How Is the Episcopal Church Structured?
Many decisions in the Episcopal Church are made by a system of elections done by people elected to represent others. The leadership of the church is organized in a way that comes from our tradition. This is one bishop who is the leader of the whole Episcopal Church. This Presiding Bishop leads and serves the church. S/he does not command the church. There are bishops who lead the dioceses of the church. (A diocese is a geographical area, like a state of a county.) Each diocese has at least one bishop. A diocese has many member churches. They are called parishes or missions. The priest who leads a parish is called the rector; a priest who leads a mission is called the vicar. The council of people who make decisions for a parish is called the vestry. With the rector, these people take care of the business of the church. Each diocese has a convention that does the business of the diocese. The clergy and other elected church members made decisions at these conventions. Every three years, t
