Our History

In The Beginning

Church of the Epiphany began in the summer of 1985 when Truro Church in Fairfax began discussion with the Diocese of Virginia regarding the establishment of a mission church in Western Fairfax County. Later that year, about 15 people from Truro began meeting weekly for prayer and Bible study in anticipation of being sent out as a mission church.

The first Service of Holy Communion was held in Franklin Intermediate School, February 1986. The Reverend B. Clifton Reardon, affectionately known as “Father Bill, was appointed Vicar, the title used for a priest in charge of a mission church.

After that first year, Epiphany was accepted in the Diocese of Virginia, as a self-sustaining parish in it’s own right. Ground breaking for the new building took place in March of 1988, with the first service held in the new building in February 1989, just three years after the parish was established. Fr. Bill was instituted as Rector (pastor of a self-sustaining parish), and the Service of Consecration of a New Building took place in April of that year.

In June 1995, Fr. Bill took a sabbatical and retired in December 1995 and Epiphany went through an interim period.

In June of 1997, the Rev. Robin Rauh was called as Rector. Soon after, the Rev. Luke Lucas was called as Associate Rector.

In 2000 planning began to address the need for more classroom space, an outreach kitchen to feed the poor in the community, a Youth Center, 24-hour Prayer Chapel and Sanctuary. The building campaign, "Building on Christ’s Cornerstone" culminated in the dedication of the new facilities in 2006.

Separation from The Episcopal Church

Over the course of a number of years of working within the Episcopal Church to preserve an orthodox (Bible-based) faith, it became clear the Episcopal Church had departed from the basics of Christian teaching. The conflict over whether or not the Bible should be the sole authority for faith and practice or whether or not it, along with centuries of Christian teaching and the historic Councils of the Church had relevance, was at stake.

The Episcopal Church continued on a course to redefine Christian faith in favor of a theology of progressive revelation. The belief that the Christian faith is “evolving” in light of sociological and scientific discovery came into conflict with the doctrine that God has fully revealed Himself in Scripture and that Jesus Christ is God’s full provision for forgiveness of sins and life with God.

This caused a continuing fracture in the world wide Anglican Communion. In January of 2007, Epiphany, along with other churches, voted to leave the Episcopal Church, retain its property and remain within the mainstream Anglican Communion.

We affiliated with the newly American formed Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA) as a temporary measure until such time as an orthodox Anglican Province is formed in this country. CANA is sponsored by the Anglican Province of Nigeria to preserve Anglican Continuity, but leaving CANA self governing and financially independent as American Anglicans.

Concurrently, the Anglican District of Virginia was formed for the local churches in Virginia to associate and share our Christian mission together.

In order to protect the property and assets, the Vestry incorporated the church under the new name, "Church of the Epiphany, Herndon".

COTE