About the Episcopal Church

 


​​​​​     The Episcopal Church is one of many national churches belonging to the Anglican Communion.  Along with our Anglican brethren, we can trace our heritage to the Church of England and recognize the Archbishop of Canterbury as our spiritual head.  Our historic relation to the Church of England, however, does not interfere with our self-government as an American Church.

As Anglicans, many of our practices and customs closely follow those of the Catholic faith, and Episcopalians profess no peculiar beliefs not shared by the Catholic Church

  •      We believe God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe.  He has eternally existed in three equal personalities: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  These three personalities form the Trinity, which forms one God.
  • We believe in the primacy of the Bible as the authoritative account of God's revelation to man.  The Bible was written by human authors, under the direct and supernatural leading of the Holy Spirit.  Because of this, it is truth without any mixture of error.
  • We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  He lived a sinless, human life and offered Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of all people.  He arose from the dead after three days and ascended into Heaven.  By His perfect sacrifice, those who put their trust in Him have no fear of death or damnation.
  • We believe that Salvation is God's free gift to us - but we must accept it.  Salvation cannot be earned by living a good life, but rather by trusting and accepting Jesus' gift on the cross.  Eternal life begins the moment one accepts Jesus as his or her Savior.  Because salvation is God's free gift to His children, a believer is never in danger of "losing" his or her salvation.
  • We believe that people were created to exist forever.  Our present lives are but one phase of this existence.  Heaven and Hell are real places of eternal existence.
  • We believe that baptism symbolizes spiritual cleansing through divine forgiveness and the new life granted to believers when they accept Christ.  As a biblical rite of initiation into the Body of Christ, a believer must be baptized before joining the Episcopal Church.

Episcopalians endorse the Apostle's and Nicene Creeds of the Early Church as essential statements of faith.  The Book of Common Prayer provides our standard guide for Worship.

We are called Episcopalians because our church governance recognizes the diocese as the primary governing unit.  A diocese is presided over by a bishop, who derives his name from the Greek word "episcopos", meaning "a superintendent who rules and tends the flock of God".  The suffix "ian" denotes belonging to a group.  Thus, the title Episcopalian literally means "belonging to a group headed by an episcopos."

Our Diocese

St. Anne's is part of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland which is presided over by Bishop Carrie Schofield-Broadbent.   The Diocesan Center and The Cathedral of the Incarnation, the seat of the Maryland Diocese, is located at 4 East University Parkway, Baltimore, MD 21218.