About Us
We are a Biblically orthodox Anglican church that follows the absolute authority of the Word of God as our only infallible rule in all matters of faith and practice.
Our church provides reverent liturgical worship according to the historic, traditional Book of Common Prayer (1662).
We Follow the Classical Anglican Way…
• ONE Canon of Holy Scripture (The Bible), with its
• TWO Testaments, understood with the faith expressed in the
• THREE Creeds (Apostles’, Nicene, Athanasian) and by the doctrinal teaching of the first
• FOUR ecumenical councils (Nicaea, Constantinople, Ephesus, Chalcedon), within the developing life and tradition of the first
• FIVE centuries of the Christian era
What We Believe
At Christ’s Chapel Anglican Church, we hold the Bible as the absolute authority for our faith and practice. We believe in the divine inspiration, infallibility, and sufficiency of Scripture. God's Word serves as our guide, providing timeless wisdom, moral principles, and a revelation of God's redemptive plan through Jesus Christ.
We affirm the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion as a concise statement of Anglican doctrinal beliefs. These articles, rooted in the Reformation tradition, articulate our understanding of God, salvation, and the Church. They provide a doctrinal framework that unites Anglicans worldwide, emphasizing the importance of scripture, the creeds, and the sacraments.
As classical Anglicans we uphold and subscribe to our traditional Formularies because we believe they are in accordance with Holy Scripture:
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The Book of Common Prayer locally adapted in conformity to the standards set by the 1662 edition.
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The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, locally adapted in conformity to the standards set in 1563.
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The Ordinal, locally adapted in conformity to the standards set in 1549.
Our Leadership
The Reverend
Robert Bowman, D.Min
Rector
The Reverend
Henry Birkinbine
Assisting Clergyman
The Reverend Deacon
Matthew Visk, Ph.D. (cand.)
Curate
Historical Roots
What is Anglicanism?
Anglican Christianity, which stems from the Protestant Reformation, is one of the largest Christian traditions in the world. Christianity came to Britain in the first or second century, probably brought by merchants from Jerusalem. Tradition says that the gospel was brought there by Joseph of Arimathea. When Pope St. Gregory the Great sent a monk named Augustine to England in 597 to establish a Roman mission at Canterbury, he found an already established and robust British church with its own bishops and customs.
The two church traditions (Rome and Britain) existed side-by-side until the Synod of Whitby in 663, when for the sake of Christian unity, it was decided that Roman customs would be followed. That relationship continued through most of Anglican church history. In 1208, a confrontation arose between King John and Pope Innocent III over rights in the church which led to England being placed under interdict and King John’s five-year excommunication.Good relations were interrupted again in the 1530’s, when King Henry VIII, desiring to obtain an annulment of his marriage, renounced the jurisdiction of the pope or any other foreign bishop in the English realm.
Communion was restored briefly in 1553 but were severed again in 1570 with the excommunication of Elizabeth I by Pope Pius V. The Church of England became an independent body at that point and would continue to follow its own laws and customs thereafter. To learn more about the history of Anglicanism, consider watching this series by our Director of Catechesis, Dr. Kyle Hughes.
Anglicanism in America
The Anglican Church in the American colonies became a separate ecclesial body along with the birth of the United States after the Revolutionary War. Anglicans used the name “Protestant Episcopalian” almost exclusively after the war. However, they noted that this new Protestant Episcopal Church “is far from intending to depart from the Church of England in any essential point of doctrine, discipline, or worship, or further than local circumstances allow” (The Book of Common Prayer, p.11).
The word “episcopal” comes from the Greek word episcope (overseer) which the New Testament uses for the office of bishop who oversees a local church. The word “church” comes from the Greek word ekklesia (assembly) which the New Testament uses for God’s people gathered into an assembled congregation. So the term “episcopal church” means a church overseen by bishops, according to the New Testament model.
What do Anglicans Believe?
As disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ, Anglicans share with other Christians the historic biblical faith of the undivided Church of the first millennium. We believe the doctrines taught in the Bible and find our statements of belief in the historic Creeds (Apostles' Creed, Nicene Creed and Athanasian Creed), the writings of the early Church Fathers, the Ecumenical Councils of the Church, the Catechism of the Book of Common Prayer, the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, and in the language of our prayers.
Helpful links:
Book of Common Prayer (1662): This is the Prayer Book we use.
Reformed Episcopal Church (REC): Built upon the foundation of the authoritative Word of God
REC100: The Reformed Episcopal Church’s church planting initiative
A Prayer for our Parish
ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, we give thee thanks and we pray that by thy grace we may have a like power to hallow and conform our souls and bodies to the purpose of thy most holy will; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
