title: Liberace

text: Liberace's fame in the United States was matched for a time in the United Kingdom. In 1956, an article in the "Daily Mirror" by columnist Cassandra (William Connor) described Liberace as "the summit of sex—the pinnacle of masculine, feminine and neuter. Everything that he, she and it can ever want… a deadly, winking, sniggering, snuggling, chromium-plated, scent-impregnated, luminous, quivering, giggling, fruit-flavoured, mincing, ice-covered heap of mother love", a description which strongly suggested that he was homosexual.


title: Liberace

text: Liberace sent a telegram that read: "What you said hurt me very much. I cried all the way to the bank." He sued the newspaper for libel, testifying in a London court that he was not homosexual and that he had never taken part in homosexual acts. He was represented in court by one of the great barristers of the period, 75-year-old Gilbert Beyfus, QC. They won the suit, partly on the basis of Connor's use of the derogatory expression "fruit-flavoured". The case partly hinged on whether Connor knew that 'fruit' was American slang implying that an individual is a homosexual. After a three-week civil trial, a jury ruled in Liberace's favor on June 16, 1959, and awarded him £8,000 (around $22,400) in damages (worth about £ or $ today) which led Liberace to repeat the catchphrase to reporters: "I cried all the way to the bank!" Liberace's popularization of the phrase inspired the title "Crying All the Way to the Bank", for a detailed report of the trial based on transcripts, court reports, and interviews, by the former "Daily Mirror" journalist Revel Barker.


title: Liberace

text: Liberace sued and settled a similar case in the United States against "Confidential". Rumors and gossip magazines frequently implied that Liberace was homosexual throughout his career, which he continued to vehemently deny. A typical issue of "Confidential" in 1957 shouted, "Why Liberace's Theme Song Should Be 'Mad About the Boy!'"


title: Liberace

text: In 1982, Scott Thorson, Liberace's 22-year-old former chauffeur and alleged live-in lover of five years, sued the pianist for $113 million in palimony after he was dismissed by Liberace. Liberace continued to deny that he was homosexual, and during court depositions in 1984, he insisted that Thorson was never his lover. The case was settled out of court in 1986, with Thorson receiving a $75,000 cash settlement, plus three cars and three pet dogs worth another $20,000. Thorson stated after Liberace's death that he settled because he knew that Liberace was dying and that he had intended to sue based on conversion of property rather than palimony. He later attested that Liberace was a "boring guy" in his private life and mostly preferred to spend his free time cooking, decorating, and playing with his dogs, and that he never played the piano outside of his public performances. According to Thorson: "He (Liberace) had several decorated, ornamental pianos in the various rooms of his house, but he never played them."


title: Liberace

text: Because Liberace never publicly acknowledged that he was gay, knowledge of his true sexuality was muddled by stories of his friendships and romantic links with women. He further obscured his sexuality in articles like "Mature Women Are Best: TV's Top Pianist Reveals What Kind of Woman He'd Marry".


title: Liberace

text: In a 2011 interview, actress and close friend Betty White confirmed that Liberace was indeed gay and that she was often used as a "beard" by his managers to counter public rumors of the musician's homosexuality.


title: Liberace

text: Liberace was secretly diagnosed HIV positive in August 1985 by his private physician in Las Vegas, 18 months before his death. Cary James Wyman, his alleged lover of seven years, was infected and died in 1997 at age 33. Another alleged lover, Chris Adler, came forward after Liberace's death and claimed that Liberace infected him with HIV. Adler died in 1990 at age 30. Aside from his long-term manager, Seymour Heller, and a few family members and associates, Liberace kept his terminal illness a secret until the day he died and did not seek medical treatment. Scott Thorson remarked that he was not aware that Liberace had any health issues prior to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and up until one year before his death that: "He was in overall excellent shape for his age; barrel-chested and powerfully built."


title: Liberace

text: In August 1986, during one of his last interviews, with the TV news program "Good Morning America", Liberace hinted of his failing health when he remarked, "How can you enjoy life if you don't have your health?" He was hospitalized for pneumonia from January 23 to 27, 1987, at the Palm Springs county hospital.


title: Liberace

text: Liberace died of pneumonia caused by AIDS on the late morning of February 4, 1987, at his retreat home in Palm Springs, California, at the age of 67. A devout Roman Catholic to the end, he had a priest administer the last rites to him the day before his death.


title: Liberace

text: His death was at first attributed variously to anemia (due to a diet of watermelon), emphysema, and heart disease, the last of which was attested to by Liberace's personal physician, Ronald Daniels. However, the Riverside County coroner – against the advice of Daniels – performed an autopsy and later stated that "a deliberate attempt" had been made to hide the actual cause of Liberace's death by his doctors, his manager, and Liberace's entire immediate family. The "post mortem" showed that Liberace had emphysema and coronary artery disease from years of chain smoking, but the direct cause was pneumonia due to complications from AIDS. Author Darden Asbury Pyron writes that Liberace had been "HIV-positive and symptomatic" from 1985 until his death.


title: Liberace

text: Liberace's body is entombed along with those of his mother and brother at Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles. In 1994, the Palm Springs Walk of Stars dedicated a Golden Palm Star to him.


title: Liberace

text: Liberace was recognized during his career with two Emmy Awards, six gold albums, and two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Liberace released a book on his life and performed 56 sold-out shows at Radio City Music Hall which set box-office records a few months before his death in Palm Springs, California, on February 4, 1987.


title: Liberace

text: In October 2010, the Liberace Museum in Las Vegas closed after 31 years of being open to the general public. In June 2011, Liberace's Tivoli Gardens Restaurant, then operated by Carluccio's, closed its location next to the museum and relocated elsewhere. According to Liberace Foundation President Jack Rappaport, the museum had been in negotiations with money interests on the Las Vegas strip to relocate the museum but were unsuccessful. The Liberace Foundation, which provides college scholarships to up-and-coming performers, continued to function.


title: Liberace

text: In January 2013, the Liberace Foundation announced plans to relocate the museum to downtown Las Vegas, with a targeted opening date of 2014. In 2014, however, Liberace Foundation chairman Jonathan Warren announced that the deal for the new museum had failed.


title: Liberace

text: As of April 7, 2016, Liberace's cars are on display, as well as a piano and several costumes, at the Liberace Garage, located in Las Vegas.


title: Liberace

text: Michael Douglas stars as Liberace, with Matt Damon playing Thorson, in a story centered on the relationship the two shared and its aftermath. His mother Frances was played by Debbie Reynolds, who knew Liberace as a friend during his lifetime. In the early 2000s, Warren Beatty was interested in directing, writing and producing a film based on Thorson's autobiography. Beatty initially wanted Robin Williams as Liberace and Justin Timberlake as Thorson. The project never materialized.


title: Liberace

text: At the time of his death Liberace was said to be worth around $110 million and to have bequeathed $88 million to the Liberace Foundation. The story was perpetuated by the officers of the Liberace Foundation often and as late as 2013. Only in 2015 did Liberace Foundation Chairman Jonathan Warren reveal in a lecture at the Mob Museum in Las Vegas that these figures were all part of the showmanship of Liberace, and that the real figures were closer to one tenth of those amounts.


title: Liberace

text: The Liberace Foundation saw the sunset of its in-house endowment fund in 2011. University endowment funds provided by it continue to offer scholarships annually. The original Liberace museum closed its doors in 2010, citing the recession and an outdated, outmoded facility.


title: Liberace

text: In November 2013, a dozen of Liberace's famous costumes, together with one of his stage cars and a piano went on display for a six-week period at the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas in an exhibition titled "Too Much of a Good Thing Is Wonderful", Liberace's unofficial motto, and an often-used one-liner from his act. The exhibition was extended by seven months.


title: Wiz Khalifa

text: Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He released his debut album, "Show and Prove", in 2006 and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 2007. His Eurodance-influenced single "Say Yeah" received urban radio airplay, charting on the Rhythmic Top 40 and Hot Rap Tracks charts in 2008, becoming his first minor hit.


title: Wiz Khalifa

text: Thomaz parted with Warner Bros. and released his second album, "Deal or No Deal", in November 2009. He released the mixtape "Kush and Orange Juice" as a free download in April 2010; he then signed with Atlantic Records. Thomaz then adopted a more radio-friendly, pop-oriented approach with his debut single for Atlantic, "Black and Yellow". The song, a tribute to his hometown of Pittsburgh, debuted at number 100 and eventually peaked at number 1 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. The song became the lead single for his third album "Rolling Papers", which was released in March 2011, and also had the Top 40 singles "Roll Up" and "No Sleep".


title: Wiz Khalifa

text: The album's success was followed up with "O.N.I.F.C." in December 2012, which was backed by the singles "Work Hard, Play Hard" and "Remember You" (featuring the Weeknd). Wiz released his fifth album "Blacc Hollywood" in August 2014, backed by the lead single "We Dem Boyz". In March 2015, he released "See You Again" (featuring Charlie Puth) for the soundtrack of the film "Furious 7" and the song peaked at number one on the "Billboard" Hot 100 for 12 non-consecutive weeks.


title: Wiz Khalifa

text: Khalifa was born Cameron Jibril Thomaz on September 8, 1987, in Minot, North Dakota, to parents serving in the military. His parents divorced when Khalifa was about three years old. He is a military brat with his parents' military service causing him to move regularly. Khalifa lived in Germany, the United Kingdom, and Japan before settling in Pittsburgh with his mother in around 1996 where he attended Taylor Allderdice High School. Soon after moving to Pittsburgh, Khalifa began to write and perform his own lyrics before he was a teenager.


title: Wiz Khalifa

text: His stage name is derived from Khalifa, an Arabic word meaning "successor", and wisdom, which was shortened to Wiz when Khalifa was a young boy. Khalifa stated to Spinner.com that the name also came from being called "young Wiz 'cause I was good at everything I did, and my granddad is Muslim, so he gave me that name; he felt like that's what I was doing with my music." He got a tattoo of his stage name on his 17th birthday.


title: Wiz Khalifa

text: By the age of 15, he was regularly recording his music at a local studio called I.D. Labs. Impressed by the young teen's talent, E. Dan, the owner of the studio offered Khalifa an intern job at the studio in exchange for free recording time. Dan, being a veteran of the Pittsburgh hip-hop scene, would help develop and mentor the young artist early on in his career.


title: Wiz Khalifa

text: Rostrum Records president Benjy Grinberg first heard about Wiz Khalifa in 2004 when the rapper's contribution to a mixtape of various new Pittsburgh artists attracted his interest. When Grinberg finally met the 16-year-old artist, he immediately decided he wanted to work with him, later telling HitQuarters: "Even though he wasn't all the way developed you could just tell that he was a diamond in the rough, and that with some polishing, guidance and backing he could become something special." Khalifa signed to the label shortly after and began a seven-year period of artist development. Khalifa released his first mixtape, "Prince of the City: Welcome to Pistolvania", in 2005. The mixtape paved the way for his first full-length album entitled "Show and Prove" in 2006. Khalifa was declared an "artist to watch" that year in "Rolling Stone" magazine.


title: Wiz Khalifa

text: In 2007, Khalifa signed to Warner Bros. Records and released two mixtapes through Rostrum Records: "Grow Season", hosted by DJ Green Lantern and released on July 4, 2007, and "Prince of the City 2", released on November 20, 2007. His debut Warner Bros. single "Say Yeah" reached number 25 on the "Billboard" Rhythmic Top 40 music chart and number 20 on "Billboard's" Hot Rap Tracks. The song samples "Better Off Alone" by Alice Deejay. Khalifa's vocals from "Say Yeah" appear near the end of Pittsburgh mashup producer Girl Talk's 2008 album, "Feed the Animals", over music from Underworld's "Born Slippy", Usher's "Love in This Club", and the Cure's "In Between Days". Khalifa appeared with The Game, David Banner and Play-n-Skillz at U92's Summer Jam at the USANA Amphitheatre in West Valley City, Utah on August 2, 2008. Khalifa released the mixtapes "Star Power" in September 2008, and "Flight School" in April 2009 on Rostrum Records.


title: Wiz Khalifa

text: Khalifa parted ways with Warner Bros. Records in July 2009 after numerous delays in releasing his planned debut album for the label, "First Flight". Khalifa stated to the "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette" that, "I learned a lot during my time there and matured as an artist during the process. I'm happy to be moving on with all of my material and having the chance to be in control of my next moves". Khalifa appeared with Girl Talk, Modey Lemon, Donora, Grand Buffet, and Don Caballero at the Amphitheatre at Station Square in Pittsburgh on July 31, 2009, where he announced that his relationship with Warner Bros. was over.


title: Wiz Khalifa

text: Continuing his association with Rostrum Records, Khalifa released the single "Teach U to Fly", and the mixtape "How Fly", a collaboration with New Orleans rapper Curren$y, on August 9, 2009. Khalifa introduced a more melodic style on the mixtape, alternating between singing and rapping. He opened for Wu-Tang Clan member U-God at the 2009 CMJ Music Marathon in New York City. Khalifa released the mixtape "Burn After Rolling" on November 2, 2009, where he raps over familiar beats from other artists, including the songs "If I Were A Boy" and "Diva" by Beyoncé, "Walking on a Dream" by Empire of the Sun, "Luchini AKA This Is It" by Camp Lo, and "Best I Ever Had" by Drake. Khalifa released his second album, "Deal or No Deal", on November 24, 2009.


title: Wiz Khalifa

text: Khalifa performed at Emo's in Austin, Texas in March 2010 as part of the 2010 South by Southwest Music Festival. He appeared on the cover of "XXL" magazine that same month, for the magazine's annual list of Top 10 Freshman, which included Donnis, J. Cole, Pill, Freddie Gibbs, and Fashawn. Wiz Khalifa was named 2010 "Rookie Of The Year" by "The Source", with alongside Rick Ross, "The Man Of The Year". He toured with rapper Yelawolf on a 20-date tour, the Deal Or No Deal Tour. Khalifa released the free mixtape "Kush and Orange Juice" for download on June 14, 2010. Due to Khalifa's devoted grassroots fan base, the mixtape became the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter with the hash tag #kushandorangejuice, and "Kush and Orange Juice download" ranked No. 1 on Google's hot search trends.


title: Wiz Khalifa

text: Citing music industry insiders, "New York" magazine wrote that Khalifa signed with Atlantic Records in April 2010, although the rapper did not confirm it. He stated to AllHipHop in June 2010 that he was working on a new album, but was weighing his options and had not yet decided on a label to distribute it. Khalifa confirmed to MTV on July 30 that he was signing an Atlantic Records deal.


title: Wiz Khalifa

text: Khalifa was featured in a remix and video for the 2010 Rick Ross single "Super High", alongside Curren$y. He guested on the mixtape "Grey Goose, Head Phones, and Thirsty Women " by St. Louis rapper M.C, and was featured on the track "The Breeze (Cool)" on rapper Wale's August 2010 mixtape "More About Nothing". Khalifa was named MTV's Hottest Breakthrough MC of 2010, winning with nearly 70,000 votes, and beating out finalists Nicki Minaj, J. Cole, Travis Porter, and Diggy Simmons.


title: Wiz Khalifa

text: Khalifa appeared at the Soundset 2010 festival in May 2010 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, alongside Method Man & Redman, Del the Funky Homosapien and Hieroglyphics, Atmosphere, Murs, Cage, and others. He performed at the 2010 Rock the Bells festival, along with hip hop veterans Wu-Tang Clan, Snoop Dogg, Lauryn Hill, A Tribe Called Quest, Rakim, KRS-One, Jedi Mind Tricks and Slick Rick. Khalifa declined an invitation to tour with rapper Drake and launched his own Waken Baken Tour, a 50-city national tour with rapper Yelawolf. His official DJ on the tour was DJ Bonics.


title: Wiz Khalifa

text: The tour, scheduled to last from September to November 2010, sold out every venue. In November 2010, during his "Waken Baken" tour at East Carolina University, Khalifa was arrested for possession and trafficking of marijuana. He was released the next morning after a $300K bail, and resumed his tour. Khalifa performed in a cypher during the 2010 BET Hip-Hop Awards.


title: Wiz Khalifa

text: Khalifa released "Black and Yellow", his first single for Rostrum/Atlantic, produced by Stargate, which has received radio airplay. The single peaked at number one on the US "Billboard" Hot 100; the title of the song refers to the colors of the City of Pittsburgh. Khalifa released his debut album with Atlantic Records in 2011. He appeared with Curren$y on the track "Scaling the Building" on producer Ski Beatz' 2010 album, "24 Hour Karate School".


title: Wiz Khalifa

text: On March 29, 2011, Khalifa released his first studio album, "Rolling Papers" in the US. The album debuted at number two on the US "Billboard" 200 chart, with first-week sales of 197,000 copies in the United States. On March 31, 2011, Khalifa performed at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia as part of the school's annual Dooley's Weekend. On June 26, 2011, Khalifa was nominated and won Best New Artist at the BET Awards of 2011.


title: Wiz Khalifa

text: Khalifa collaborated with British rapper Tinie Tempah. Tinie announced in an interview with Rolling Stone that his next single is to be called "Till I'm Gone" and would feature Wiz Khalifa and was produced by Stargate. The single and the video song were released at the end of June 2011.


title: Wiz Khalifa

text: On April 11, 2012, Khalifa announced that he will release his second studio album titled "Only Nigga In First Class" but that it will be abbreviated as "O.N.I.F.C." for release to mainstream markets. "O.N.I.F.C." debuted at number two with 131,000 in first week sales. The album has spawned two singles "Work Hard, Play Hard" and "Remember You" both receiving good commercial acclaim and the former going platinum. Wiz spoke with rapper 50 Cent, with whom he collaborated on the song "Telescope", about making a movie together.


title: Wiz Khalifa

text: In April 2013, Khalifa revealed that after having his son he decided to work on a new album that he was planning to release in 2013. On April 17, 2013, Wiz Khalifa and Curren$y announced that they will drop their collaboration EP "Live in Concert" on April 20, 2013. The EP featured seven new songs. On June 24, 2013, he announced that his fifth studio album would be titled "Blacc Hollywood" and would be released in 2013. On September 3, 2013, Khalifa revealed he had recorded songs with Miley Cyrus and Juicy J for "Blacc Hollywood". In October 2013, Mannie Fresh confirmed that he provided production for the album.


title: Wiz Khalifa

text: On February 11, 2014, Khalifa released "Blacc Hollywood"s first single titled "We Dem Boyz". On March 31, 2015, Wiz Khalifa released an EP with fellow Taylor Gang artist Ty Dolla $ign, "Talk About It in the Morning". That same month, Khalifa and Charlie Puth released the song "See You Again", a tribute to Paul Walker, who died during filming for "Furious 7".


title: Wiz Khalifa

text: After releasing several "Weedmixes" on SoundCloud, including "Ziplocc" and "Maan!", Wiz took to Twitter to create hype about his new mixtape, "28 Grams", which was due to be released on May 25, 2014. However, Wiz was arrested in El Paso, Texas for marijuana possession the day before, and there were fears that the mixtape would be pushed back. After posting a "jail selfie" and hashtagging "FreeTrapWiz" on Twitter, he was released hours later, meaning the mixtape would go ahead with its intended release date.


title: Wiz Khalifa

text: On January 23, 2015, Khalifa was featured on a remix release of the Fall Out Boy song "Uma Thurman". On May 18, they performed the song together on the 2015 "Billboard" Music Awards show. In the summer of 2015, he began touring the United States with Fall Out Boy and Hoodie Allen in a tour titled "The Boys of Zummer Tour". The tour featured performances of "Uma Thurman" by Fall Out Boy and Khalifa. Later that year, on December 15, 2015, Wiz released the mixtape "Cabin Fever 3". During the Golden Globes on January 10, 2016, Wiz announced that his next album, titled "Khalifa", would be released on the 22nd of that month. However, the album was released on February 5, 2016. On May 24, 2016, he released "Pull Up", a standalone single in promotion of his sixth album, Rolling Papers 2, which was released on July 13, 2018.


title: Wiz Khalifa

text: In 2016, Khalifa sued former manager Benjy Grinberg and Rostrum Records because of a "360 deal" that he signed which he claimed was unfair. Khalifa is seeking $1 million in compensation as well as punitive damages and attorney fees. He and Grinberg split after 10 years of partnership.


title: Wiz Khalifa

text: On April 20, 2020, Khalifa released a new EP, The Saga of Wiz Khalifa. The album included collaborations with Tyga, Logic, Mustard and Ty Dolla $ign.


title: Wiz Khalifa

text: In 2021, Khalifa competed in season five of "The Masked Singer" as "Chameleon". He finished in third place.


title: Wiz Khalifa

text: Khalifa began dating model Amber Rose in early 2011. They got engaged on March 1, 2012, and married on July 8, 2013. They have one son, Sebastian Taylor (born 2013). On September 24, 2014, it was announced that Rose would be filing for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. As of 2015, Khalifa and Rose have joint custody of their son.


title: Wiz Khalifa

text: Khalifa is open about his use of cannabis, and he has claimed in many interviews that he spends $10,000 a month on cannabis, and also smokes daily. As of early 2014, Khalifa no longer pays for cannabis and is sponsored by The Cookie Company, a medical marijuana dispenser which sells his "Khalifa Kush" (KK) strain, which he partnered with RiverRock Cannabis to create. Also, in 2016 Khalifa was featured in a cooking show with Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg where weed was the main ingredient.


title: Wiz Khalifa

text: Khalifa began training in the martial art Brazilian jiu-jitsu in May 2017 with Rigan Machado, an 8th degree red and black belt. Shortly after, he began training in Muay Thai with former UFC bantamweight title contender Cat Zingano and at the Unbreakable Performance Center in Los Angeles. On April 24, 2018, Yokkao hosted a private Muay Thai seminar with Thai boxing legend Saenchai for Khalifa at Unbreakable.


title: Wiz Khalifa

text: Pittsburgh City Council declared 12-12-12 (December 12, 2012) to be Wiz Khalifa Day in the city. Khalifa graduated from Pittsburgh's Taylor Allderdice High School and in January 2012, purchased a home in nearby Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.


title: Ryan Garcia

text: Ryan Garcia (born August 8, 1998) is an American professional boxer who held the WBC interim lightweight title in 2021. As of May 2022, he is ranked as the world's sixth-best active lightweight by "The Ring" magazine, the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and ESPN, and tenth by BoxRec.


title: Ryan Garcia

text: García started boxing at the age of seven. He became a 15-time national amateur champion and amassed an amateur record of 215–15.


title: Ryan Garcia

text: Garcia turned professional at age 17 on June 9, 2016. In his first professional bout, he fought against Edgar Meza in Tijuana, winning the match by TKO. Garcia soon signed with Golden Boy Promotions in November 2016. Oscar De La Hoya announced Garcia would make his debut on December 17, 2016 on the Smith-Hopkins light-heavyweight main event at The Forum. Garcia won the fight by knockout in the second round.


title: Ryan Garcia

text: In September 2019, Garcia extended his contract with a new five-year deal with Golden Boy Promotions. Specific details of the multi-year deal were not disclosed.


title: Ryan Garcia

text: Golden Boy announced Garcia's next bout would be the co-main event of Canelo Álvarez vs. Sergey Kovalev at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. On September 18, 2019 Romero Duno was announced as Garcia's next opponent. Garcia defeated Duno with a first-round knockout, capturing the WBC Silver lightweight title.


title: Ryan Garcia

text: On January 2, 2020 Golden Boy announced Garcia would be facing Francisco Fonseca on February 14 at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Garcia landed seven punches in the fight before landing a lead left hook which knocked out Fonseca in the first round.


title: Ryan Garcia

text: On October 8, it was announced Garcia would be facing Olympic gold medalist Luke Campbell for the interim WBC lightweight title at Fantasy Springs Resort in Indio, California. The fight was originally scheduled for December 5, 2020, but was pushed back to January 2, 2021 due to Campbell contracting Covid-19. The venue was also changed to the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. In round 2 of his fight with Campbell, Garcia was knocked down for the first time in his professional career. He had survived the knockdown, as he got up shortly after hitting the canvas. Later on in the fight, in round 7, Garcia hit Luke Campbell with a fight-ending body shot. CompuBox statistics show Garcia outlanded Campbell 94 to 74 (32%) in total punches, and 77 to 51 (44%) in power punches, with Campbell outlanding Garcia in jabs 23 to 17 (15%). The fight was ultimately Campbell's last bout before his retirement.


title: Ryan Garcia

text: On April 13, 2021 it was announced by DAZN that Garcia would defend his newly won WBC interim lightweight title against Dominican former WBA (Regular) super featherweight champion, Javier Fortuna. The bout was set for July 9 in a location to be determined, and the winner would become the mandatory challenger to WBC lightweight champion, Devin Haney. However, on April 24, Garcia announced he had withdrawn from the bout, in order to "manage his health and well being". Former IBF super featherweight champion Joseph Diaz agreed to move up to lightweight to fill in for Garcia, and fight Fortuna on July 9. Garcia was subsequently stripped of his newly crowned WBC interim lightweight title, with the title being on the line for Diaz and Fortuna instead.


title: Ryan Garcia

text: On October 8, 2021, it was announced that Garcia would be challenging Joseph Diaz in Los Angeles on November 27 for his WBC interim lightweight title following Díaz's victory over Fortuna, the same title Garcia had held after beating Luke Campbell and was subsequently stripped of earlier in 2021. On October 15, 2021, Mike Coppinger of ESPN revealed that García suffered a hand injury and the fight with Diaz will be postponed.


title: Ryan Garcia

text: On February 4, 2022, it was announced that Garcia would be returning to the ring after a long spell of inactivity against former IBO lightweight champion Emmanuel Tagoe on April 9. He easily dominated Tagoe and scored a knockdown in Round 2, winning a unanimous decision with the scores of 119-108, 119-108 and 118-109.


title: Ryan Garcia

text: On July 16, 2022 Garcia faced Javier Fortuna in a super lightweight bout in Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California. Garcia dominated the fight scoring 3 knockdowns, and defeating Fortuna in 6 rounds via TKO.


title: Ryan Garcia

text: Garcia comes from a large family. His parents were actively involved in his amateur career. They continue to assist him with his professional career as his father remains one of his trainers and his mother works as his Personal Administrative Assistant for commercial projects. In March 2019, Garcia's daughter was born.


title: Ryan Garcia

text: Although being American by birth and nationality, Garcia often incorporates his Mexican heritage into his persona. He often carries both the U.S. and Mexican flags into the ring and frequently wears red, white, and blue colors. He was trained by Eddy Reynoso, who also trains Canelo Álvarez and Óscar Valdez at their gym in San Diego, California, from October 2018 to February 2022. He is now currently trained by Joe Goosen.


title: Ryan Garcia

text: During 2021, Garcia signed a deal with sports drink Gatorade to appear on television commercials advertising the brand, thus becoming the first American boxer ever to appear on a Gatorade campaign. On some commercials, Garcia appears with NBA basketball star Damian Lillard.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church is Michael Bruce Curry, the first African-American bishop to serve in that position.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: As of 2022, the Episcopal Church had 1,678,157 members, of whom the majority were in the United States. it was the nation's 14th largest denomination. Pew Research estimated that 1.2 percent of the adult population in the United States, or 3 million people, self-identify as mainline Episcopalians. The church has recorded a regular decline in membership and Sunday attendance since the 1960s, particularly in the Northeast and Upper Midwest.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: The church was organized after the American Revolution, when it became separate from the Church of England, whose clergy are required to swear allegiance to the British monarch as Supreme Governor of the Church of England. The Episcopal Church describes itself as "Protestant, yet Catholic" and claims apostolic succession, tracing its bishops back to the apostles via holy orders. The "Book of Common Prayer", a collection of rites, blessings, liturgies, and prayers used throughout the Anglican Communion, is central to Episcopal worship. A broad spectrum of theological views is represented within the Episcopal Church, including evangelical, Anglo-Catholic, and broad church views.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: Historically, the members of the Episcopal Church have played leadership roles in many aspects of American life, including politics, business, science, the arts, and education. About three-quarters of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were affiliated with the Episcopal Church, and over a quarter of all Presidents of the United States have been Episcopalians. Historically, Episcopalians were overrepresented among American scientific elite and Nobel Prize winners. Numbers of the most wealthy and affluent American families, such as Boston Brahmin, Old Philadelphians, Tidewater, and Lowcountry Gentry or old money, are Episcopalians. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many Episcopalians were active in the Social Gospel movement.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: Since the 1960s and 1970s, the church has pursued a more liberal course, though there remains a wide spectrum of liberals and conservatives within the church. It has opposed the death penalty and supported the civil rights movement. The church calls for the full legal equality of LGBT people. In 2015, the church's 78th triennial General Convention passed resolutions allowing the blessing of same-sex marriages and approved two official liturgies to bless such unions.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: "The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America" (PECUSA) and "The Episcopal Church" (TEC) are both official names specified in the church's constitution. The latter is much more commonly used. In other languages, an equivalent is used. For example, in Spanish, the church is called "La Iglesia Episcopal Protestante de los Estados Unidos de América" or "La Iglesia Episcopal", and in French "L'Église protestante épiscopale des États-Unis d'Amérique" or "L'Église épiscopale".


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: Until 1964, "The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America" was the only official name in use. In the 19th century, High Church members advocated changing the name, which they felt did not acknowledge the church's catholic heritage. They were opposed by the church's evangelical wing, which felt that the "Protestant Episcopal" label accurately reflected the Reformed character of Anglicanism. After 1877, alternative names were regularly proposed and rejected by the General Convention. One proposed alternative was "the American Catholic Church". By the 1960s, opposition to dropping the word "Protestant" had largely subsided. In a 1964 General Convention compromise, priests and lay delegates suggested adding a preamble to the church's constitution, recognizing "The Episcopal Church" as a lawful alternate designation while still retaining the earlier name.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: The 66th General Convention voted in 1979 to use the name "The Episcopal Church" in the Oath of Conformity of the Declaration for Ordination. The evolution of the name can be seen in the church's Book of Common Prayer. In the 1928 BCP, the title page read, "According to the use of The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America", whereas on the title page of the 1979 BCP it states, "According to the use of The Episcopal Church".


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: "The Episcopal Church in the United States of America" (ECUSA) has never been an official name of the church but is an alternative commonly seen in English. Since several other churches in the Anglican Communion also use the name "Episcopal", including Scotland and the Philippines, some, for example Anglicans Online, add the phrase "in the United States of America".


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: The full legal name of the national church corporate body is the "Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America", which was incorporated by the legislature of New York and established in 1821. The membership of the corporation "shall be considered as comprehending all persons who are members of the Church". This should not be confused with the name of the church itself, as it is a distinct body relating to church governance.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: The Episcopal Church has its origins in the Church of England in the American colonies, and it stresses continuity with the early universal Western Church and claims to maintain apostolic succession (while the Scandinavian Lutheran and Moravian churches accept this claim, the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches do not recognize this claim).


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: The first parish was founded in Jamestown, Virginia in 1607, under the charter of the Virginia Company of London. The tower of Jamestown Church ( 1639–43) is one of the oldest surviving Anglican church structures in the United States. The Jamestown church building itself is a modern reconstruction.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: Although no American Anglican bishops existed in the colonial era, the Church of England had an official status in several colonies, which meant that local governments paid tax money to local parishes, and the parishes handled some civic functions. The Church of England was designated the established church in Virginia in 1609, in New York in 1693, in Maryland in 1702, in South Carolina in 1706, in North Carolina in 1730, and in Georgia in 1758.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: From 1635 the vestries and the clergy came loosely under the diocesan authority of the Bishop of London. After 1702, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG) began missionary activity throughout the colonies. On the eve of Revolution about 400 independent congregations were reported throughout the colonies.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: Under the leadership of Lutheran bishop Jesper Swedberg, parishes in colonial America that belonged to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Sweden established ecumenical dialogue that resulted in altar and pulpit fellowship with the Episcopal Church in the 1700s, which led to a merger of all of the Swedish Lutheran churches there into the Episcopal Church by 1846.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: Embracing the symbols of the British presence in the American colonies, such as the monarchy, the episcopate, and even the language of the "Book of Common Prayer", the Church of England almost drove itself to extinction during the upheaval of the American Revolution. More than any other denomination, the War of Independence internally divided both clergy and laity of the Church of England in America, and opinions covered a wide spectrum of political views: patriots, conciliators, and loyalists. While many Patriots were suspicious of Loyalism in the church, about three-quarters of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were nominally Anglican laymen, including Thomas Jefferson, William Paca, and George Wythe. It was often assumed that persons considered "High Church" were Loyalists, whereas persons considered "Low Church" were Patriots: assumptions with possibly dangerous implications for the time.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: Of the approximately three hundred clergy in the Church of England in America between 1776 and 1783, over 80 percent in New England, New York, and New Jersey were loyalists. This is in contrast to the less than 23 percent loyalist clergy in the four southern colonies. Many Church of England clergy remained loyalists as they took their two ordination oaths very seriously. Anglican clergy were obliged to swear allegiance to the king as well as to pray for the king, the royal family, and the British Parliament. In general, loyalist clergy stayed by their oaths and prayed for the king or else suspended services. By the end of 1776, some Anglican churches were closing. Anglican priests held services in private homes or lay readers who were not bound by the oaths held morning and evening prayer. During 1775 and 1776, the Continental Congress had issued decrees ordering churches to fast and pray on behalf of the patriots. Starting July 4, 1776, Congress and several states passed laws making prayers for the king and British Parliament acts of treason. The patriot clergy in the South were quick to find reasons to transfer their oaths to the American cause and prayed for the success of the Revolution. One precedent was the transfer of oaths during the Glorious Revolution in England. Most of the patriot clergy in the South were able to keep their churches open and services continued.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: In the wake of the Revolution, American Episcopalians faced the task of preserving a hierarchical church structure in a society infused with republican values.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: When the clergy of Connecticut elected Samuel Seabury as their bishop in 1783, he sought consecration in England. The Oath of Supremacy prevented Seabury's consecration in England, so he went to Scotland; the non-juring bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church consecrated him in Aberdeen on November 14, 1784, making him, in the words of scholar Arthur Carl Piepkorn, "the first Anglican bishop appointed to minister outside the British Isles". On August 3, 1785, the first ordinations on American soil took place at Christ Church in Middletown, Connecticut.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: That same year, 1785, deputations of clergy and laity met in the first General Convention. They drafted a constitution, proposed a first draft of an American Book of Common Prayer, and began negotiating with English Bishops for the consecration of 3 bishops. The Convention met again in 1786 to make several changes that made their liturgy acceptable to the English Bishops and to recommend 3 clergy (who had been elected by state meetings in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York) for consecration as bishops. General Convention met again in 1789, beginning a regular process of meeting every three years. At the 1789 convention they adopted a Constitution and Canons, and reorganized as a House of Deputies and a House of Bishops. The structure of the Episcopal Church was then complete.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: Later, through the efforts of Bishop Philander Chase (1775–1852) of Ohio, Americans successfully sought material assistance from England for the purpose of training Episcopal clergy. The development of the Protestant Episcopal Church provides an example of how Americans in the early republic maintained important cultural ties with England.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: In 1787, two priests – William White of Pennsylvania and Samuel Provoost of New York – were consecrated as bishops by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Archbishop of York, and the Bishop of Bath and Wells, the legal obstacles having been removed by the passage through Parliament of the Consecration of Bishops Abroad Act 1786. Thus there are two branches of Apostolic succession for the American bishops: through the non-juring bishops of Scotland who consecrated Samuel Seabury and through the English church who consecrated William White, Samuel Provoost and James Madison. All bishops in the American Church are ordained by at least three bishops. One can trace the succession of each back to Seabury, White, Provoost, and Madison. ("See Succession of Bishops of the Episcopal Church.")


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: In 1789, representative clergy from nine dioceses met in Philadelphia to ratify the church's initial constitution. The fourth bishop of the Episcopal Church was James Madison, the first bishop of Virginia. Madison was consecrated in 1790 by the Archbishop of Canterbury and two other Church of England bishops. This third American bishop consecrated within the English line of succession occurred because of continuing unease within the Church of England over Seabury's non-juring Scottish orders. The Episcopal Church thus became the first Anglican Province outside the British Isles.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: On 17 September 1792, at the triennial General Convention (synod) of the Episcopal Church at Trinity Church on Wall Street, in New York City, Thomas John Claggett who had been elected by the clergy and laity of Maryland, was consecrated by all 4 of the existing bishops. He was the first bishop of the Episcopal Church ordained and consecrated in America and the fifth Bishop consecrated for the Episcopal Church in the United States.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: In 1856, the first society for African Americans in the Episcopal Church was founded by James Theodore Holly. Named "The Protestant Episcopal Society for Promoting The Extension of The Church Among Colored People", the society argued that blacks should be allowed to participate in seminaries and diocesan conventions. The group lost its focus when Holly emigrated to Haiti, but other groups followed after the Civil War. The current Union of Black Episcopalians traces its history to the society. Holly went on to found the Anglican Church in Haiti, where he became the first African-American bishop on November 8, 1874. As Bishop of Haiti, Holly was the first African American to attend the Lambeth Conference. However, he was consecrated by the American Church Missionary Society, an Evangelical Episcopal branch of the Church.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: Episcopal missions chartered by African-Americans in this era were chartered as a Colored Episcopal Mission. All other missions (white) were chartered as an Organized Episcopal Mission. Many historically Black parishes are still in existence to date.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: When the American Civil War began in 1861, Episcopalians in the South formed the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Confederate States of America. However, in the North the separation was never officially recognized. By May 16, 1866, the southern dioceses had rejoined the national church.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: By the middle of the 19th century, evangelical Episcopalians disturbed by High Church Tractarianism, while continuing to work in interdenominational agencies, formed their own voluntary societies, and eventually, in 1874, a faction objecting to the revival of ritual practices established the Reformed Episcopal Church.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: Samuel David Ferguson was the first black bishop consecrated by the Episcopal Church, the first to practice in the U.S. and the first black person to sit in the House of Bishops. Bishop Ferguson was consecrated on June 24, 1885, with the then-Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church acting as a consecrator.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: In the following year, Henry C. Potter, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, addressed his clergymen upon the question of Labor. Church Association for the Advancement of the Interests of Labor was formed in 1887.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: During the Gilded Age, highly prominent laity such as banker J. P. Morgan, industrialist Henry Ford, and art collector Isabella Stewart Gardner played a central role in shaping a distinctive upper class Episcopalian ethos, especially with regard to preserving the arts and history. These philanthropists propelled the Episcopal Church into a quasi-national position of importance while at the same time giving the church a central role in the cultural transformation of the country. Another mark of influence is the fact that more than a quarter of all presidents of the United States have been Episcopalians (see religious affiliations of presidents of the United States). It was during this period that the "Book of Common Prayer" was revised, first in 1892 and later in 1928.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: At the 1958 general convention, a coalition of liberal church members succeeded in passing a resolution recognizing "the natural dignity and value of every man, of whatever color or race, as created in the image of God". It called on Episcopalians "to work together, in charity and forbearance, towards the establishment ... of full opportunities in fields such as education, housing, employment and public accommodations". In response, the Episcopal Society for Cultural and Racial Unity (ESCRU) was founded in December 1959 in order to eliminate racial, ethnic, and class barriers within the Episcopal Church. Opposition from southern church leaders prevented the Episcopal Church from taking a strong stand on civil rights prior to 1963. One prominent opponent of the movement was Charles C.J. Carpenter, the Bishop of Alabama. By 1963, many church leaders felt more comfortable speaking out in support of racial equality. That year, Presiding Bishop Arthur Lichtenberger wrote a pastoral letter urging Christians to work "across lines of racial separation, in a common struggle for justice", and the House of Bishops endorsed civil rights legislation. Tensions around the civil rights movement persisted, however. At the 1964 General Convention, when the House of Deputies rejected a resolution sanctioning civil disobedience under special circumstances, Thurgood Marshall, a deputy to the convention, led many African-American deputies in a "walk out" protest of the convention.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: In 1967, Lichtenberger's successor, John Hines, led the Episcopal Church to implement the General Convention Special Program (GCSP). The program was designed to redirect nine million dollars over a three-year period (a quarter of the church's operating budget at the time) to fund special grants for community organizations and grassroots efforts facilitating black empowerment in America's urban ghettos. The effectiveness of the GCSP was limited due to the reluctance of conservative bishops in southern dioceses, who objected to the awarding of grants to groups perceived as radical. The GCSP drew opposition from the recently formed Foundation for Christian Theology, a conservative organization opposed to "involv[ing] the Church in the social, political, and economic activities of our times". The Special General Convention also witnessed protests of the Vietnam War. During this time period, African-American clergy organized the Union of Black Episcopalians to achieve full inclusion of African Americans at all levels of the Episcopal Church.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: The liberal policies of Presiding Bishop Hines and the general conventions of 1967 and 1969 led to a conservative reaction. Facing declining membership and a one million dollar budget cut, the Special Program became an easy target for conservatives, who succeeded in drastically reducing the financial support for the program in 1970. It was finally ended in 1973 with little protest. A year later, Hines was succeeded by John M. Allin, the Bishop of Mississippi and a conservative.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: In 1975, Vaughan Booker, who confessed to the murder of his wife and was sentenced to life in prison, was ordained to the diaconate in Graterford State Prison's chapel in Pennsylvania after having repented of his sins, becoming a symbol of redemption and atonement.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: In recent decades, the Episcopal Church, like other mainline churches, has experienced a decline in membership as well as internal controversy over women's ordination and the place of homosexuals in the church. The 1976 General Convention also passed a resolution calling for an end to apartheid in South Africa and in 1985 called for "dioceses, institutions, and agencies" to create equal opportunity employment and affirmative action policies to address any potential "racial inequities" in clergy placement. Because of these and other controversial issues including abortion, individual members and clergy can and do frequently disagree with the stated position of the church's leadership. In January 2016, the Anglican Primates Meeting at Canterbury decided that in response to the "distance" caused by what it called "unilateral action on matters of doctrine without catholic unity", "for a period of three years, The Episcopal Church [would neither] represent [the Communion] on ecumenical and interfaith bodies… [nor] take part in decision making on any issues pertaining to doctrine or polity."


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: In 1976, the General Convention adopted a new prayer book, which was a substantial revision and modernization of the previous 1928 edition. It incorporated many principles of the ecumenical movement and liturgical movement, which had been discussed at Vatican II as well. This version was adopted as the official prayer book in 1979 after an initial three-year trial use. As such, the liturgies used by the Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopal, Methodist and Reformed traditions are "nearly identical". Several conservative parishes, however, continued to use the 1928 version. In Advent of 2007, the use of the ecumenical Revised Common Lectionary in the Episcopal Church became the standard. In 2018, the General Convention authorized a Task Force for Liturgical and Prayer Book Revision to consider further revisions, particularly to use more inclusive language and to give more attention to the stewardship of God's creation.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: On July 29, 1974, a group of women known as the Philadelphia Eleven were irregularly ordained as priests in the Episcopal Church by bishops Daniel Corrigan, Robert L. DeWitt, and Edward R. Welles, assisted by Antonio Ramos. On September 7, 1975, four more women (the "Washington Four") were irregularly ordained by retired bishop George W. Barrett. In the wake of the controversy over the ordination of the Philadelphia Eleven, the General Convention permitted the ordination of women in 1976 and recognized the ordinations of the 15 forerunners. The first women were canonically ordained to the priesthood in 1977. The first woman to become a bishop, Barbara Harris, was consecrated on February 11, 1989.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: At the same time, there was still tolerance for those dioceses which opposed women's ordination. In 1994, the General Convention affirmed that there was value in the theological position that women should not be ordained. In 1997, however, the General Convention then determined that "the canons regarding the ordination, licensing, and deployment of women are mandatory" and required noncompliant dioceses to issue status reports on their progress towards full compliance.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: In 2006, the General Convention elected Katharine Jefferts Schori as Presiding Bishop. She was the first woman to become a primate in the Anglican Communion. Schori's election was controversial in the wider Anglican Communion because not all of the communion recognized the ordination of women.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: At the time of the formation of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), three U.S. dioceses did not ordain women as priests or bishops: San Joaquin, Quincy, and Fort Worth. Following the departures of their conservative majorities, all three dioceses now ordain women. With the October 16, 2010, ordination of Margaret Lee, in the Peoria-based Diocese of Quincy, Illinois, women have been ordained as priests in all 110 dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: The Episcopal Church affirmed at the 1976 General Convention that homosexuals are "children of God" who deserve acceptance and pastoral care from the church and equal protection under the law. The first openly gay person ordained as a priest was Ellen Barrett in 1977. Despite such an affirmation of gay rights, the General Convention affirmed in 1991 that "physical sexual expression" is only appropriate within the monogamous lifelong "union of husband and wife".


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: The church elected its first openly gay bishop, Gene Robinson, in June 2003. News of Robinson's election caused a crisis in both the American church and the wider Anglican Communion. In October 2003, Anglican primates (the heads of the Anglican Communion's 38 member churches) convened an emergency meeting. The meeting's final communiqué included the warning that if Robinson's consecration proceeded, it would "tear the fabric of the communion at its deepest level". The news of his ordination caused such an outrage that during the ceremony, at which his long-time partner was present, Robinson wore a bullet-proof vest beneath his vestments, and he also received numerous death threats following his installation as bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: In 2009, the General Convention charged the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music to develop theological and liturgical resources for same-sex blessings and report back to the General Convention in 2012. It also gave bishops an option to provide "generous pastoral support", especially where civil authorities have legalized same-gender marriage, civil unions, or domestic partnerships.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: On July 14, 2009, the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops voted that "any ordained ministry" is open to gay men and lesbians. "The New York Times" said the move was "likely to send shockwaves through the Anglican Communion". This vote ended a moratorium on ordaining gay bishops passed in 2006 and passed in spite of Archbishop Rowan Williams's personal call at the start of the convention that, "I hope and pray that there won't be decisions in the coming days that will push us further apart."


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: On July 10, 2012, the Episcopal Church approved an official liturgy for the blessing of same-sex relationships. This liturgy was not a marriage rite, but the blessing included an exchange of vows and the couple's agreement to enter into a lifelong committed relationship.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: On June 29, 2015, at the 78th General Convention of the Episcopal Church, a resolution removing the definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman was passed by the House of Bishops with 129 in favor, 26 against, and 5 abstaining. The current archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, expressed "deep concern" over the ruling. In 2016, Anglican leaders temporarily suspended the Episcopal Church from key positions in their global fellowship in response to the church changing its canons on marriage.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: Transgender people have also joined the priesthood in the Episcopal Church. The Rev. Cameron Partridge, who transitioned in 2001 and was ordained in 2005 was the first openly transgender priest to preach at the Washington National Cathedral.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: Following the ordination of Bp. Gene Robinson in 2003, some members of a number of congregations left the Episcopal Church. For example, in Cleveland, Ohio, four parishes "with about 1,300 active members, decided to leave the U.S. church and the local diocese because of 'divergent understandings of the authority of scripture and traditional Christian teaching.'" Four dioceses also voted to leave the church; Pittsburgh, Quincy, Fort Worth, and San Joaquin. The stated reasons included those expressed by the Pittsburgh diocese, which complained that the church had been "hijacked" by liberal bishops. A few years later, in 2012, the Diocese of South Carolina voted to withdraw.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: The Episcopal Church did not acknowledge any of the purported diocesan withdrawals, stating that under canon law an Episcopal diocese cannot withdraw itself from the larger Episcopal Church. In a "pastoral letter" to the South Carolina diocese, Presiding Bishop Schori wrote that "While some leaders have expressed a desire to leave The Episcopal Church, the Diocese has not left. It cannot, by its own action. The alteration, dissolution, or departure of a diocese of The Episcopal Church requires the consent of General Convention, which has not been consulted." She further wrote that the South Carolina diocese "continues to be a constituent part of The Episcopal Church, even if a number of its leaders have departed. If it becomes fully evident that those former leaders have, indeed, fully severed their ties with The Episcopal Church, new leaders will be elected and installed by action of a Diocesan Convention recognized by the wider Episcopal Church, in accordance with our Constitution and Canons."


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: Many departing members joined the Continuing Anglican movement or advocated Anglican realignment, claiming alignment with overseas Anglican provinces including the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone of America and the Church of Nigeria. Some former members formed the Anglican Church in North America which, as of 2017, claimed over 1,000 congregations and 134,000 members. Episcopal Church leaders, particularly former Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, responded by taking a firm stance against the separatists. Litigation between the church and departing dioceses and parishes cost all parties tens of millions of dollars; one estimate has the Episcopal Church spending over $42 million and separatists roughly $18 million, for a total of over $60 million in court costs. Litigation has largely centered around church properties. Episcopal leadership asserts that, as a hierarchical church, they retain ownership of parish property when parishioners leave. Departing groups, in contrast, assert that they should be able to retain ownership of individual church facilities and diocesan property.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: In a letter to the House of Bishops during summer 2009, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori instructed local dioceses not to sell parish property to departing groups. She stated: "We do not make settlements that encourage religious bodies who seek to replace The Episcopal Church".


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: Before Schori took this stand, prior bishops had treated parish property disputes as internal diocesan matters that are "not subject to the review or oversight of the presiding bishop". One example was when then-Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold told the Diocese of Western Louisiana on May 11, 2006, that the national church involved itself in parish property disputes only upon invitation of the local bishop and diocesan standing committees. Schori's letter stated that her firm stance was the consensus of the Council of Advice and expressed hope that "those who have departed can gain clarity about their own identity".


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: After the South Carolina diocese voted to withdraw, it sued the national Episcopal Church to retain control over its property. The departing diocese initially won, but mostly lost on appeal to the South Carolina Supreme Court. Seven parishes affiliated with the departing group were allowed to keep their property. All other church and diocesan property in the lawsuit remained with the Episcopal Church and its affiliated local diocese. The name "Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina" and related names and marks were initially claimed by the departing group. In 2019, a federal court ruled that they legally belonged to the Episcopal Church and its South Carolina affiliates.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: As of 2020, the Episcopal Church had 1,678,157 active members. Total average Sunday attendance (ASA) for 2018 was 962,529 (933,206 in the U.S. and 29,323 outside the U.S.), a decrease of 24.7% percent from 2008. In 2016, a data-based quantitative study for the "Journal of Anglican Studies", and published by Cambridge University Press, reported that The Episcopal Church had 2,405,000 total baptized members, including inactive members, and 1,588,057 active members in the United States.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: According to a report by ARIS/Barna in 2001, 3.5 million Americans self-identified as Episcopalians, highlighting "a gap between those who are affiliated with the church (on membership rolls), versus those who self-identify [as Episcopalians]". Church Pension Group also cited having 3.5 million adherents in 2002. More recently, in 2014, Pew Research found that approximately 1.2 percent of 245 million U.S. adults, around 3 million people, self-identified as mainline Episcopalian/Anglican.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: According to data collected in 2000, the District of Columbia, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Virginia have the highest rates of adherents per capita, and states along the East Coast generally have a higher number of adherents per capita than in other parts of the country. New York was the state with the largest total number of adherents, over 200,000. In 2013, the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti was the largest single diocese, with 84,301 baptized members, which constitute slightly over half of the church's foreign membership.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: As of 2012, around 12% of members in the Episcopal Church are former Catholics who became Episcopalians. In the years preceding 2012 over 225,000 Roman Catholics became Episcopalians and as of 2012, there are "432 living Episcopal priests [who] have been received [as priests] from the Roman Catholic Church."


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: According to the latest statistics U.S. membership dropped 2.7 percent from a reported 1,866,758 members in 2013 to 1,745,156 in 2016, a loss of 121,602 persons. Attendance took an even steeper hit, with the average number of Sunday worshipers dropping from 623,691 in 2013 to 570,454 in 2016, a decline of 53,237 persons in the pews, down 8.5 percent. Congregations dropped to 6,473.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: The Episcopal Church experienced notable growth in the first half of the 20th century, but like many mainline churches, it has had a decline in membership in more recent decades. Membership grew from 1.1 million members in 1925 to a peak of over 3.4 million members in the mid-1960s. Between 1970 and 1990, membership declined from about 3.2 million to about 2.4 million. Once changes in how membership is counted are taken into consideration, the Episcopal Church's membership numbers were broadly flat throughout the 1990s, with a slight growth in the first years of the 21st century. A loss of 115,000 members was reported for the years 2003–05. Some theories about the decline in membership include a failure to sufficiently reach beyond ethnic barriers in an increasingly diverse society, and the low fertility rates prevailing among the predominant ethnic groups traditionally belonging to the church. In 1965, there were 880,000 children in Episcopal Sunday School programs. By 2001, the number had declined to 297,000.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: Members of the Episcopal Church are generally more liberal and/or progressive than members of other Christian denominations in the United States. Despite the church's liberal/progressive reputation, a significant portion of members describe themselves as Republicans, although they generally tend to skew moderate when compared to the rest of the Republican Party. According to a 2014 Pew Research Center survey of 35,000 Americans in 50 states, 49% describe themselves as Democrats, 39% describe themselves as Republicans, and 12% stated no preference. Older male Episcopalians with incomes above $50,000/year are generally more likely to describe themselves as Republicans, according to the survey.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: In the twentieth century, Episcopalians tended to be wealthier and more educated (having more graduate and postgraduate degrees per capita) than most other religious groups in the United States, and were disproportionately represented in the upper reaches of American business, law, and politics. Many of the nation's oldest educational institutions, such as University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University, were founded by Episcopalian clergy or were associated with the Episcopal Church. According to Pew Research Center Episcopal Church "has often been seen as the religious institution most closely associated with the American establishment, producing many of the nation's most important leaders in politics and business." And about a quarter of the presidents of the United States (11) were members of the Episcopal Church.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: Historically, Episcopalians were overrepresented among American scientific elite and Nobel Prize winners. According to "Scientific Elite: Nobel Laureates in the United States" by Harriet Zuckerman, between 1901 and 1972, 72% of American Nobel Prize laureates have come from a Protestant background, mostly from Episcopalian, Presbyterian or Lutheran background. Citing Gallup polling data from 1976, Kit and Frederica Konolige wrote in their 1978 book "The Power of Their Glory", "As befits a church that belongs to the worldwide Anglican Communion, Episcopalianism has the United Kingdom to thank for the ancestors of fully 49 percent of its members. ... The stereotype of the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) finds its fullest expression in the Episcopal Church."


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: The "Boston Brahmins", who were regarded as the nation's social and cultural elites, were often associated with the American upper class, Harvard University; and the Episcopal Church. Old Philadelphians were often associated with the Episcopal Church. Old money in the United States was typically associated with White Anglo-Saxon Protestant ("WASP") status, particularly with the Episcopal and Presbyterian Church. In the 1970s, a "Fortune" magazine study found one-in-five of the country's largest businesses and one-in-three of its largest banks was run by an Episcopalian. Numbers of the most wealthy and affluent American families such as the Vanderbilts, Astors, Du Ponts, Whitneys, Morgans, Fords, Mellons, Van Leers, Browns, Waynes and Harrimans are Episcopalians. While the Rockefeller family are mostly Baptists, some of the Rockefellers were Episcopalians.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: According to a 2014 study by the Pew Research Center, the Episcopal Church also has the highest number of graduate and post-graduate degrees per capita (56%) of any other Christian denomination in the United States, as well as the most high-income earners. According to "The New York Times" Episcopalians tend also to be better educated and they have a high number of graduate (76%) and post-graduate degrees (35%) per capita. According to a 2014 study by the Pew Research Center, Episcopalians ranked as the third wealthiest religious group in the United States, with 35% of Episcopalians living in households with incomes of at least $100,000. In 2014, roughly 70% of Episcopalians were living in households with incomes of $50,000 or above. In recent years, the church has become much more economically and racially diverse through evangelism, and has attracted many Hispanic immigrants who are often working-class.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: The Episcopal Church is governed according to episcopal polity with its own system of canon law. This means that the church is organized into dioceses led by bishops in consultation with representative bodies. It is a unitary body, in that the power of the General Convention is not limited by the individual dioceses. The church has, however, a highly decentralized structure and characteristics of a confederation.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: At the local level, there are 6,447 Episcopal congregations, each of which elects a vestry or bishop's committee. Subject to the approval of its diocesan bishop, the vestry of each parish elects a priest, called the rector, who has spiritual jurisdiction in the parish and selects assistant clergy, both deacons and priests. (There is a difference between vestry and clergy elections – clergy are ordained members usually selected from outside the parish, whereas any member in good standing of a parish is eligible to serve on the vestry.) The diocesan bishop, however, appoints the clergy for all missions and may choose to do so for non-self-supporting parishes.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: The middle judicatory consists of a diocese headed by a bishop who is assisted by a standing committee. The bishop and standing committee are elected by the diocesan convention whose members are selected by the congregations. The election of a bishop requires the consent of a majority of standing committees and diocesan bishops. Conventions meet annually to consider legislation (such as revisions to the diocesan constitution and canons) and speak for the diocese. Dioceses are organized into nine provinces. Each province has a synod and a mission budget, but it has no authority over its member dioceses.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: There are 110 dioceses in the United States, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Honduras, Puerto Rico, Taiwan, Venezuela, Cuba and the Virgin Islands. The Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe and the Navajoland Area Mission are jurisdictions similar to a diocese.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: The Washington National Cathedral is the seat of the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church as well as the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: The highest legislative body of the Episcopal Church is the triennial General Convention, consisting of the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops. All active (whether diocesan, coadjutor, suffragan, or assistant) and retired bishops make up the over 300 members of the House of Bishops. Diocesan conventions elect over 800 representatives (each diocese elects four laity and four clergy) to the House of Deputies. The House of Deputies elects a president and vice-president to preside at meetings. General Convention enacts two types of legislation. The first type is the rules by which the church is governed as contained in the Constitution and Canons; the second type are broad guidelines on church policy called resolutions. Either house may propose legislation. The House of Deputies only meets as a full body once every three years; however, the House of Bishops meets regularly throughout the triennium between conventions.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: The real work of General Convention is done by interim bodies, the most powerful being the Executive Council, which oversees the work of the national church during the triennium. The council has 40 members; 20 are directly elected by the General Convention, 18 are elected by the nine provinces, and the Presiding Bishop and President of the House of Deputies are "ex officio" members. Other interim bodies include a number of standing commissions ordered by the canons and temporary task forces formulated by resolutions of General Convention. Both types of bodies study and draft policy proposals for consideration and report back to the convention. Each standing commission consists of five bishops, five priests or deacons, and ten laypersons. Bishops are appointed by the Presiding Bishop while the other clergy and laypersons are appointed by the president of the House of Deputies. Task forces vary in size, composition, and duration depending on the General Convention resolution that orders them.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: The Presiding Bishop is elected from and by the House of Bishops and confirmed by the House of Deputies for a nine-year term. The Presiding Bishop is the chief pastor and primate of the Episcopal Church and is charged with providing leadership in the development of the church's program as well as speaking on behalf of the church. The Presiding Bishop does not possess a territorial see; since the 1970s, however, the Presiding Bishop has enjoyed extraordinary jurisdiction (metropolitical authority) and has authority to visit dioceses for sacramental and preaching ministry, for consulting bishops, and for related purposes. The Presiding Bishop chairs the House of Bishops as well as the Executive Council of the General Convention. In addition, the Presiding Bishop directs the Episcopal Church Center, the national administrative headquarters of the denomination. Located at 815 Second Avenue, New York City, New York, the center is often referred to by Episcopalians simply as "815".


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: A system of ecclesiastical courts is provided for under Title IV of the canons of General Convention. These courts are empowered to discipline and depose deacons, priests, and bishops.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: Worship according to the "Book of Common Prayer" (BCP) is central to the Episcopal Church's identity and its main source of unity. The current edition of the BCP was published in 1979 and is similar to other Anglican prayer books in use around the world. It contains most of the worship services (or liturgies) used in the Episcopal Church.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: The Episcopal Church has a sacramental understanding of worship. The Episcopal catechism defines a sacrament as "an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace given to us". Episcopalians believe that sacraments are material things that God uses to act in human lives. The BCP identifies Baptism and the Eucharist as the "two great sacraments of the Gospel". Confirmation, ordination, holy matrimony, reconciliation of a penitent, and unction are identified as "sacramental rites". Private confession of sin is available in the Episcopal Church, though it is not as commonly practiced as in the Roman Catholic Church. This is in part due to the general confession provided for in Episcopal services.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: The prayer book specifies that the Eucharist or Holy Communion is "the principal act of Christian worship on the Lord's Day". The service has two parts. The first is centered on Bible readings and preaching. At each service, four scripture passages are read from the Old Testament and the New Testament. The readings are organized in a three-year cycle during which much of the Bible will have been read in church. The second part of the service is centered on the Eucharist. The Episcopal Church teaches the real presence doctrine—that the bread and wine truly become the body and blood of Christ. However, it does not define how this happens, which allows for different views to coexist within the church. Generally, Episcopal churches have retained features such as the altar rail, the inclusion or exclusion of which does not elicit much controversy, but usually celebrate in the "versus populum" orientation.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: Often a congregation or a particular service will be referred to as "Low Church" or "High Church". In theory:


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: The Book of Common Prayer also provides the Daily Offices of Morning and Evening Prayer. The daily offices can be said by lay people at home.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: The veneration of saints in the Episcopal Church is a continuation of an ancient tradition from the early church which honors important people of the Christian faith. The usage of the term "saint" is similar to Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions. There are explicit references in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer to invoking the aid of the prophets, patriarchs, saints, martyrs and the Virgin Mary as in an optional prayer in the committal at a funeral, p. 504. In general Anglicans pray with the saints in their fellowship, not to them, although their intercessions may be requested. Those inclined to the Anglo-Catholic traditions may explicitly invoke saints as intercessors in prayer. The 1979 edition contains a provision for the use of "traditional" (Elizabethan) language under various circumstances not directly provided for in the book.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: At the center of Episcopal belief and practice are the life, teachings and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The doctrine of the Episcopal Church is found in the canon of scripture as understood in the Apostles' and Nicene creeds and in the sacramental rites, the ordinal and catechism of the Book of Common Prayer. Some of these teachings include:


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: In practice, not all Episcopalians hold all of these beliefs, but ordained clergy are required to "solemnly engage to conform" to this doctrine.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: The Episcopal Church follows the "via media" or "middle way" between Protestant and Roman Catholic doctrine and practices: that is both Catholic and Reformed. Although many Episcopalians identify with this concept, those whose convictions lean toward either evangelical Anglicanism or Anglo-Catholicism may not.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: A broad spectrum of theological views is represented within the Episcopal Church. Some Episcopal members or theologians hold evangelical positions, affirming the authority of scripture over all. The Episcopal Church website glossary defines the sources of authority as a balance between scripture, tradition, and reason. These three are characterized as a "three-legged stool" which will topple if any one overbalances the other. It also notes


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: This balance of scripture, tradition and reason is traced to the work of Richard Hooker, a 16th-century apologist. In Hooker's model, scripture is the primary means of arriving at doctrine and things stated plainly in scripture are accepted as true. Issues that are ambiguous are determined by tradition, which is checked by reason. Noting the role of personal experience in Christian life, some Episcopalians have advocated following the example of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral of Methodist theology by thinking in terms of a "Fourth Leg" of "experience". This understanding is highly dependent on the work of Friedrich Schleiermacher.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: A public example of this struggle between different Christian positions in the church has been the 2003 consecration of Gene Robinson, an openly gay man living with a long-term partner. The acceptance/rejection of his consecration is motivated by different views on the understanding of scripture. This struggle has some members concerned that the church may not continue its relationship with the larger Anglican Church. Others, however, view this pluralism as an asset, allowing a place for both sides to balance each other.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: Comedian and Episcopalian Robin Williams once described the Episcopal faith (and, in a performance in London, specifically the Church of England) as "Catholic Lite – same rituals, half the guilt".


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: In 1991, the church's general convention recommended parity in pay and benefits between clergy and lay employees in equivalent positions.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: Several times between 1979 and 2003, the convention expressed concern over affordable housing and supported work to provide affordable housing.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: In 1982 and 1997, the convention reaffirmed the church's commitment to eradicating poverty and malnutrition, and challenged parishes to increase ministries to the poor.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: In 2003, the convention urged U.S. legislators to raise the national minimum wage, and to establish a living wage with health benefits as the national standard.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: The Episcopal Church opposes laws in society which discriminate against individuals because of their sex, sexual orientation, or gender expression. The Episcopal Church enforces this policy of non-discrimination; women are ordained to all levels of ministry and church leadership. The church maintains an anti-sexism taskforce.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: The Episcopal Church affirms that marriage is the historic Christian standard for sexual intimacy between two people but does encourage clergy and laity to maintain ministry and dialogue with "the growing number of persons entering into sexually intimate relationships other than marriage."


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: At its 2015 triennial general convention, the church adopted "canonical and liturgical changes to provide marriage equality for Episcopalians". The "two new marriage rites" contain language that allows "them to be used by same-sex or opposite-sex couples". The blessing of same-sex relationships is not uniform throughout the Episcopal Church. Following the 2015 general convention, bishops were able to determine whether churches and priests within their dioceses were permitted to use the new liturgies. Bishops who did not permit their use were to connect same-sex couples to a diocese where the liturgies were allowed. However, following the 2018 general convention, resolution B012 was amended to "make provision for all couples asking to be married in this church to have access to these liturgies". This effectively granted all churches and clergy, with or without the support of their bishop, the ability to perform same-sex marriages. They may, however, refuse to do so. The church also opposes any state or federal constitutional amendments designed to prohibit the marriages of same-sex couples.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: In 1861, John Henry Hopkins wrote a pamphlet entitled, "A Scriptural, Ecclesiastical, and Historical View of Slavery", attempting to give a view of slavery from his interpretation of the New Testament: he argued that slavery was not a sin per se. Rather, Hopkins argued that slavery was an institution that was objectionable and should be abrogated by agreement, not by war. "Bishop Hopkins' Letter on Slavery Ripped Up and his Misuse of the Sacred Scriptures Exposed", written by G.W. Hyer in 1863, opposed the points mentioned in Hopkins' pamphlet and revealed a startling divide in the Episcopal Church, as in other American churches, over the issue of slavery. It was not, however, strong enough to split the church into Northern and Southern wings even after the war, as many other denominations did. And though the church did divide into two wings during the war, Hopkins was active in re-uniting them in 1865.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: The Social Gospel movement within American Christianity was a mainstay of racial justice and reconciliation activism amongst Episcopal clergy and laity alike throughout in the nineteenth and early to mid-twentieth century, it stressed a view of sin as being "more than individual" and "to be the consequence of forces of evil in human society so that salvation must involve the redemption of the social order as well as the redemption of the individual."


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: In 1991, the General Convention declared "the practice of racism is sin", and in 2006, a unanimous House of Bishops endorsed Resolution A123 apologizing for complicity in the institution of slavery, and silence over "Jim Crow" laws, segregation, and racial discrimination. In 2018, following the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry said that "the stain of bigotry has once again covered our land" and called on Episcopalians to choose "organized love intent on creating God's beloved community on Earth" rather than hate.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: In April 2021, the Episcopal Church released the findings of a Racial Justice audit after three years of study, it cited nine areas of needed improvement within the church regarding systemic racism.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: The Episcopal Church affirms that human life is sacred "from inception until death" and opposes elective abortion. As such, the Episcopal Church condemns the use of abortion as a method of birth control, gender selection, family planning, or for "any reason of convenience". The Church acknowledges the right of women to choose to undergo the procedure "only in extreme situations". It has stated that laws prohibiting abortions fail to address the social conditions which give rise to them. The 1994 resolution establishing the Episcopal Church's position gave "unequivocal opposition to any legislative, executive or judicial action on the part of local, state or national governments that abridges the right of a woman to reach an informed decision about the termination of pregnancy or that would limit the access of a woman to safe means of acting on her decision." In 2022, the 80th General Convention of the Episcopal Church approved a resolution calling for the protection of "abortion services and birth control with no restriction on movement, autonomy, type, or timing."


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: The Episcopal Church disapproves of assisted suicide and other forms of euthanasia, but does teach that it is permissible to withdraw medical treatment, such as artificial nutrition and hydration, when the burden of such treatment outweighs its benefits to an individual.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: The Episcopal Church accepts the empirical findings of biology and does not consider the theory of evolution to be in conflict with its understanding of Holy Scripture in light of reason. In 1982, the Episcopal Church passed a resolution to “affirm its belief in the glorious ability of God to create in any manner, and in this affirmation reject the rigid dogmatism of the ‘Creationist’ movement.” The church has also expressed skepticism toward the intelligent design movement.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: Holding that human life is sacred, the Episcopal Church is opposed to capital punishment. At the 1958 General Convention, Episcopal bishops issued a public statement against the death penalty, a position which has since been reaffirmed.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: The Episcopal Church website's Creation Care Glossary of Terms defines climate change as a "crisis" consisting of "severe problems that arise as human activity increases the level of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere, and the world’s average global temperature soars," a statement which places the church's stance on climate change in line with global scientific consensus on the matter. According to the church's website glossary, the climate crisis is one of "triple urgency" resulting from "the intersection of climate change, poverty and inequality, and biodiversity loss." The church's range of advocacy areas with respect to the environment include public support for net carbon neutrality, environmental justice, opposition to environmental racism, support for renewable energy and for setting and meeting sustainability goals, and support for workers, communities, and economies as they undergo a "just transition" toward eco-friendly policies.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: The Episcopal Church "recognizes no claim of theological or religious exemption from vaccination for our members and reiterates the spirit of General Convention policies that Episcopalians should seek the counsel of experienced medical professionals, scientific research, and epidemiological evidence," while similarly condemning the "spreading of fraudulent research that suggested vaccines might cause harm." In a similar vein, the church has expressed "grave concern and sorrow for the recent rise in easily preventable diseases due to anti-vaccination movements which have harmed thousands of children and adults."


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: The Episcopal Church has endorsed stronger government mandates for vaccinations and has characterized the choice to be inoculated as "a duty not only to our own selves and families but to our communities," while describing the choice to not vaccinate, when it is medically safe to do so, as a decision which "threatens the lives of others."


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: The Society for the Increase of the Ministry (SIM) is the only organization raising funds on a national basis for Episcopal seminarian support. SIM's founding purpose in 1857 – "to find suitable persons for the Episcopal ministry and aid them in acquiring a thorough education". SIM has awarded scholarships to qualified full-time seminary students.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: Episcopal Relief & Development is the international relief and development agency of the Episcopal Church of the United States. It helps to rebuild after disasters and aims to empower people by offering lasting solutions that fight poverty, hunger and disease. Episcopal Relief and Development programs focus on alleviating hunger, improving food supply, creating economic opportunities, strengthening communities, promoting health, fighting disease, responding to disasters, and rebuilding communities.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: There are about 60 trust funds administered by the Episcopal Church which offer scholarships to young people affiliated with the church. Qualifying considerations often relate to historical missionary work of the church among American Indians and African-Americans, as well as work in China and other foreign missions. There are special programs for both American Indians and African-Americans interested in training for the ministry.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: There are three historical societies of American Episcopalianism: Historical Society of the Episcopal Church, the National Episcopal Historians and Archivists (NEHA), and the Episcopal Women's History Project.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: Church Publishing Incorporated (Church Publishing Inc., CPI) began as the Church Hymnal Corporation in 1918, dedicated initially to publishing a single work, "The Hymnal" 1918, which still remains in print. It is the official publisher for the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the United States. Imprints include Church Publishing, Morehouse Publishing (independently founded in 1884) and Seabury Books (the "trade" imprint).


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: Under the leadership of Lutheran bishop Jesper Swedberg, parishes in colonial America that belonged to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Sweden established ecumenical dialogue that resulted in altar and pulpit fellowship with the Episcopal Church in the 1700s, which led to a merger of all of the Swedish Lutheran churches there into the Episcopal Church by 1846. The Episcopal Church entered into a full communion agreement with the Church of Sweden at its General Convention in Salt Lake City on June 28, 2015.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: Like the other churches of the Anglican Communion, the Episcopal Church has entered into full communion with the Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht, the Philippine Independent Church, and the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar. The Episcopal Church is also in a relationship of full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Northern and Southern Provinces of the Moravian Church in America.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: The Episcopal Church maintains ecumenical dialogues with the United Methodist Church and the Moravian Church in America, and participates in pan-Anglican dialogues with the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and the Roman Catholic Church. In 2006 a relation of interim Eucharistic sharing was inaugurated with the United Methodist Church, a step that may ultimately lead to full communion.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: Historically Anglican churches have had strong ecumenical ties with the Eastern Orthodox Churches, and the Episcopal Church particularly with the Russian Orthodox Church, but relations in more recent years have been strained by the ordination of women and the ordination of Gene Robinson to the episcopate. A former relation of full communion with the Polish National Catholic Church (once a part of the Union of Utrecht) was broken off by the PNCC in 1976 over the ordination of women.


title: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: The Episcopal Church was a founding member of the Consultation on Church Union and participates in its successor, Churches Uniting in Christ. The Episcopal Church is a founding member of the National Council of Churches, the World Council of Churches, and the new Christian Churches Together in the USA. Dioceses and parishes are frequently members of local ecumenical councils as well.


title: Acropolis of Athens

text: The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, the most famous being the Parthenon. The word "acropolis" is from the Greek words ("akron", "highest point, extremity") and ("polis", "city"). The term acropolis is generic and there are many other acropoleis in Greece. During ancient times the Acropolis of Athens was known also more properly as Cecropia, after the legendary serpent-man, Cecrops, the supposed first Athenian king.


title: Acropolis of Athens

text: While there is evidence that the hill was inhabited as far back as the fourth millennium BC, it was Pericles (c. 495–429 BC) in the fifth century BC who coordinated the construction of the buildings whose present remains are the site's most important ones, including the Parthenon, the Propylaea, the Erechtheion and the Temple of Athena Nike. The Parthenon and the other buildings were seriously damaged during the 1687 siege by the Venetians during the Morean War when gunpowder being stored in the Parthenon was hit by a Venetian bombardment and exploded.


title: Acropolis of Athens

text: The Acropolis is located on a flattish-topped rock that rises above sea level in the city of Athens, with a surface area of about . While the earliest artifacts date to the Middle Neolithic era, there have been documented habitations in Attica from the Early Neolithic period (6th millennium BC).