This book - Centro de Estudos Anglicanos

1ENGLISH AND AMERICANBEGINNINGS: 1534–1662Episcopalians in the United States trace their religious roots back to the sixteenthcentury, when Anglicanism emerged as a distinct denominational tradition out ofthe Protestant Reformation in England. 1 Originally a missionary extension of theChurch of England in colonial America, the Episcopal Church itself was organizedin the aftermath of the American Revolution. Because “Church of England”was no longer suitable as an ecclesiastical designation in the new United States,a convention of Anglican clergy and laity meeting in Chestertown, Maryland, in1780 chose the name “Protestant Episcopal Church” instead. The term “Protestant”differentiated the denomination from Roman Catholicism, and “Episcopal”signified that the church’s polity had retained the ministry and authority of bishops.2 From the outset, Episcopalians emphasized that their church included Catholicas well as Protestant elements—a heritage both ancient and reformed.PRE-REFORMATION BRITISH CHRISTIANITYAlthough there is no certain date for the planting of Christianity in Britain, itwas probably established there by soldiers during the Roman occupation. Theearliest archaeological evidence dates from the fourth century, after Christianityhad become the official religion of the Roman Empire, and three bishops fromEngland are known to have attended the Council of Arles in 314. The Britishmonk Pelagius, whose views on human free will brought him into conflict withthe theologian Augustine of Hippo, had a profound impact on church life in theearly fifth century. Whereas Pelagius believed that Christians could rely on theirown willpower to live morally perfect lives, Augustine argued that men andwomen attained salvation by virtue of divine grace alone. Augustine’s ideas prevailed,and Pelagianism was eventually condemned as heretical at the Council ofEphesus in 431.With the sack of Rome in 410 and the general collapse of imperial authority