They made alterations they “deemed expedient” for the age in which they lived. They did not allow reverence for the past to cloud their vision of what the church needed to be in the present. 

As we celebrate the founding of our nation this week, let us also give thanks for those who embraced “the happy occasion which was offered to them” and established not only a church but also the principles that continue to guide us today.