Episcopal Church, a popular name for the Church of England and for the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States and elsewhere. In form, the characteristic feature of Episcopacy is government by means of a body of superior clergy called bishops. They are, it is claimed, the successors in a direct and unbroken line of the twelve apostles. A bishop may be consecrated only by a bishop. This article of belief is held also by the Coptic, Armenian, Greek, and Roman Catholic churches. Bishops appear to have been recognized universally until the time of the Protestant Reformation. The Moravians of Pennsylvania maintain a form of Episcopacy, and claim also that their bishops are in an unbroken line of descent from the apostles. In England and Wales the Episcopal is the established church. It is supported by public taxation. The landholders who prefer some other form of worship are permitted to attend services of their own choice, but are not excused from paying the church rates assessed against them. In this respect the system has points of resemblance to our system of raising funds for common schools. There are about 15,000,000 adherents of the Established Church in England and Wales--about half of the population. In local matters, such as paying expenses, providing a church building, and the like, each church is governed by its own vestry of ratepayers. The form of worship and all spiritual matters are subject to the direction of the bishop. There are two archbishops and twenty-nine bishops. All but four have seats in the House of Lords. A bishop's assistant is called a dean. In case the income of the parish is large it is not infrequently assigned to some religious order or to some layman whom the government desires to favor, while the pastorate is filled by an appointment at a salary. This possible arrangement has been the subject of fierce discussion, and is one of the reasons for the great number of dissenters who have left the Church of England. In case the pastor receives the entire revenue raised for the purpose, he is called a rector. A clergyman serving on salary paid by the institution or person holding the living is called, by way of distinction, a vicar. An assistant to a rector or vicar, or one in a charge of an outlying chapel in a large or populous parish, is called a curate. In matters of theological belief the Episcopalians are staunch Trinitarians and upholders of two sacraments: baptism and the Lord's Supper. Nevertheless, there is considerable diversity of opinion. The wing of the church that exalts the prerogative of the bishop and makes much of the office, that is to say, the section of the church nearest Catholicism, is called High Church, the opposite wing is known as Low Church. Those who lean toward Unitarianism and similar unorthodox beliefs are said to be Broad Church in tendency. So far as known, the first Church of England service in the New World was held on the coast of California in 1579 by the chaplain of the flagship of Sir Francis Drake. The first congregation was established at Jamestown in 1607. There are now about 5,000 clergymen and 3,000,000 adherents in the United States. The Episcopal form of worship is prominent in Canada, Australia, the cities of India, and wherever else the British flag is seen.