Glossary

A formal and willful separation from the unity of the church. The earliest major schism from The Episcopal Church was the Reformed Episcopal Church in 1873, and the most recent was the establishment of the Anglican Church in North America in 2009.

An Episcopal seminary, The School of Theology at the University of the South is located in Sewanee, Tennessee. By 1878, the theological department of the university was formally organized as an Episcopal seminary. Education for Ministry (EfM) was developed at Sewanee.

See Bexley Hall Seminary

The first bishop, and later the second presiding bishop, of The Episcopal Church in the 18th century. A slaveholder and former loyalist to the British Crown, he was ordained and consecrated in Scotland after the American Revolution because he would not take an oath of allegiance to the king. Feast day: Nov. 14.

A group charged to identify candidates for the position of bishop, rector, or other ministry in the life of the church. The search often begins by clarifying the job description and qualifications.

Literally, the seat of a bishop; normally refers to the geographic area of a bishop’s ecclesiastical authority.

The city where the diocesan cathedral is located. A “see” generally refers to the geographic area of a bishop’s ecclesiastical authority.

The 19th-century first Church of England bishop of New Zealand, he encouraged churches in the English colonies to be independent of the Church of England. Feast day: April 11.

An educational institution for the formation and training of people for ordained and lay ministry.

An Episcopal seminary in Austin, Texas, established in 1952 by Bishop John Hines, and one of only two seminaries west of the Mississippi River.