Can someone explain to me the difference between episcopal and catholic?

Question

I want to get married in this church my fiance goes to "iglesia episcopal de la Ascensión" .. I know in Catholic church it is difficult to get married and you have to be baptised and communion but my fiance has not done either of those and neither have I.. is Episcopal different?? Is is the same as a Catholic church? What's the difference? i am really confused..

?? That just confused me more

Answer 1

I am an Anglican Archbishop so I can answer these questions for you.

First of all, yes, this parish is Episcopal and not Roman Catholic.

The Episcopal Church is one of the branches of the Anglican Communion within the United States. As of about 2 months ago, when the Episcopal Church elected a female Presiding Bishop, most other Anglican Churches and the Roman Catholic Church have broken communion with, or excommunicated the Episcopal Church.

The Episcopal Church is very similar to the Roman Catholic Church in that for a person to become a member of the local parish, they must receive confirmation, first communion and baptism. Most parish priests are forbidden to perform the Sacrament of Marriage to anyone outside of the Church, or not members of the Episcopal Church. There are a few who are more liberal, and have more liberal Bishops over them who will allow it though. I would suggest calling the parish and speaking to the parish priest.

The Episcopal Church does not worship Mary, or believe that the Pope is infalible, but you will find many other similarities in their overall style of worship.

You can find a copy of the Book of Common Prayer online, this is the book that the Episcopal Church uses in their worship, like the Roman Catholic Church uses the Epistle. Listed in the BCP is the Sacrament of Marriage, you can read through how the ceremony goes, and you will see that it is almost identicle to the Roman Catholic Church.

Answer 2

Is Episcopal Catholic

Answer 3

--is Catholic--

If you gave the specific address of the church, we could look them up and tell you exactly.

The name of the church is "The Episcopal Church of the Ascension" and, my guess is that they should be Episcopalian which is a part of the Anglican Communion (perhaps not for much longer but that is an involved story that is still unfolding).

Anglicans (and thus Episcopalians) are not Catholic. The Catholic Church doesn't even recognize them as a Church as the Anglicans lack valid (ie real) priests and bishops. The Anglican Church formed during the 16th century when King Henry the 8th decided that he wanted an annulment and the Pope refused to annul the marriage (finding instead that it was valid). Henry the 8 purged the Catholic Church in England of all who were loyal to Rome including one of his best friends Thomas Moore, whom he had executed. The Anglican Church as it became was essentially Catholic but Queen Elizabeth I Protestantized it.

In the Anglican Communion there exists two groups, "High Church" or Anglo-Catholics who are practically Catholic (remnants of those who kept the Catholic flavor of worship and traditions) and "Low Church", or the Protestant Anglicans. The Episcopalian Church, as a whole, is quite liberal Protestant in their beliefs.

In the Catholic Church, in order to get married one of the parties must be a baptized Catholic. Since neither of you are baptized, you will not be able to be married in the Church.

Anglicans, I cannot tell you, but I would assume that unless the parish is liberal, that they would not marry you either, because of the baptism.

There is quite a bit of difference between Anglicans and Catholics, unless we are talking about the conservative wing of the Catho-Anglican, and even then, there are major theological differences, though they would be the closest of all Protestant groups to the Catholic Faith.

To understand Anglicanism I would suggest that you start by reading C.S. Lewis (conservative Low Church).

To understand Catholicism I would read the Compendium to the Catechism, which you can find here
http://www.vatican.va/archive/compendium_ccc/documents/archive_2005_compendium-ccc_en.html
and then move on to deeper things.

Any questions, message me.

Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Can someone explain to me the difference between episcopal and catholic?
I want to get married in this church my fiance goes to "iglesia episcopal de la Ascensión" .. I know in Catholic church it is difficult to get married and you have to be baptised and communion but my fiance has not done either of those and neither have I.. is Episcopal different?? Is is...

Answer 5

Episcopal, or , Church of England was created by King Henry VIII in order to divorce one of his wives --(now THAT'S going the extra mile). Episcopal services are much less structured than traditional Catholic ones but both chruches are tied very close together.

Answer 6

It sounds like your fiance's church is Episcopal. But you should ask to be sure.

Episcopalians are not part of the Catholic Church. They will have different rules for marriage.

I am not familiar with the Episcopal Church's rules but in the Catholic Church only one person being married has to be a baptized Catholic.

With love in Christ.

Answer 7

I The Episopalians are both Catholic and Reformed. Their faith is catholic in that it is universal and goes all the way back to Jesus and the apostles. It is also reformed, coming in part from the reformation period of the 16th Century. In fact, we are always being reformed.

I hope this is helpful.