A group of people sits in wooden pews inside a church, watching someone speak at a podium. The church interior features a large cross on the back wall and hanging chandeliers. The congregation includes adults and children, with some standing and some seated.

The Episcopal Church

Part of the Anglican Communion

What is an Episcopalian?

The Episcopal Church is the a part of the global Anglican Communion, or the Church of England. We are called to follow Jesus into loving, liberating, and life-giving relationships with God, with each other, and with the earth. We are united around the Book of Common Prayer, which provides a rhythm for our worship services. We are a part of a state-wide diocese with a bishop, and we have a presiding bishop and a national organizational structure.

The Episcopal Church embraces a legacy of inclusion, aspiring to tell and exemplify God’s love for every human being. People of all genders and sexual orientations serve as bishops, priests, and deacons in our church. Laypeople and clergy work together in leadership and governance. There is a long legacy of historically African American Episcopal churches, Spanish-speaking Episcopalians, South-East Asian communities, and more. The first woman ordained to the priesthood in the Anglican Communion was a woman in China, Florence Li-Tim Oi, during the Japanese occupation during World War II.

A group of clergy members stand together in a church. They are dressed in a variety of liturgical garments, primarily white robes; one individual wears a red robe, and another is adorned in a blue and white outfit with a mitre. They pose for a group photo, all smiling.
The Women Clergy of ECMN Gather for the 50th Anniversary Celebration of Women’s Ordination to the Priesthood
at St. Mark’s Cathedral, Minneapolis on July 26, 2024

In Minnesota, the Episcopal Church has an interesting history that is rooted in the ministry of Indigenous Christians like Enmegahbowh. Our state-wide community of churches today still include Ojibwe and Dakota churches as well as congregations with multicultural, Latino, Karen, Hmong, African American, African, and Euro-American identities. Diocesan liturgies at the cathedral in Minneapolis often include Spanish language and Hmong language portions.

Common Prayer

Episcopalians are united by the commitment to hold a diversity of beliefs while agreeing to pray in the same way. Our worship services are very similar to Catholic worship services. All of our worship services follow the rhythms laid out in the Book of Common Prayer. If you enter an Episcopal Church anywhere in the country, the worship service will follow the same order.