What is the Episcopal Church?

The Episcopal Church is a member of the Anglican Communion
which is a fellowship of churches in communion with the
Archbishop of Canterbury within the one holy,
catholic and apostolic Church.



We express our faith through the Book of Common Prayer
with its corporate and individual liturgy and prayers.



We believe that God truly desires to be in relationship with us.
To accomplish this, God sent Jesus to live among us
and to teach us; to love us and to die for us...
so that we might be redeemed of our sins.

The shield of the Episcopal Church:
It has a white field, a red cross and a blue canton with a cross of nine white stars.
It means "All are Welcome."

• The red cross on a white field is the Cross of St. George and indicates our origins in the Church of England.
• St. Andrew’s Cross in the blue canton represents the Scottish Church who consecrated Bishop Samuel Seabury as our first bishop in 1784.
• The nine white crosslets symbolize the nine original dioceses which in 1789 met in Philadelphia and adopted the Constitution of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States.
• The colors, red, white and blue represent our country and stand for the American branch of the Anglican Church.