Episcopalian

[ ih-pis-kuh-peyl-yuh n, -pey-lee-uh n ]

/ ɪˌpɪs kəˈpeɪl yən, -ˈpeɪ li ən /

adjective

pertaining or adhering to the Episcopal Church in America.

(lowercase) pertaining or adhering to the episcopal form of church government.

noun

a member of the Episcopal Church in America.

(lowercase) an adherent of the episcopal system of church government.

Origin of Episcopalian

First recorded in 1680–90; episcopal + -ian

Related forms

E·pis·co·pa·lian·ism, nounnon·e·pis·co·pa·lian, adjectivenon-E·pis·co·pa·lian, nounpseu·do-E·pis·co·pa·lian, adjective, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for episcopalian

The significance of the history of women in the early Church is not lost on Episcopalian.
First Anglican Woman Bishop A Return to Christian Roots|Candida Moss|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Mormonism, as an old friend raised in the faith told me, combines “a Pentecostal theology with an Episcopalian mentality.”
Despite the Great Recession, Obama’s New Coalition of Elites Has Thrived|Joel Kotkin|November 1, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Others have become Episcopalian, while many have walked away from organized religion altogether.
Penn State and Catholic Church Child Sex-Abuse Trials Divide Penn. Public|Marci A. Hamilton|May 27, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Born to a Jewish mother, LaGuardia was raised Episcopalian like his father, but spoke fluent Yiddish.
Look Who's Talking Yiddish!||July 15, 2011|DAILY BEAST

Playboy: As one Episcopalian to another, how about giving our readers some idea of what you really look like?
Mel Brooks Is Always Funny and Often Wise in This 1975 Playboy Interview|Alex Belth|February 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Again the root difference between the Presbyterian and Episcopalian conceptions of the church comes to light.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 3|Various
He loved to tell how one Episcopalian had cheated him in a horse trade, and how another had never paid for a bushel of onions.
'Charge It'|Irving Bacheller
In form, he was certainly an Episcopalian, though not a sectary of that denomination.
The Pioneers|James Fenimore Cooper
Judge Whaley's son—Episcopalian—admitted to the bar to-day—wonderful!
Tales of the Chesapeake|George Alfred Townsend
He was a gentleman of old family, and belonged to the ruling Episcopalian Church.
Gouverneur Morris|Theodore Roosevelt

British Dictionary definitions for episcopalian (1 of 2)

episcopalian

/ (ɪˌpɪskəˈpeɪlɪən) /

adjective Also: episcopal

practising or advocating the principle of Church government by bishops

noun

an advocate of such Church government

Derived Forms

episcopalianism, noun

British Dictionary definitions for episcopalian (2 of 2)

Episcopalian

/ (ɪˌpɪskəˈpeɪlɪən) /

adjective

belonging to or denoting the Episcopal Church

noun

a member or adherent of this Church

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012