document_title: Calendar (New Style) Act 1750

question_text: when did england switch to the gregorian calendar

text: Calendar (New Style) Act 1750

text: Reasons for change[edit]

text: The Parliament held that the Julian calendar then in use, and the start of the year on 25 March, were

text:
“
attended with divers inconveniences, not only as it differs from the usage of neighbouring nations, but also from the legal method of computation in Scotland, and from the common usage throughout the whole kingdom, and thereby frequent mistakes are occasioned in the dates of deeds and other writings, and disputes arise therefrom.[1]
”

text: Great Britain and the British Colonies[edit]

text: In England and Wales, the legal year 1751 was a short year of 282 days, running from 25 March to 31 December. 1752 began on 1 January. To align the calendar in use in England to that on the continent, the Gregorian calendar was adopted: and the calendar was advanced by 11 days: Wednesday 2 September 1752 was followed by Thursday 14 September 1752.[c] The year 1752 was thus a short year (355 days) as well.

text: As well as adopting the Gregorian rule for leap years, Pope Gregory's rules for the date of Easter were also adopted. However, with religious strife still on their minds, the British could not bring themselves to adopt the Catholic system explicitly: the Annexe to the Act established a computation for the date of Easter that achieved the same result as Gregory's rules, without actually referring to him.[2] The algorithm, set out in the Book of Common Prayer as required by the Act, includes calculation of the Golden Number and the Sunday Letter, which (in the Easter section of the Book) were presumed to be already known. The Annexe to the Act includes the definition: "Easter-day (on which the rest depend) is always the first Sunday after the Full Moon, which happens upon, or next after the Twenty-first Day of March. And if the Full Moon happens upon a Sunday, Easter-day is the Sunday after." The Annexe subsequently uses the terms "Paschal Full Moon" and "Ecclesiastical Full Moon", making it clear that they only approximate to the real Full Moon.[3]

text: Scotland[edit]

text: Scotland had already partly made the change: its calendar year had begun on 1 January since 1600.[4] The remainder of the act applied equally to Scotland, a part of the Kingdom of Great Britain since the Acts of Union 1707.

text: Ireland[edit]

text: At the time Ireland was an Independent kingdom in a personal union with the Crown of Great Britain. So that the calendar in Ireland would remain harmonised with Great Britain, the Parliament of Ireland passed similarly worded legislation as the "Calendar (New Style) Act, 1750".[5]

text: Reaction and effect[edit]

text: Some history books say that some people rioted after the calendar change, asking that their "eleven days" be returned. However this is very likely a myth, based on only two primary sources: The World, a satirical journal of Lord Chesterfield; and a painting by William Hogarth.[6]

text: Chesterfield was behind the Act. He wrote to his son, "Every numerous assembly is a mob, let the individuals who compose it be what they will. Mere sense is never to be talked to a mob; their passions, their sentiments, their senses and their seeming interests alone are to be applied to. Understanding have they collectively none." Here, he was boasting of his skill in having the Bill passed through the Lords; the 'mob' in question was his fellow peers.[citation needed]

text: When the son of the Earl of Macclesfield (who had been influential in passing the Act) stood for Parliament in Oxfordshire as a Whig in 1754, dissatisfaction with the calendar reform was one of a number of issues raised by his Tory opponents. In 1755, William Hogarth produced a painting (and an engraved print from the painting) loosely based on these elections, entitled An Election Entertainment, which shows a placard carrying the slogan "Give us our Eleven Days" (on floor at lower right). An example of the resulting incorrect history is by Ronald Paulson, author of Hogarth, His Life, Art and Times, who wrote that "...the Oxfordshire people...are specifically rioting, as historically the London crowd did, to preserve the 'Eleven Days' the government stole from them in September 1752 by changing the calendar".[6]

text: Thus the "calendar riot" fiction was born. The election campaign depicted concluded in 1754, after a very lengthy contest between Court Whigs and Jacobite Tories. Every issue between the two factions was brought up, including the question of calendar reform. The Tories attacked the Whigs for every deviation, including their alleged favouritism towards foreign Jews and the "Popish" calendar. Hogarth's placard, part of a satire on the character of the debate, was not an observation of actual crowd behaviour.[6]

text: There were, however, legitimate concerns about tax and other payments under the new calendar. Provision 6 (Times of Payment of Rents, Annuities) of the Act stipulated that monthly or yearly payments would not become due until the dates that they originally would have in the Julian calendar, or in the words of the Act "[Times of Payment of Rents, Annuities] at and upon the same respective natural days and times as the same should and ought to have been payable or made or would have happened in case this Act had not been made".[1]

text: Several theories have been proposed for the odd beginning of the British tax year on 6 April.[7] One is that from 1753 until 1799, the tax year began on 5 April, which corresponded to 25 March Old Style. After the twelfth skipped Julian leap day in 1800, it was changed to 6 April, which still corresponded to 25 March Old Style. However it was not changed when a thirteenth Julian leap day was skipped in 1900, so the tax year in the United Kingdom still begins on 6 April.[8][9] However Poole thought that quarter days, such as Lady Day on 25 March, marked the end of the quarters of the financial year.[10] Thus, although 25 March Old Style marked the beginning of the civil year, the next day, 26 March Old Style was until 1752 the beginning of the tax year. After removing eleven days in 1752, this corresponded to 6 April New Style, where it remains today. Although Poole's theory is supported by one dictionary,[11] the Oxford English Dictionary as well as other sources state that quarter days mark the beginning of their respective quarters.[d][12]

text: In Appalachia, some Scots-Irish settlers resisted the changeover mandated by the Calendar Act by continuing to celebrate Christmas on January 6 (N.S.), referring to the day as Old Christmas.[13]

text: Notes[edit]

text:
Jump up ^ Scotland had changed to a 1 January start in 1600.
Jump up ^ The Act makes no reference to Gregory, since to do so might imply recognition of Papal primacy. It acknowledges the inconvenience of having a differing system from neighbouring countries and recognises the error in the Julian calendar. It defined a calendar identical to the Gregorian system, from first principles.
Jump up ^ "An unusual calendar is printed for September 1752. That is the month 11 days were skipped to make up for lack of leap year adjustments" (Solaris manual and Cal (Unix)#Features).
Jump up ^ "Each of the four days fixed by custom as marking off the quarters of the year, ... the payment of rent and other quarterly charges fall due, ... In England ... the quarter days are traditionally Lady Day (March 25),..." Oxford English Dictionary quarter day, n.

text:
^ Jump up to: a b Text of the Calendar (New Style) Act 1750 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk
Jump up ^ 24 Geo. II Ch. 23, § 3.
Jump up ^ 24 Geo. II Ch. 23, Annexe.
Jump up ^ Bond 1875, See footnote on pages xvii–xviii: original text of the Scottish decree.
Jump up ^ Parliament of Ireland 1750.
^ Jump up to: a b c Poole 1995; Steel 2000, p. 249
Jump up ^ HMRC 2008.
Jump up ^ Philip 1921, p. 24.
Jump up ^ Legislation.gov.uk 2017.
Jump up ^ Poole 1995, note 77.
Jump up ^ Webster's Dictionary 1913.
Jump up ^ Frecknall-Hughes 2016.
Jump up ^ Blair 2013.


document_title: Kingdom of Aksum

question_text: the main port of axum was the red sea city of

root

text: Kingdom of Aksum

text: Historical records[edit]

text: Aksum is mentioned in the 1st-century AD Periplus of the Erythraean Sea as an important market place for ivory, which was exported throughout the ancient world. It states that the ruler of Aksum in the 1st century AD was Zoskales, who, besides ruling the kingdom, likewise controlled land near the Red Sea: Adulis(near Massawa) and lands through the highlands of present-day Eritrea. He is also said to have been familiar with Greek literature.[11]

tag: p

text: History[edit]

text: Origins[edit]

text: Largely on the basis of Carlo Conti Rossini's theories and prolific work on Ethiopian history, Aksum was previously thought to have been founded by Sabaeans, who spoke a language from the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic family. Evidence suggests that Semitic-speaking Aksumites and semiticized Agaw peoples, who originally spoke other Afro-Asiatic languages from the family's Cushitic branch, had already established an independent civilisation in the territory before the arrival of the Sabaeans.[8][a][12]

text: Scholars like Stuart Munro-Hay thus point to the existence of an older D'mt or Da'amot kingdom, which flourished in the area between the 10th and 5th centuries BC, prior to the proposed Sabaean migration of the 4th or 5th century BC. They also cite evidence indicating that the Sabaean settlers resided in the region for little more than a few decades.[8] Furthermore, Ge'ez, the ancient Semitic language of Eritrea and Ethiopia, is now known to have not derived from Sabaean, and there is evidence of an Ethiopian Semitic-speaking presence in Eritrea and Ethiopia at least as early as 2000 BC.[8][13]

text: Sabaean influence is now thought to have been minor, limited to a few localities, and disappearing after a few decades or a century, perhaps representing a trading or military colony in some sort of symbiosis or military alliance with the civilization of D'mt or some proto-Aksumite state.[8] Kitchen et al. (2009) argue that the Ethiosemitic languages were brought to the Ethiopian and Eritrean plateau from the Arabian peninsula around 2850 years ago, an introduction that Ehret (1988) suggests was associated with the establishment of some of the first local complex societies.[14] This position is not widely supported by the academic community.[citation needed]

text: Over 95% of Aksum remains unexplored beneath the modern city and its surrounding area.

text: Empire[edit]

text: The Kingdom of Aksum was a trading empire centered in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia.[15] It existed from approximately 100–940 AD, growing from the proto-Aksumite Iron Age period c. 4th century BC to achieve prominence by the 1st century AD.

text: According to the Book of Aksum, Aksum's first capital, Mazaber, was built by Itiyopis, son of Cush.[16] The capital was later moved to Aksum in northern Ethiopia. The Kingdom used the name "Ethiopia" as early as the 4th century.[8][17]

text: The Empire of Aksum at its height at times extended across most of present-day Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, Egypt, Yemen and Saudi Arabia. The capital city of the empire was Aksum, now in northern Ethiopia. Today a smaller community, the city of Aksum was once a bustling metropolis, cultural and economic center. Two hills and two streams lie on the east and west expanses of the city; perhaps providing the initial impetus for settling this area. Along the hills and plain outside the city, the Aksumites had cemeteries with elaborate grave stones called stelae, or obelisks. Other important cities included Yeha, Hawulti-Melazo, Matara, Adulis, and Qohaito, the last three of which are now in Eritrea. By the reign of Endubis in the late 3rd century, it had begun minting its own currency and was named by Mani as one of the four great powers of his time along with Persia, Rome, and China. The Aksumite Kingdom adopted Christianity as its state religion in 325 or 328 under King Ezana, and was the first state ever to use the image of the cross on its coins.[18][19]

text: Around 520, the King Kaleb sent an expedition to Yemen against the Jewish Himyarite King Dhu Nuwas, who was persecuting the Christian/Aksumite community in his kingdom. Dhu Nuwas was deposed and killed and Kaleb appointed a Christian Himyarite, Sumuafa Ashawa (Esimiphaios), as his viceroy. However, around 525 this viceroy was deposed by the Aksumite general Abreha with support of Ethiopians who had settled in Yemen, and withheld tribute to Kaleb. When Kaleb sent another expedition against Abreha this force defected, killing their commander, and joining Abreha. Another expedition sent against them was defeated, leaving Yemen under Abreha's rule, where he continued to promote the Christian faith until his death, not long after which Yemen was conquered by the Persians. According to Munro-Hay these wars may have been Aksum's swan-song as a great power, with an overall weakening of Aksumite authority and over-expenditure in money and manpower. According to Ethiopian traditions, Kaleb eventually abdicated and retired to a monastery. It is also possible that Ethiopia was affected by the Plague of Justinian around this time.[8]

text: Aksum remained a strong, though weakened, empire and trading power until the rise of Islam in the 7th century. However, unlike the relations between the Islamic powers and Christian Europe, Aksum (see Sahama), which provided shelter to Muhammad's early followers around 615, was on good terms with its Islamic neighbors.[20][21] Nevertheless, as early as 640, Umar ibn al-Khattāb sent a naval expedition against Adulis under Alkama bin Mujazziz, but it was eventually defeated.[22] Aksumite naval power also declined throughout the period, though in 702 Aksumite pirates were able to invade the Hejaz and occupy Jeddah. In retaliation, however, Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik was able to take the Dahlak Archipelago from Aksum, which became Muslim from that point on, though it later recovered in the 9th century and became a vassal to the Emperor of Ethiopia.[23]

text: Decline[edit]

text: Eventually, the Islamic Empire took control of the Red Sea and most of the Nile, pushing Aksum into economic isolation. Northwest of Aksum, in modern-day Sudan, the Christian states of Makuria and Alodia lasted till the 13th century before becoming Islamic. Aksum, isolated, nonetheless still remained Christian.[8]

text: After a second golden age in the early 6th century, the empire began to decline, eventually ceasing its production of coins in the early 7th century. Around this same time, the Aksumite population was forced to go farther inland to the highlands for protection, abandoning Aksum as the capital. Arab writers of the time continued to describe Ethiopia (no longer referred to as Aksum) as an extensive and powerful state, though they had lost control of most of the coast and their tributaries. While land was lost in the north, it was gained in the south; and, though Ethiopia was no longer an economic power, it still attracted Arab merchants. The capital was moved to a new location, currently unknown, though it may have been called Ku'bar or Jarmi.[8]

text: Local history holds that, around 960, a Jewish Queen named Yodit (Judith) or "Gudit" defeated the empire and burned its churches and literature. While there is evidence of churches being burned and an invasion around this time, her existence has been questioned by some modern authors. Another possibility is that the Aksumite power was ended by a southern pagan queen named Bani al-Hamwiyah, possibly of the tribe al-Damutah or Damoti (Sidama). It is clear from contemporary sources that a female usurper did indeed rule the country at this time, and that her reign ended some time before 1003. After a short Dark Age, the Aksumite Empire was succeeded by the Agaw Zagwe dynasty in the 11th or 12th century (most likely around 1137), although limited in size and scope. However, Yekuno Amlak, who killed the last Zagwe king and founded the modern Solomonic dynasty around 1270 traced his ancestry and his right to rule from the last emperor of Aksum, Dil Na'od. It should be mentioned that the end of the Aksumite Empire didn't mean the end of Aksumite culture and traditions; for example, the architecture of the Zagwe dynasty at Lalibela and Yemrehana Krestos Church shows heavy Aksumite influence.[8]

text: Other reasons for the decline are more scientific in nature. Climate change and trade isolation are probably also large reasons for the decline of the culture. The local subsistence base was substantially augmented by a climatic shift during the 1st century AD that reinforced the spring rains, extended the rainy season from 3 1/2 to six or seven months, vastly improved the surface and subsurface water supply, doubled the length of the growing season, and created an environment comparable to that of modern central Ethiopia-where two crops can be grown per annum without the aid of irrigation. This appears to explain how one of the marginal agricultural environments of Ethiopia was able to support the demographic base that made this far flung commercial empire possible. It may also explain why no Aksumite rural settlement expansion into the moister, more fertile, and naturally productive lands of Begemder or Lasta can be verified during the heyday of Aksumite power. As international profits from the exchange network declined, Aksum lost its ability to control its own raw material sources and that network collapsed. The already persistent environmental pressure of a large population to maintain a high level of regional food production had to be intensified. The result was a wave of soil erosion that began on a local scale c. 650 and attained catastrophic proportions after 700. Presumably complex socio-economic inputs compounded the problem. These are traditionally reflected in declining maintenance, deterioration and partial abandonment of marginal crop land, shifts to destructive pastoral exploitation, and eventual, wholesale and irreversible land degradation. This syndrome was possibly accelerated by an apparent decline in rainfall reliability beginning 730-760, with the presumed result that an abbreviated modern growing season was reestablished during the 9th century.[24]

text: Foreign relations, trade, and economy[edit]

text: Covering parts of what is now northern Ethiopia and southern and eastern Eritrea, Aksum was deeply involved in the trade network between India and the Mediterranean (Rome, later Byzantium), exporting ivory, tortoise shell, gold and emeralds, and importing silk and spices.[25][26] Aksum's access to both the Red Sea and the Upper Nile enabled its strong navy to profit in trade between various African (Nubia), Arabian (Yemen), and Indian states.

text: The main exports of Aksum were, as would be expected of a state during this time, agricultural products. The land was much more fertile during the time of the Aksumites than now, and their principal crops were grains such as wheat and barley. The people of Aksum also raised cattle, sheep, and camels. Wild animals were also hunted for things such as ivory and rhinoceros horns. They traded with Roman traders as well as with Egyptian and Persian merchants. The empire was also rich with gold and iron deposits. These metals were valuable to trade, but another mineral was also widely traded: salt. Salt was abundant in Aksum and was traded quite frequently.[27][28]

text: It benefited from a major transformation of the maritime trading system that linked the Roman Empire and India. This change took place around the start of the 1st century. The older trading system involved coastal sailing and many intermediary ports. The Red Sea was of secondary importance to the Persian Gulf and overland connections to the Levant. Starting around 100 BC a route from Egypt to India was established, making use of the Red Sea and using monsoon winds to cross the Arabian Sea directly to southern India. By about 100 AD, the volume of traffic being shipped on this route had eclipsed older routes. Roman demand for goods from southern India increased dramatically, resulting in greater number of large ships sailing down the Red Sea from Roman Egypt to the Arabian Sea and India.[29][30]

text: The Kingdom of Aksum was ideally located to take advantage of the new trading situation. Adulis soon became the main port for the export of African goods, such as ivory, incense, gold, slaves, and exotic animals. In order to supply such goods the kings of Aksum worked to develop and expand an inland trading network. A rival, and much older trading network that tapped the same interior region of Africa was that of the Kingdom of Kush, which had long supplied Egypt with African goods via the Nile corridor. By the 1st century AD, however, Aksum had gained control over territory previously Kushite. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea explicitly describes how ivory collected in Kushite territory was being exported through the port of Adulis instead of being taken to Meroë, the capital of Kush. During the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD the Kingdom of Aksum continued to expand their control of the southern Red Sea basin. A caravan route to Egypt was established which bypassed the Nile corridor entirely. Aksum succeeded in becoming the principal supplier of African goods to the Roman Empire, not least as a result of the transformed Indian Ocean trading system.[31]

text: Society[edit]

text: The Aksumite population consisted of Semitic-speaking people (collectively known as Habeshas),[32][33][34] Cushitic-speaking people, and Nilo-Saharan-speaking people (the Kunama and Nara).

text: The Aksumite kings had the official title ነገሠ ፡ ነገሠተ ngś ngśt - King of Kings (later vocalization Ge'ez ንጉሠ ፡ ነገሥት nigūśa nagaśt, Modern Ethiosemitic nigūse negest).

text: Aksumites did own slaves, and a modified feudal system was in place to farm the land.[35][36]

text: Culture[edit]

text: The Empire of Aksum is notable for a number of achievements, such as its own alphabet, the Ge'ez script which was eventually modified to include vowels, becoming an abugida. Furthermore, in the early times of the empire, around 1700 years ago, giant Obelisks to mark emperors' (and nobles') tombs (underground grave chambers) were constructed, the most famous of which is the Obelisk of Aksum.

text: Under Emperor Ezana, Aksum adopted Christianity in place of its former polytheistic and Judaic religions around 325. This gave rise to the present day Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (only granted autonomy from the Coptic Church in 1953), and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church (granted autonomy from the Ethiopian Orthodox church in 1993). Since the schism with orthodoxy following the Council of Chalcedon (451), it has been an important Miaphysite church, and its scriptures and liturgy continue to be in Ge'ez.[37][38]

text: Religion[edit]

text: Before its conversion to Christianity, the Aksumites practiced a polytheistic religion related to the religion practiced in southern Arabia. This included the use of the crescent-and-disc symbol used in southern Arabia and the northern horn.[39] In the UNESCO sponsored General History of Africa French archaeologist Francis Anfray, suggests that the pagan Aksumites worshipped Astar, his son, Mahrem, and Beher.[40]

text: Steve Kaplan argues that with Aksumite culture came a major change in religion, with only Astar remaining of the old gods, the others being replaced by what he calls a "triad of indigenous divinities, Mahrem, Beher and Medr." He also suggests that Aksum culture was significantly influenced by Judaism, saying that "The first carriers of Judaism reached Ethiopia between the rise of the Aksumite kingdom at the beginning of the Common Era and conversion to Christianity of King Ezana in the fourth century." He believes that although Ethiopian tradition suggests that these were present in large numbers, that "A relatively small number of texts and individuals dwelling in the cultural, economic, and political center could have had a considerable impact." and that "their influence was diffused throughout Ethiopian culture in its formative period By the time Christianity took hold in the fourth century, many of the originally Hebraic-Jewish elements had been adopted by much of the indigenous population and were no longer viewed as foreign characteristics. Nor were they perceived as in conflict with the acceptance of Christianity."[41]

text: Before converting to Christianity King Ezana II's coins and inscriptions show that he might have worshiped the gods Astar, Beher, Meder/Medr, and Mahrem. Another of Ezana's inscriptions is clearly Christian and refers to "the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit".[42] Around 324 AD the King Ezana II was converted to Christianity by his teacher Frumentius, the founder of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.[43][44] Frumentius taught the emperor while he was young, and it is believed that at some point staged the conversion of the empire.[45][46] We know that the Aksumites converted to Christianity because in their coins they replaced the disc and crescent with the cross. Frumentius was in contact with the Church of Alexandria, and was appointed Bishop of Ethiopia around the year 330. The Church of Alexandria never closely managed the affairs of the churches in Aksum, allowing them to develop their own unique form of Christianity.[47][48] However, the Church of Alexandria probably did retain some influence considering that the churches of Aksum followed the Church of Alexandria into Oriental Orthodoxy by rejecting the Fourth Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon.[49] Aksum is also the alleged home of the holy relic the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark is said to have been placed in the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion by Menelik I for safekeeping.[50][51]

text: Ethiopian sources[edit]

text: Ethiopian sources such as the Kebra Nagast and the Fetha Nagast[52][53] describe Aksum as a Jewish Kingdom. The Kebra Nagast contains a narrative of how the Queen of Sheba/Queen Makeda of Ethiopia met King Solomon and traces Ethiopia's to Menelik I, her son by King Solomon of Israel. In its existing form the Kebra Nagast is at least 700 years old and is considered by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church to be a reliable and historic work.

text: Coinage[edit]

text: The Empire of Aksum was one of the first African polities economically and politically ambitious enough to issue its own coins,[54][55] which bore legends in Ge'ez and Greek. From the reign of Endubis up to Armah (approximately 270 to 610), gold, silver and bronze coins were minted. Issuing coinage in ancient times was an act of great importance in itself, for it proclaimed that the Aksumite Empire considered itself equal to its neighbors. Many of the coins are used as signposts about what was happening when they were minted. An example being the addition of the cross to the coin after the conversion of the empire to Christianity. The presence of coins also simplified trade, and was at once a useful instrument of propaganda and a source of profit to the empire.

text: Architecture[edit]

text: Homely architecture[edit]

text: In general, elite Aksumite buildings such as palaces were constructed atop podia built of loose stones held together with mud-mortar, with carefully cut granite corner blocks which rebated back a few centimeters at regular intervals as the wall got higher, so the walls narrowed as they rose higher. These podia are often all that survive of Aksumite ruins. Above the podia, walls were generally build with alternating layers of loose stone (often whitewashed, like at Yemrehana Krestos Church) and horizontal wooden beams, with smaller round wooden beams set in the stonework often projecting out of the walls (these are called 'monkey heads') on the exterior and sometimes the interior. Both the podia and the walls above exhibited no long straight stretches, but were indented at regular intervals so that any long walls consisted of a series of recesses and salients. This helped to strengthen the walls. Worked granite was used for architectural features including columns, bases, capitals, doors, windows, paving, water spouts (often shaped like lion heads) and so on, as well as enormous flights of stairs that often flanked the walls of palace pavilions on several sides. Doors and windows were usually framed by stone or wooden cross-members, linked at the corners by square 'monkey heads', though simple lintels were also used. Many of these Aksumite features are seen carved into the famous stelae as well as in the later rock hewn churches of Tigray and Lalibela.[8]

text: Palaces usually consisted of a central pavilion surrounded by subsidiary structures pierced by doors and gates that provided some privacy (see Dungur for an example). The largest of these structures now known is the Ta'akha Maryam, which measured 120 × 80m, though as its pavilion was smaller than others discovered it is likely that others were even larger.[8]

text: Some clay models of houses survive to give us an idea of what smaller dwellings were like. One depicts a round hut with a conical roof thatched in layers, while another depicts a rectangular house with rectangular doors and windows, a roof supported by beams that end in 'monkey heads', and a parapet and water spout on the roof. Both were found in Hawelti. Another depicts a square house with what appear to be layers of pitched thatch forming the roof.[8]

text: Stelae[edit]

text: The stelae (hawilt/hawilti in local languages) are perhaps the most identifiable part of the Aksumite architectural legacy. These stone towers served to mark graves and represent a magnificent multi-storied palace. They are decorated with false doors and windows in typical Aksumite design. The largest of these towering obelisks would measure 33 meters high had it not fallen. The Stelae have most of their mass out of the ground, but are stabilized by massive underground counter-weights. The stone was often engraved with a pattern or emblem denoting the king's or the noble's rank.[56][57]

text: In literature[edit]

text: The Aksumite Empire is portrayed as the main ally of Byzantium in the Belisarius series by David Drake and Eric Flint published by Baen Books. The series takes place during the reign of Kaleb, who in the series was assassinated by the Malwa in 532 at the Ta'akha Maryam and succeeded by his youngest son Eon bisi Dakuen.

text: In the Elizabeth Wein series The Lion Hunters, Mordred and his family take refuge in Aksum after the fall of Camelot. Kaleb is the ruler in the first book; he passes his sovereignty onto his son Gebre Meskal, who rules during the Plague of Justinian.

text: Gallery[edit]

text:
Ruins of Dungur palace in Aksum.

Reconstruction of Dungur

The largest Aksumite stele, broken where it fell.

Aksumite-era Amphora from Asmara.

The Obelisk of Aksum after being returned to Ethiopia.

Model of the Ta'akha Maryam palace.

Aksumite water-spouts in the shape of lion heads.

Aksumite jar with figural spout.

Tombs beneath the stele field.

Entrance to the Tomb Of The False Door.

The Stelae Park in Aksum.

Small stelae in the Gudit Stelae Field

Another stelae field in Aksum.

A Zagwe church at Lalibela in a clear Aksumite style.

Aksumite gold coins.

Aksum stelle and ruins

Aksum stelle in desert

tag: ul


document_title: Episcopal Church (United States)

question_text: what do you call a priest in the episcopal church

question_tokens: what do you call a priest in the episcopal church

text: Episcopal Church (United States)

text: Names[edit]

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.[8] The latter is much more commonly used.[9][10][11] 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.[12] and in French L'Église protestante épiscopale dans les États Unis d'Amérique or L'Église épiscopale.[13]

text: Until 1964, the only official name in use was "The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America". 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. A commonly 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.[14]

text: The 66th General Convention voted in 1979 to use the name "The Episcopal Church" (dropping the adjective "Protestant") in the Oath of Conformity of the Declaration for Ordination.[15] 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".[16]

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" like churches in Scotland and the Philippines, some, for example Anglicans Online, add the phrase "in the United States of America".[17]

text: A common mistake by non-Episcopalians is over the use of the words "Episcopal" (adjective) and "Episcopalian" (noun).[18] Thus, it is an Episcopal Church, and its members are called Episcopalians.

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",[8] 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".[8][19] This, however, should not be confused with the name of the church itself, as it is a distinct body relating to church governance.[8]

text: History[edit]

text: Colonial era[edit]

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 (though the Catholic and Orthodox churches do not recognize this claim).[20]

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 (c.  1639–43) is one of the oldest surviving Anglican church structures in the United States. The Jamestown church building itself is a modern reconstruction.[21]

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.[22]

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[by whom?] throughout the colonies.

text: Revolutionary era[edit]

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.[23] 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.[24] 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.

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.[24] 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.[24] In general, loyalist clergy stayed by their oaths and prayed for the king or else suspended services.[24] By the end of 1776, some Anglican churches were closing.[24] Anglican priests held services in private homes or lay readers who were not bound by the oaths held morning and evening prayer.[24] During 1775 and 1776, the Continental Congress had issued decrees ordering churches to fast and pray on behalf of the patriots.[24] Starting July 4, 1776, Congress and several states passed laws making prayers for the king and British Parliament acts of treason.[24] 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.[24] One precedent was the transfer of oaths during the Glorious Revolution in England.[24] Most of the patriot clergy in the South were able to keep their churches open and services continued.[24]

text: Early Republic era[edit]

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.

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 Scottish bishops there 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".[25][26] On August 3, 1785, the first ordinations on American soil took place at Christ Church in Middletown, Connecticut.

text: By 1786, the church had succeeded in translating episcopacy to America and in revising the Book of Common Prayer to reflect American political realities. 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.[27]

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 and Samuel Provoost. All bishops in the American Church are ordained by at least three bishops. One can trace the succession of each back to Seabury, White and Provoost. (See Succession of Bishops of the Episcopal Church.)

text: In 1789,[when?] representative clergy from nine dioceses met in Philadelphia to ratify the church's initial constitution. The Episcopal Church was formally separated from the Church of England in 1789 so that clergy would not be required to accept the supremacy of the British monarch. A revised version of the Book of Common Prayer was written for the new church that same year. 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 nonjuring Scottish orders.[24] The Episcopal Church thus became the first Anglican Province outside the British Isles.[28]

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 was elected the first bishop of Maryland. 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.[29]

text: Nineteenth century[edit]

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.[30] 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.[31] However, he was consecrated by the American Church Missionary Society, an Evangelical Episcopal branch of the Church.

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.[32]

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.[33]

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.[34]

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.

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.[35] 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.

text: Era of change (1958–1970s)[edit]

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.[36] 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.[37]

text: In 1967, Lichtenberger's successor, John Hines led the Episcopal Church to implement the General Convention Special Program (GCSP). The Special 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.[38] 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 also 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 tension between liberal and conservative constituencies in the church erupted during the Special General Convention of 1969. The convention was disrupted by black militants who demanded that the Episcopal Church hear their concerns. When white deputies objected to allowing the militants a hearing, African-American deputies walked out of the convention. 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 [39]

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.[40]

text: The first women were admitted as delegates to General Convention in 1970.[41] 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.[42][43]

text: Recent history[edit]

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."[44]

text: Revised prayer book[edit]

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 Roman Catholic Church's liturgical movement, which had been discussed at Vatican II. This version was adopted as the official prayer book in 1979 after an initial three-year trial use. Several conservative parishes, however, continued to use the 1928 version.

text: Ordination of women[edit]

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.[45] On September 7, 1975, four more women (the "Washington Four") were irregularly ordained by retired bishop George W. Barrett.[46] 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.[47]

text: At the same time, there was still tolerance for those dioceses who 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.[48]

text: In 2006, the General Convention elected Katharine Jefferts Schori as Presiding Bishop. She is the first and, currently, the only 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 recognizes the ordination of women.[49]

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.[50]

text: Affirmation of LGBT people[edit]

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.[51] 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".[52]

text: The Church elected its first openly gay bishop, Gene Robinson, in June 2003.[53] 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".[54] The news of his ordination caused such an outrage that during the ceremony, at which his long-time partner was present, Robinson was forced to wear a bullet-proof vest beneath his vestments, and he received numerous death threats following his installation as bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire as well.

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.[55]

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."[56]

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.[57]

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.[58] The current Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, expressed "deep concern" over the ruling.[59] In 2016, Anglican leaders temporarily suspended the U.S. Episcopal Church from key positions in their global fellowship in response to the Church changing its canons on marriage.[60][61]

text: Separations from the church[edit]

text: After considerable internal debate following the ordination of Bp. Gene Robinson, some members of a number of congregations and six dioceses left the Episcopal Church.[citation needed]

text: Many of those who separated themselves 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.[62]

text: Differences over social issues led to the formation of the Anglican Church in North America which has over 900 parishes.[63] Episcopal Church leaders, particularly former Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, responded by taking a firm stance against the separatists, initiating litigation against departing dioceses and parishes that has 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.[64] Litigation has largely centered around church properties, with the Episcopal leadership asserting ownership of buildings occupied by departing congregations.[65][66]

text: On October 15, 2012, the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina voted to withdraw from the Episcopal Church and become an autonomous Anglican diocese after a long period of conflict with the national leadership of the Episcopal Church. Established in 1785, the diocese was one of the nine original dioceses of the Episcopal Church. On 11 March 2017, The Diocese of South Carolina voted unanimously to affiliate with ACNA at their 226th Convention, held in Summerville. ACNA's Provincial Council voted unanimously to formally receive the Diocese of South Carolina at ACNA's Third Provincial Assembly, meeting in Wheaton, Illinois, on 27 June 2017.[67][68][69]

text: Church property disputes[edit]

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".[70]

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.[71] 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".[70]

text: After the South Carolina Diocese voted to withdraw, it sued the national Episcopal Church to retain control over its property, and in a court decision announced in February 2015, the local diocese kept $500 million worth of property including the historic Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul. Circuit Court Judge Diane Goodstein ruled that the conservative diocese and its parishes are "the owners of their real, personal and intellectual property" and that the national church has no legal interest in the properties.[72] However, this ruling was substantially overturned by the Supreme Court of South Carolina on August 2, 2017, which issued a split decision that effectively returns the property of 29 parishes and the St. Christopher Camp and Conference Center to the Episcopal Church in South Carolina,[73] while seven parishes retained their properties because they had never ratified the Episcopal Church's Dennis Canon (a church bylaw meant to impose a trust on parish property).[74] Because of a tie on the court, the Circuit Court's ruling on the name "Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina" and related intellectual property remains in place.[73]

text: Membership[edit]

text: As of  2014[update], the Episcopal Church reports 1,956,042 baptized members. The majority of members are in the United States, where the Church has 1,866,758 members, a decrease of 27,423 persons (-1.4 percent) from 2012. Outside of the U.S. the Church has 142,326 members, a decrease of 30,203 persons (-17.5 percent) from 2012. Total average Sunday attendance (ASA) for 2013 was 657,102 (623,691 in the U.S. and 33,411 outside the U.S.), a decrease of 3.4 percent from 2012.[75]

text: According to ARIS/Barna, 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]".[76] Church Pension Group also cited having 3.5 million adherents in 2002.[77]  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.[3]

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.[78] New York was the state with the largest total number of adherents, over 200,000.[79] 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.[75]

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.[80]

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.[81] Membership grew from 1.1 million members in 1925 to a peak of over 3.4 million members in the mid-1960s.[82] Between 1970 and 1990, membership declined from about 3.2 million to about 2.4 million.[82] 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.[83]
[84][85]
[86][87] A loss of 115,000 members was reported for the years 2003–05.[88] 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.[89]

text: Influence[edit]

text: In the twentieth century, Episcopalians tended to be wealthier[90] and more educated (having more graduate and postgraduate degrees per capita) than most other religious groups in the United States,[91] and were disproportionately represented in the upper reaches of American business,[92] law, and politics.[93][needs update]

text: 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.[90][needs update] Numbers of the most wealthy and affluent American families as the Vanderbilts, Astors, Whitneys, Morgans and Harrimans are Episcopalians.[90] The Episcopal Church also has the highest number of graduate and post-graduate degrees per capita (56%)[94] of any other Christian denomination in the United States,[95] as well as the most high-income earners.[96] 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.[97]

text: Structure[edit]

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.[98]

text: Parishes and dioceses[edit]

text: At the local level, there are 6,473 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.

text: The middle judicatory consists of a diocese headed by a bishop who is assisted by a standing committee.[99] 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.[100] 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.

text: There are 110 dioceses in the United States, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Honduras, Puerto Rico, Taiwan, Venezuela and the Virgin Islands. The Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe and the Navajoland Area Mission are jurisdictions similar to a diocese.[9][10][11] The Presiding Bishop is one of three Anglican primates who together exercise metropolitan jurisdiction over the Episcopal Church of Cuba, which is an extraprovincial diocese in the Anglican Communion.[101]

text: National church[edit]

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

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.[102] Either house may propose legislation.[103] 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.

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.[103] Other interim bodies include a number of standing commissions which study and draft policy proposals for consideration and report back to General Convention. Each standing commission consists of three bishops, three priests or deacons, and six laypersons. Bishops are appointed by the Presiding Bishop while the other clergy and laypersons are appointed by the president of the House of Deputies.[103]

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.[104] 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.[105] 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.[106] 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".[107]

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.

text: Worship and liturgy[edit]

text: This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

tag: table

text: This section appears to contradict itself on the prevalence of high and broad church liturgy. Please see the talk page for more information. (October 2016)

text: Varying styles and degrees of liturgical practice prevail within the church, including: traditional hymns and anthems, more modern religious music, Anglican chant, liturgical dance, charismatic prayer, and vested clergy. As varied as services can be, the central binding aspect is the Book of Common Prayer or supplemental liturgies. Most Episcopal services are similar in structure and liturgy to the Roman Catholic Church, as the Eucharist is the central focus of the service (sometimes called Mass in High Church and some Broad Church circles), though Protestant theology in the Book of Common Prayer distinguishes Episcopal services from Roman Catholic ones.  Generally Anglican/Episcopal churches have retained features such as the altar rail, the inclusion or exclusion of which, does not elicit controversy like in the Catholic Church but celebrate in the versus populum orientation like contemporary Catholic churches.

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

text:
High Church, especially the very high Anglo-Catholic movement, is ritually inclined towards the use of incense, formal hymns, and a higher degree of ceremony such as ad orientem in relation to the priest and altar. In addition to clergy vesting in albs, stoles and chasubles, the lay assistants may also be vested in cassock and surplice. The sung Eucharist tends to be emphasized in High Church congregations, with Anglo-Catholic congregations and celebrants using sung services almost exclusively. Marian devotion is sometimes seen in the Anglo-Catholic and some High Church parishes.
Low Church is simpler and may incorporate other elements such as informal praise and worship music. "Low" parishes tend towards a more "traditional Protestant" outlook with its emphasis of Biblical revelation over symbolism. A few "low" parishes even subscribe to traditional Evangelical theology (see Evangelical Anglicanism). The spoken Eucharist tends to be emphasized in Low Church congregations. The Altar rail can be omitted in this type.
Broad Church indicates a middle ground. These parishes are the most common within The Episcopal Church. However, unlike the Anglican Church in England, most Episcopal 'broad church' parishes make use of a catholic liturgy that includes eucharistic vestments, chant and a high view of the sacraments, even if the liturgy is not as solemn or lacks some of the other accoutrements typical of Anglo-Catholic parishes. Unlike mainstream Catholic Churches, the altar rail has usually been retained and communion is usually served kneeling on the altar rail similar to a Tridentine Catholic Mass. This is because the Episcopal Church teaches, through its Book of Common Prayer, a theologically high view of the Church and its sacraments, even if not all parishes carry this out liturgically.[108]

text: A majority of Episcopal services could be considered to be "High Church" while still falling somewhat short of a typical Anglo-Catholic "very" high church service. In contrast, "Low Church" services are somewhat rarer. However, while some Episcopalians refer to their churches by these labels, often there is overlapping, and the basic rites do not greatly differ. There are also variations that blend elements of all three and have their own unique features, such as New England Episcopal churches, which have elements drawn from Puritan practices, combining the traditions of "high church" with the simplicity of "low church". Typical parish worship features Bible readings from the Old Testament as well as from both the Epistles and the Gospels of the New Testament. Some latitude in selecting Bible readings is allowed, but every service includes at least a passage from one of the Gospels, as well as the praying of the Lord's Prayer.

text: In the Eucharist or Holy Communion service, the Book of Common Prayer specifies that bread and wine are consecrated for consumption by the people. A valid communion is made in either species, so those wishing for whatever reason to avoid alcohol can decline the cup and still make a valid communion. A Eucharist can be part of a wedding to celebrate a sacramental marriage and of a funeral as a thank offering (sacrifice) to God and for the comfort of the mourners.

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 Catholic and Orthodox traditions. There are explicit references in the 1976 Book of 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 and for the saints in the fellowship of the saints, not to them, although their intercessions may be requested. Those inclined to the Anglo-Catholic traditions may explicitly invoke saints as intercessors in prayer.

text: Book of Common Prayer[edit]

text: This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: The Episcopal Church publishes its own Book of Common Prayer (BCP) (similar to other Anglican prayer books), containing most of the worship services (or liturgies) used in the Episcopal Church. Because of its widespread use in the church, the BCP is both a reflection and source of theology for Episcopalians.

text: The full name of the BCP is: The Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church Together with The Psalter or Psalms of David According to the use of The Episcopal Church.

text: Previous American BCPs were issued in 1789, 1892, and 1928. A proposed BCP was issued in 1786 but not adopted. The BCP is in the public domain; however, any new revisions of the BCP are copyrighted until they are approved by the General Convention, after which they are placed in the public domain.

text: The current edition dates from 1979 and is marked by language modernization and, in returning to ancient Christian tradition, a restoration of the Eucharist as the central liturgy of the church. The 1979 version reflects the theological and worship changes of the ecumenical reforms of the 1960s and 1970s. On the whole, the revision changed the theological emphasis of the church to be more Catholic in nature. In 1979, the Convention adopted the revision as the "official" BCP and required churches using the previous 1928 prayer book to also use the new revision. There was enough strife in implementing and adopting the 1979 BCP that an apology was issued at the 2000 General Convention[109] to any who were "offended or alienated during the time of liturgical transition to the 1979 Book of Common Prayer." The 2000 General Convention also authorized the occasional use of some parts of the 1928 book, under the direction of the bishop.

text: The 1979 edition contains a provision for the use of "traditional" (Elizabethan) language under various circumstances not directly provided for in the book, and the Anglican Service Book was produced accordingly, as "a traditional language adaptation of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer together with the Psalter or Psalms of David and Additional Devotions."

text: Belief and practice[edit]

text: The center of Episcopal teaching is the life and resurrection of Jesus Christ.[110] The basic teachings of the church, or catechism, include:

text:
Jesus Christ is fully human and fully God. He died and was resurrected from the dead.
Jesus provides the way of eternal life for those who believe.
God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit, are one God, and are called the Holy Trinity ("three and yet one").
The Old and New Testaments of the Bible were written by people "under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit." The Apocrypha are additional books that are used in Christian worship, but not for the formation of doctrine.
The two great and necessary sacraments are Holy Baptism and Holy Eucharist.
Other sacramental rites are confirmation, ordination, marriage, reconciliation of a penitent, and unction.
Belief in heaven, hell, and Jesus' return in glory.
Emphasis on living out the Great Commandment to love God and neighbor fully, as found in the Gospel of Matthew 28:18 - 20[111]

text: The full catechism is included in the Book of Common Prayer and is posted on the Episcopal website.[112]

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 evangelicalism or Anglo-Catholicism may not.[113]

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[114]

text: The Anglican balancing of the sources of authority has been criticized as clumsy or "muddy." It has been associated with the Anglican affinity for seeking the mean between extremes and living the via media. It has also been associated with the Anglican willingness to tolerate and comprehend opposing viewpoints instead of imposing tests of orthodoxy or resorting to heresy trials.

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.[115] 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.

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.[116] 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.

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".[117]

text: Social positions[edit]

text: Economic issues[edit]

text:
In 1991, the Convention recommended parity in pay and benefits between clergy and lay employees in equivalent positions.[118]
Several times between 1979 and 2003, the Convention expressed concern over affordable housing and supported work to provide affordable housing.[119]
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.[120]
The Convention urged the church in 1997 and 2000 to promote living wages for all.[121][122]
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.[123][124]

text: Marriage of same-sex couples[edit]

text: At its 2015 triennial General Convention, the Church adopted “canonical and liturgical changes to provide marriage equality for Episcopalians.” The canonical change eliminated “language defining marriage as between a man and a woman.” The “two new marriage rites” contain language that allows “them to be used by same-sex or opposite-sex couples.”[6] The blessing of same-sex relationships is not uniform throughout the Episcopal Church. Bishops may determine whether churches and priests within their dioceses are permitted to use the new liturgies. Bishops who do not permit their use must connect same-sex couples to a diocese where the liturgies are allowed.[125]  Still, no Episcopal priest is required to perform the new liturgies, even in dioceses in which they are permitted. The Church also opposes any state or federal constitutional amendments designed to prohibit the marriages of same-sex couples.[126]

text: Ordination of LGBT-identified individuals[edit]

text: Openly gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals are eligible to be ordained.[127][128]

text: Racial equality[edit]

text: In 1861, a pamphlet entitled, A Scriptural, Ecclesiastical, and Historical View of Slavery, written by John Henry Hopkins, attempted to justify slavery based on the New Testament and gave a clear insight into the Episcopal Church's involvement in slavery. 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 over the issue of slavery.[129] In 1991, the General Convention declared "the practice of racism is sin,"[130] 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.[131]

text: Abortion[edit]

text: The Church does not approve of the use of abortion as a means of birth control or family planning, but considers it a woman's right to receive one. Abortion is condoned only in cases of rape, incest, fetal abnormalities, or when a mother's physical or mental health is at risk.[132] The Church opposes any legislation which would prevent women from obtaining abortions or information about abortions.[133]

text: Euthanasia[edit]

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.[134]

text: Agencies and programs[edit]

text: Society for the Increase of the Ministry (SIM)[edit]

text: 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.[135]

text: Episcopal Relief & Development[edit]

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.[136]

text: Scholarships[edit]

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.[137][138] There are special programs for both American Indians[139] and African-Americans[140] interested in training for the ministry.

text: Ecumenical relations[edit]

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[141] and the Northern and Southern Provinces of the Moravian Church in America.[142] 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.

text: The Episcopal Church maintains ecumenical dialogs with the United Methodist Church and the Moravian Church in America, and participates in pan-Anglican dialogs 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.

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.

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.

text: Historical societies[edit]

text: There are two historical societies of American Episcopalianism: Historical Society of the Episcopal Church or National Episcopal Historians and Archivists (NEHA).[citation needed]

text: Church Publishing[edit]

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.

text: Imprints include Church Publishing, Morehouse Publishing (independently founded in 1884) and Seabury Books (the "trade" imprint).[143]


document_title: Student of the Year 2

question_text: cast of movie student of the year 2

question_tokens: cast of movie student of the year 2

text: Student of the Year 2

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Tiger Shroff [4]
Tara Sutaria[5]
Ananya Pandey[5]
Samir Soni as principal[citation needed]

text: Production[edit]

text:
The film is the second part of the franchise to a 2012 film, Student of the Year.[6]
Filming started on 9 April 2018 in Dehradun.[7]

text: Release[edit]

text: The first look of the film was shown on November 20, 2017 by Karan Johar on the official page of Dharma Productions.[8]


document_title: Knockin' on Heaven's Door

question_text: who sings knocking on heavens door on blue bloods

text: Knockin' on Heaven's Door

text: Cover versions[edit]

text: Eric Clapton version[edit]

text: In January 1975 Eric Clapton played on Jamaican singer Arthur Louis' recording of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" arranged in a reggae style. Subsequently, Clapton recorded his own reggae-style version of the song which was released in August 1975, two weeks after Louis's version was released as a single in July 1975.[3] Clapton's single peaked at No. 38 in the UK Singles Chart. The single was less successful in the US, only reaching No. 109 in Cash Box. Clapton's 1996 boxed set Crossroads 2: Live in the Seventies features a performance recorded in London in April 1977. The song was also performed during the Journeyman and One More Car, One More Rider world tours in 1990 and 2003. Additionally, the song has been included on several Clapton compilation albums, such as Time Pieces: The Best of Eric Clapton, Backtrackin', The Cream of Clapton and Complete Clapton.[4]

text: Guns N' Roses versions[edit]

text:
"Knockin' on Heaven's Door"

1992 UK picture sleeve

Song by Guns N' Roses

from the album Days of Thunder (soundtrack) and Use Your Illusion II

Released
June 26, 1990

Genre
Hard rock, blues rock

Length
5:36

Label
Geffen

Songwriter(s)
Bob Dylan

Producer(s)

Mike Clink
Guns N' Roses

text: In 1987, Guns N' Roses started including the song in their live sets. A live version of the song was released on the maxi-single of "Welcome to the Jungle" the same year. They recorded a studio version in 1990 for the soundtrack of the film Days of Thunder which reached No. 18 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart in 1990. This version was later slightly modified for the 1991 album Use Your Illusion II (basically discarding the responses in the second verse). Released as the fourth single from the album, it reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart as well as No. 12 in Australia and No. 1 in Ireland. Their performance of the song at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992 was used as the B-side for the single release and was also included on their Live Era: '87–'93 album, released in 1999.[5] The music video for this version of the song was directed by Andy Morahan.[6]

text: Charts[edit]

text:
Chart (1992)
Peak
position

Australia (ARIA)[7]
12

Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[8]
3

Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[9]
1

Finland (The Official Finnish Charts)[10]
7

France (SNEP)[11]
7

Germany (Official German Charts)[12]
5

Ireland (IRMA)[13]
1

Netherlands (Single Top 100)[14]
1

New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[15]
2

Norway (VG-lista)[16]
6

Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[17]
10

Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[18]
5

UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[19]
2

US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[20]
18

text: Certifications[edit]

text:
Region
Certification

Australia (ARIA)[21]
Gold

Italy (FIMI)[22]
Platinum

text: Dunblane tribute[edit]

text: In 1996 and with the consent of Bob Dylan, Scottish musician Ted Christopher wrote a new verse for "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" in memory of the schoolchildren and teacher killed in the Dunblane school massacre. This has been, according to some sources, one of the few times Dylan has officially authorized anybody to add or change the lyrics to one of his songs.[23][24] This version of the song, including children from the village singing the chorus with guitarist and producer of Dylan's album Infidels (1983), Mark Knopfler, was released on December 9 in the UK and reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart.[25] The proceeds went to charities for children.[26] The song was featured on the compilation album Hits 97, where all royalties from the song were given to three separate charities.

text: Other cover versions[edit]

text:
Two different live versions by Fairport Convention recorded in February 1974 at the Troubadour in Los Angeles were released. One on the Sandy Denny box set Who Knows Where the Time Goes in 1985, and the other on her anthology A Boxful of Treasures in 2004.[27]
A live version by Cold Chisel appears on their 1981 live album Swingshift.[28]
Danny & Dusty released a version of the song on their 1985 album The Lost Weekend.
Heaven released a version of the song on the group's 1985 album, Knockin' On Heaven's Door.[29]
Randy Crawford released a version of this song on her album Rich and Poor in 1989, featuring Eric Clapton and David Sanborn.
Vlado Kreslin released his live version on his album Pikapolonica in 1996. It was performed by Beltinška banda.
The Brazilian singer Zé Ramalho released a Portuguese version of Dylan's song called "Batendo na Porta do Céu" in his 1997 album Antologia Acústica (Acoustic Anthology).
Warren Zevon released a version of the song on his 2003 album The Wind, shortly before his death from cancer in September of that year.
Avril Lavigne released a cover version on the bonus CD of her My World video release in 2003, as one of the B-Sides from her single "Nobody's Home" and afterwards as a Japanese bonus track for her 2011 album Goodbye Lullaby.
Larry Norman released his cover on his 2004 album Sessions. With the exception of the chorus line, the song has completely original lyrics.[30]
Roger Waters released a cover version on his album Flickering Flame: The Solo Years Volume 1.
Wyclef Jean recorded a version of the song, which was used in the 2004 documentary Ghosts of Cité Soleil.
Babyface released a version on his 2007 album Playlist.
A version by Antony and the Johnsons was included on the Bob Dylan cover album I'm Not There, which served as the soundtrack for the film of the same name.
Mungo Jerry founder Ray Dorset released a Caribbean version of the song.
Dolly Parton performed a version with Ladysmith Black Mombazo.
Jerry Garcia Band often covered the song in their live sets, one recorded example being the live album Don't Let Go
Meir Ariel, an Israeli singer, covered the song with a Hebrew version in a 1998 concert later released as an album, Doors Are Opened By Themselves. The chorus is sung in both Hebrew and English.
Bryan Ferry recorded a version of the song on his album Dylanesque.
The City of Miami Police Department published a video of Miami Police Sergeant Ginzo performing the song as a tribute to the 144 law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty in 2016.

text: Sampled version[edit]

text: Gabrielle's single "Rise" (2000) sampled from this song.

text: Soundtrack inclusions[edit]

text:
Film/TV show
Year
Performer

Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
1973
Bob Dylan

Renaldo & Clara
1978
Bob Dylan & Roger McGuinn

Lethal Weapon 2
1989
Randy Crawford, Eric Clapton & David Sanborn

Days of Thunder
1990
Guns N' Roses

Shake Rattle & Roll 2 (segment "Aswang")
1990
Guns N' Roses

Rush
1991
Bob Dylan

Total Balalaika Show
1994
Leningrad Cowboys and Alexandrov Ensemble

Lawn Dogs
1997
Bob Dylan

The Dybbuk of the Holy Apple Field
1997
Roger Waters

Knockin' on Heaven's Door
1997
Selig

Treasure Planet
2002
Bob Dylan

Windstruck
2004
Youme

Be Cool
2005
Bob Dylan

Las Vegas (episode 45, "Letters, Lawyers and Loose Women")
2005
Bob Dylan

Six Feet Under (episode 61, "All Alone")
2005
Bob Dylan

ER (episode 260, "Darfur")
2006
Scoob Serious

Salvador (Puig Antich)
2006
Bob Dylan

I'm Not There
2007
Antony & the Johnsons

Supernatural (episode 35, "Houses of the Holy")
2007
Bob Dylan

Cold Case (episode 84, "Blood on the Tracks")
2007
Bob Dylan

Big Love (episode 2-08, "Kingdom Come")
2007
Bob Dylan

My Name is Earl
2008
Bob Dylan

Come Dio Comanda
2008
Antony & the Johnsons

Heaven's Door
2009
Angela Aki

Supernatural (episode 98, "Dark Side of the Moon")
2010
Bob Dylan

Lifted
2011
Uriah Shelton

Blue Bloods (Season 4, Episode 7, "Drawing Dead")
2013
Rick Devin[31]

The 100
2015
RAIGN

Sense8 (episode 9, "Death Doesn't Let You Say Goodbye")
2015
Antony & the Johnsons

Containment, episode 5, "Like a Sheep Among Wolves"
2016
RAIGN

text: In popular culture[edit]

text: Nick Talevski used the title for his book, Knocking On Heaven's Door: Rock Obituaries.[32] A version of this song was performed by Raign for the TV show "The 100"

text: The title is used as a name of a Stand, "Heaven's Door", in the fourth part of the manga "Jojo's Bizarre Adventure", Diamond is Unbreakable.

text: The title was used for the 11th episode of Angel Beats! and Bob Dylan along with the song was mentioned in the episode by T.K. and Hinata

text: Covered by The Jenerators, the song was used during a tribute to the death of cast member Miguel Ferrer of NCIS: Los Angeles at the end of the Season 8 Episode 16 "New Tricks", broadcast on March 5, 2017. Ferrer was a member of The Jenerators.[33]