U.S. Episcopal Church in the context of Presiding bishop


U.S. Episcopal Church in the context of Presiding bishop

⭐ Core Definition: U.S. Episcopal Church

The Episcopal Church (TEC), also known as the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America (PECUSA), is a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion, based in the United States. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The current presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church is Sean W. Rowe.

In 2024, The Church of England Yearbook reported 2.4 million total members. In 2023, the Episcopal Church had 1,547,779 active baptized members. In 2011, it was the 14th largest denomination in the United States. In 2020, according to the Association of Religion Data Archives, The Episcopal Church was the 12th-largest denomination as measured by number of congregations. It was the 9th-largest Protestant denomination as measured by adherents in 2025 according to Pew Research. In 2025, Pew Research estimated that 0.9 percent of the adult population in the United States, or about 2.4 million people, self-identify as adherents of the Episcopal Church. A total of 1% of US adults, or 2.6 million people, self-identify as mainline Episcopalians/Anglicans. The church has seen a sharp decline in membership and Sunday attendance since the 1960s, particularly in the Northeast and Upper Midwest.

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U.S. Episcopal Church in the context of Ordination of women

The ordination of women to ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain religious groups in which ordination was traditionally reserved for men. Where laws prohibit sex discrimination in employment, exceptions are often made for clergy (for example in the United States) on grounds of separation of church and state. In some cases, women have been permitted to be ordained, but not to hold higher positions, such as (until October 2025) that of Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England.

View the full Wikipedia page for Ordination of women
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