The Episcopal Church And Mary With Some Other Questions?

Isilwen said:

Does the Episcopal church venerate Mary like the Catholic church does? Do they say the Hail Mary?

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Generally speaking, no. You realize that there is more variation among Episcopalians than would be found in other denominations, so it is possible to find such people.

Does the Episcopal church have one on one confession? Does it give out penance?

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Private confession is not the rule, there is no stipulated format for having it, so there are no "say five Hail Marys" for penance in the Roman Catholic manner.

There is a general confession said, with absolution following, during the worship service itself.

Private confession is permitted for those people who cannot find consolation without confessing to a priest individually, but that is an exception and not meant to be routine. It's more like counseling and is not considered a sacrament. But again, you can find some "Anglo-Catholic" parishes....

There is a form in the Book of Common Prayer for private confession: The Reconciliation of a Penitent . I agree with Albion, though, that private confession is much less frequently used among Anglicans than it is among Catholics. My former rector used to remind us of the option at the beginning of Lent each year, with the summary "All may, some should, none must" (which actually describes many aspects of Anglican spirituality!): Private confession is an option available to everyone, and it is helpful to some people, but it is not mandatory for anyone.

Isilwen said:

Does the Episcopal church venerate Mary like the Catholic church does? Do they say the Hail Mary?

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I attend an Anglo-Catholic Episcopal parish. You may hear the Hail Mary prayed there, but sparingly so. I believe it is probably dependent upon the nature of the parish. The less Anglo-Catholic leanings a parish has, I suspect odds of hearing the Hail Mary diminishes.

Isilwen said:

Does the Episcopal church have one on one confession? Does it give out penance?

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Our liturgies contain a public confession prayed corporately with absolution. Our priest is available for private confession. Some avail themselves of it, but I have not. I can't answer about penance, but I highly doubt it.

When I was being taught to hear confessions, I was told to always, always give a penance.

That said, I try to make the penance something that will actually be helpful to the penitent.

Well, let's say someone is in an unhealthy marriage and they come and confess particular things to do with that. I might set as penance something which (I hope) will equip them to better understand how to build a healthy marriage, and enable them to do better.

Isilwen said:

Does the Episcopal church have one on one confession? Does it give out penance?

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Yes, there is a form (two, actually) for private or auricular confession in the BCP 1979. It is not in common use in most places, as others have mentioned. Following Albion's post, however, I find it more like confession in the Roman Catholic Church than like "counseling", although there is usually some counsel provided. It is formalized and follows a fixed ritual. The only difference from the RCC is that Episcopal Churches rarely have confessionals and so it is normally done sitting in the church or in an office. According to the BCP: "Before giving absolution, the priest may assign to the penitent a psalm, prayer, or hymn to be said, or something to be done, as a sign of penitence and act of thanksgiving." As Paidiske mentioned, this is intended to be something which is spiritually or practically helpful and not as punishment.

The question about whether it is a sacrament depends entirely on one's perspective. The Episcopal Church teaches that Baptism and Eucharist are the two sacraments ordained by Christ. The other five are called "sacramental rites". There is no consensus on whether that means there are two sacraments or seven. I believe the latter myself.

Plenty of people (although definitely a distinct minority of Episcopalians) make it a regular part of their spiritual practice. Our former Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold wrote this a few years ago, which I think sums up the reasons perfectly:
The classical Anglican position regarding “making one’s confession” in the presence of a priest is, “All may, some should, none must.” For many, the forms of corporate confession of sin – such as the General Confession – that occur in the public rites of the church are sufficient. For others, and I include myself, it is all too easy…to murmur the familiar penitential phrases along with the rest of the congregation without any real sense of personal sinfulness or, for that matter, of God’s healing and reconciling mercy and forgiveness proffered through the words of the absolution.

Isilwen said:

I think once a year I will probably ask to see a priest for confession one on one.

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That is typically my practice, as well. I usually ask one of the priests at the monastery to hear my confession when I go on retreat there. I would probably prefer slightly more frequent confessions but as a priest, I get kinda weirded out by the idea of a colleague as my confessor and thus prefer to go hundreds of miles away.

Deegie said:

Yes, there is a form (two, actually) for private or auricular confession in the BCP 1979. It is not in common use in most places, as others have mentioned. Following Albion's post, however, I find it more like confession in the Roman Catholic Church than like "counseling", although there is usually some counsel provided. It is formalized and follows a fixed ritual. The only difference from the RCC is that Episcopal Churches rarely have confessionals and so it is normally done sitting in the church or in an office. According to the BCP: "Before giving absolution, the priest may assign to the penitent a psalm, prayer, or hymn to be said, or something to be done, as a sign of penitence and act of thanksgiving." As Paidiske mentioned, this is intended to be something which is spiritually or practically helpful and not as punishment.

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I think you've essentially described counseling albeit with an absolution of sins.

That aside--and because it has come up several times--I should correct something I wrote earlier. I was unintentionally thinking of the historic Book of Common Prayer when I said that there is no special form for private confessions. When The Episcopal Church came out with its controversial 1979 book it did create a form for private confessions.

My apologies for this slip-up.

I would not say that the rite of reconciliation of a penitent is "counselling with an absolution of sins." The whole rite has a spiritual focus, and is about the relationship between the penitent and Christ (and Christ's church). Counselling typically has no such dimension, and has a focus on the client and their felt needs.

Paidiske said:

I would not say that the rite of reconciliation of a penitent is "counselling with an absolution of sins." The whole rite has a spiritual focus, and is about the relationship between the penitent and Christ (and Christ's church). Counselling typically has no such dimension, and has a focus on the client and their felt needs.

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Yes, I have confessed to an Anglican priest - one on one and there was no counseling at all. The priest only gave absolution.

Isilwen said:

Does the Episcopal church venerate Mary like the Catholic church does? Do they say the Hail Mary?

Does the Episcopal church have one on one confession? Does it give out penance?

Just some questions I have been thinking of.

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The replies here are good. In my own experience, I do have a clergy person and know other Episcopalians who venerate Mary and say the Hail Mary. Most of my priests have either venerated and called upon saints or else supported the notion, and that is how I was taught before baptism, although it was never implied that I HAD to do these things.

Regarding private confession, I only go on occasion, usually in Advent or Lent. I've confessed in churches, offices, face to face, side by side, and through a screen.

I've usually been given counsel. Sometimes I have received penance, sometimes not. The penance usually involved reading a passage of scripture and reflecting, not reciting Our Fathers or other prayers.

One of the possible readings of the BCP that the St. Bede Breviary allows you to toggle for Morning and Evening Prayer includes an Angelus fore-office and closes with the Salve Regina. I have an EO background and never discarded the Marian devotion, so it fits the cut of my gib.


The ECUSA's 2018 Book of Occasional Services also has a service for Our Lady of Guadalupe, though you'll notice a scarcity of prayers directed to her. And that's what you'll find in the prayer book; she and other saints get mention and veneration, but it's a sort of sideways look that doesn't quite equate to head-on veneration like you'll find in Rome or the Christian East.

It's a big tent faith, though, so you can just add your own private devotions and no one is going to care.