The Maryland vote that turned “God Save the King” to “We the People”

Anglican Churches’ Revolutionary War Transformation into Episcopal Church

When the American Revolution broke out, Anglican churches faced a tough choice: king or country?

Their priests had sworn to the Crown, and their prayer books asked God to help the king beat his foes – who were now American troops. In Maryland, church leaders voted to cut all royal prayers by May 1776.

Still, more than half of all Anglican priests quit or ran back to England. Virginia lost 65 parishes, while Georgia kept just one.

From this mess came a new church. By 1789, nine states met in Philadelphia to form the Protestant Episcopal Church with its own rules and prayer book.

Today, Immanuel Episcopal Church in Delaware stands as a living link to this painful birth of America’s first break from the Church of England.

Anglican Priests Faced an Impossible Choice Between King and Country

When the Revolutionary War broke out in 1776, Anglican priests found themselves in a tough spot. They had sworn loyalty to the King of England, and their prayer books asked God to help the King beat “all his enemies.”

As fighting spread, those enemies became American soldiers – often the neighbors and family members of people in their churches.

Many churchgoers felt stuck between their religious traditions and their growing support for independence.

Prayer Books Got Revolutionary Makeovers Across the Colonies

Anglican leaders in Maryland took action on May 25, 1776, voting to remove all prayers for the King from their prayer books. Church members crossed out these prayers or glued paper over them.

After July 4, several states made praying for King George an act of treason. Southern clergy who once backed the crown quickly found ways to justify switching sides.

Many ministers changed their prayers to support “all Christian rulers” instead of naming the King directly.

Half the Anglican Ministers Abandoned Their Churches Rather Than Break Royal Oaths

The war hit Anglican churches harder than any other religious group in America.

Over half of all Anglican priests left their churches empty rather than break their oath to King George. Many ran to England or Canada, while others stayed but stopped holding services.

Virginia lost most of its ministers, with only 42 of 107 parishes keeping active priests through the war. Georgia nearly lost its entire Anglican presence, with just one working church in Savannah by 1790.

Anglican Churches Lost Their Special Status and Property

Before the Revolution, the Anglican Church enjoyed special rights as the official church in several colonies. The war changed everything.

Every state where Anglicans had been the established church took away those privileges. Virginia went further, taking church properties called glebes that had supported ministers.

When peace came in 1783, about 80,000 Loyalists left America, including many Anglican families and clergy. By 1790, American Anglicans numbered only about 10,000 in a nation of four million.

Maryland Anglicans Created a New American Church Name

Church leaders in Maryland met in 1780 and first used the name “Protestant Episcopal Church.”

This smart name change kept their Episcopal tradition (meaning they had bishops) while dropping the politically risky “Church of England” label during wartime.

The word “Protestant” also showed their differences from the Catholic Church.

Similar meetings happened in other states as Anglicans tried to figure out how to be both Anglican and American.

William White Wrote the Blueprint for an American Church

Philadelphia minister William White became a key designer of the new American church. In 1782, he wrote a pamphlet called “The Case of the Episcopal Churches in the United States Considered.”

White suggested something bold: American Anglicans should elect their own bishops without waiting for English approval. He also wanted to include regular church members in church decisions, not just the clergy.

White’s ideas became the foundation for how the Episcopal Church would organize itself.

Ten Connecticut Clergy Secretly Elected America’s First Bishop

On March 25, 1783, ten Connecticut ministers met secretly in Woodbury and chose Samuel Seabury to become their bishop. Seabury sailed to England hoping English bishops would make him a proper bishop.

He hit a wall. English law stopped bishops from consecrating anyone who wouldn’t swear loyalty to the British Crown.

After a frustrating year, Seabury realized the English bishops couldn’t help him without breaking their own laws. He needed another solution.

Scottish Bishops Came to the Rescue When England Refused

Seabury found help from Scottish Episcopal bishops who worked outside the official Church of England.

These Scottish bishops were called “non-jurors” because they had refused to recognize the English kings after the Stuarts lost power.

On November 14, 1784, three Scottish bishops consecrated Seabury in Aberdeen, making him America’s first bishop. Seabury promised to study Scottish worship practices and bring some back to America.

Parliament Changed the Rules So English Bishops Could Help Americans

The English bishops saw they were losing influence in America and convinced Parliament to change the rules.

In 1786, Parliament passed the Consecration of Bishops Abroad Act, allowing bishops to skip the loyalty oath when consecrating foreigners.

This opened the door for William White of Pennsylvania and Samuel Provoost of New York to be consecrated at Lambeth Palace on February 4, 1787.

The Archbishop of Canterbury himself, along with three other bishops, performed the ceremony.

Later, James Madison became Bishop of Virginia through the same process, giving Americans a solid group of English-consecrated bishops.

American Bishops United Two Lines of Succession in a Historic Ceremony

The first bishop consecration on American soil happened in 1792 when Thomas Claggett became Bishop of Maryland.

What made this ceremony special was that Bishop White, Bishop Provoost, and Bishop Seabury all participated together.

This united the Scottish line of bishops (through Seabury) with the English line (through White and Provoost) into a single American succession.

From this point forward, American Episcopalians could make their own bishops without help from abroad. The church had achieved true independence while maintaining its ancient traditions of apostolic succession.

Philadelphia Convention Created a Church Constitution Mirroring the New Nation

Representatives from nine state dioceses gathered in Philadelphia in 1789 to officially form the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States.

They wrote a church constitution that looked a lot like the new federal government, with checks and balances between clergy and laity.

The convention created an American Book of Common Prayer that kept traditional worship but removed all mentions of British royalty.

The communion service included elements from the Scottish liturgy, fulfilling Seabury’s promise to his Scottish consecrators.

This 1789 convention marked the true birth of an independent American church that kept Anglican traditions while embracing American values.

Visiting Immanuel Episcopal Church, Delaware

Immanuel Episcopal Church at The Strand and Harmony Streets in New Castle shows how Anglican parishes survived America’s independence by becoming the Protestant Episcopal Church.

You can visit the historic cemetery at the northeast end of the Green, where Declaration of Independence signer George Read is buried.

The parish office is open weekday mornings from 9am to 2pm, and you can get a cemetery map from the New Castle Historical Society at the old Arsenal.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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