About Our Church
St. Stephen's
Church History
St. Stephen's was founded in 1976 after the congregation of Saint Andrews Episcopal Church in Clifton Forge disaffiliated with the Episcopalian church. It was organized after the Congress of St. Louis into the Anglican Catholic Church. After worshiping in storefronts and schools, land was provided for the building of the church off Douthat Rd where we have worshiped the Trinity and served the community ever since 1982.
Keeping
the Faith
St. Stephen's, as part of the Anglican Catholic Church, is part of the Anglican Continuum. These churches originated in the 1970s as a desire to continue the traditional Anglican faith in response to changes in the Episcopalian church in the form of worship and ordination of female priests. We believe in the transformative power of the gospel and church as it has passed down through the centuries and strive to continue to provide this faith to each successive generation.
Historical Worship
We trace our roots to the Celtic churches in the British Isles, and upon our separation from the Roman church and with the Tractarian movement in the 1800s the Anglican Church strove to reestablish the older premedieval forms of worship while maintaining our connection to the apostolic church. As such the Anglican church is "a middle way" bridging the Protestant and Catholic traditions. We invite you to experience the church of CS Lewis, George Washington, Charles I, Jane Austen and many others.
The Book of Common Prayer
What is the Prayer book?
The Book of Common Prayer is the service book for the Church. The prayer book is a collection of communal prayers for the services of the Church. We believe that all members have a part to play in the service and the prayer book allows us to worship God in a concise yet complete manner. It also contains the lectionary (guide for scriptural readings) for both Sundays, Feast days and Morning and Evening Prayer throughout the week. Anglican worship is based on the sacraments and communal prayer by all members. The prayer book was created from the older service books from the early English services prior to its creation in 1549 and modified for American usage in 1789. We use the 1928 Prayer Book.