Independence Day commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Its inclusion in the Anglican calendar has a complicated history: the 1785 Episcopal General Convention directed a service be composed; the Proposed BCP of 1786 included one; the 1789 BCP removed it (Presiding Bishop William White feared it would alienate Loyalist clergy); the 1928 BCP restored it. The observance reflects the Anglican practice of sanctifying national life through prayer, while the assigned collect carefully frames civil liberty within Christian virtue.

The Episcopal Church's Independence Day history illustrates the tension between civil religion and Christian witness. White's 1789 removal prioritized pastoral unity over patriotic expression — a judgment that many Loyalist clergy would find the service offensive. The 1928 restoration came after enough time had passed for the Revolution to be universally accepted history rather than living controversy. The modern collect deliberately avoids nationalist triumphalism, instead asking God to direct the nation's use of liberty toward justice and forbearance — a theologically careful formulation that subjects civil freedom to divine purpose.

The Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, asserting the American colonies' separation from Great Britain. The Episcopal Church's engagement with this date began almost immediately after the Revolution.

The 1785 General Convention directed that a service for Independence Day be prepared. The Proposed Book of Common Prayer of 1786 included 'A Form of Prayer and Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the inestimable Blessings of Religious and Civil Liberty' for July 4. However, the 1789 BCP removed it — Presiding Bishop William White, though personally supportive of the Revolution, judged that many clergy had been Loyalists and would find the service offensive, subjecting them to 'ridicule and censure.' White prioritized ecclesiastical peace over national celebration.

The 1928 BCP restored the commemoration with its own collect and proper readings, and it has remained in subsequent revisions. The assigned collect ('Lord God Almighty, you have made all the peoples of the earth for your glory, to serve you in freedom and in peace') carefully reframes civil liberty within Christian ethical constraints — liberty must serve justice and forbearance, not mere autonomy.

• Commemorated