Книги символические американско-епископальной церкви

Books symbolic of the American Episcopal Church. The American Episcopal Church, although it originated from the Anglican Church and considers it its mother, however, in relation to symbolic books, it differs significantly from the Anglican Church. Recognizing the ecumenical infallibility of only the definitions of the seven ecumenical councils, it weakens to a minimum the significance of the symbolic books it received from the Anglican Church: XXXIX Members and The Book of Common Prayer. As for the first of these books, even at the general convention of 1799, some proposed to completely eliminate the XXXIX Members, as having temporary significance. This proposal did not pass entirely, however, the tendency behind it had part of its impact on the later attitudes of representatives of the American Episcopal Church towards this symbolic book. At the general convention of 1801, for example, regarding the said book, the following resolution was made: “The English XXXIX Members should be retained, but with such changes that these Members will become suitable for republican America and compatible with changes in the field of the church. Accordingly, the convention of 1801 changed some Members, for example, VII, XXXV, XXXVI, XXXVI, and completely discarded XXI. We find the same free attitude in the American Episcopal Church in relation to The Book of Common Prayer. Even at the Philadelphia meeting in 1785, disagreements arose about this book: some stood for accepting it in its entirety, others demanded changes, in particular, they demanded that the first four petitions be thrown out of the lithium, that the reading of the Athanasian and Nicene symbols be recognized as optional, and that the clause about the descent of Jesus Christ into hell be removed from the Apostolic symbol. The next Philadelphia meeting in 1789, although it retained the indicated book in its general content, however, recognized the need to make the following changes to it: in the liturgy, after the prayer of consecration, to add prayers of offering and invocation, in the Apostolic trunk, instead of the words: “He (I. Christ) descended into hell...” read: “He descended into the place of the descending spirits...” In addition, in the same “Book of Common Prayer” entire sections were thrown out, for example, “The rite of petition or declaration of the wrath and judgment of God against sinners...”, prayers for the king and queen were thrown out, and many other smaller changes were made.