Southern Episcopal Church | |
---|---|
Classification | Anglican |
Presiding bishop | William Martin Sloane |
Origin | 1962 |
Separated from | Episcopal Church in the United States |
Official website | southernepiscopal |
The Southern Episcopal Church (SEC) is an Anglican Christian denomination established in Nashville, Tennessee in 1953,[1] and formally organised in 1962, in reaction to liberal political and theological trends within the Episcopal Church USA.[2][3] It is connected to the Continuing Anglican movement, although it was formed more than a decade before the movement began.[4]
The SEC does not consider itself a new denomination, but rather as providing a church home for Episcopalians who wished to maintain their Anglican faith and tradition.[3] It uses the 1928 Book of Common Prayer for its liturgy.[1][3][5]
The leader of the initial group was Burnice Hoyle Webster, a medical doctor who became presiding bishop.[6] The current presiding bishop is William Martin Sloane.[7]
The SEC has one seminary, the Holy Trinity College and Seminary, which offers classes by distance studies.[8]