Some years ago, a quadrilateral was written declaring four necessary things for the Anglican Churches and those who would be in communion with them.

l.  The necessity for Holy Scripture to be the basis for all doctrine.
2. Belief in the Apostles and Nicene Creeds
3. Acceptance of the two Dominical Sacraments: Holy Baptism and Holy Eucharist as being generally necessary for salvation
4. Apostolic Ministry, locally adapted, as the polity of the Church.

It is to this world-wide communion that the Episcopal Church owes her beginnings in the early days of the nation in the United States

 

 

The Episcopal Church

Like all Anglican churches, the Episcopal Church is distinguished by its standing in both Protestant and Catholic
traditions, its insistence that people be able to worship in their first language, its members' use of a Book of Common
Prayer and their reliance on Scripture, Tradition and Reason in interpreting God's Word.

The central body of organization in the Episcopal Church is the diocese, which is defined as all the Episcopal parishes
in a geographic area that are under the pastoral leadership of a bishop. The diocesan bishop, sometimes called the
ordinary, consecrates other bishops-elect, ordains deacons and priests to the ministry, administers confirmation of
members, consecrates buildings, administers ecclesiastical discipline and presides over the annual convention of the
diocese. The Rt. Rev. Charles vonRosenberg is the third bishop of the Diocese of East Tennessee.

The governing body of the diocese is the convention, which meets annually and comprises the resident clergy and the lay
delegates who are elected by parish vestries.

The diocese is responsible both to its local congregations and to the larger church, The Episcopal Church, which is
under the leadership of a presiding bishop - currently the Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, who was elected at the
2006 General Convention to a nine-year term and installed November 4 at the Washington National Cathedral.

The Episcopal Church is governed by a bicameral General Convention, which usually meets every three years. Legislation
may originate in either the House of Bishops or the House of Deputies (which has four clerical and four lay deputies
from each of the more than 100 dioceses). Concurrence of the other house is required for passage of legislation.
Between conventions, leadership comes from the 39-member elected Executive Council, which meets quarterly.

In the Episcopal Church, a regional group of dioceses is a province. Bishops, clergy and elected lay deputies meet
annually as a synod. An elected province president chairs the synod. The Diocese of East Tennessee and 19 other
southeastern dioceses make up Province IV, called the Province of Sewanee. The Episcopal Church has nine provinces and
110 dioceses in 15 nations. It is a member province of the Worldwide Anglican Communion. The Episcopal Church has about
2.32 million members in the United States and the Caribbean, Central America, the Philippines, Taiwan and Europe.

The Diocese of East Tennessee

Diocesan History
In January 1826, James Hervey Otey, an Episcopal deacon, came to Tennessee to begin a teaching career. He was ordained
a priest June 17, 1827. The first convention of the Diocese of Tennessee was held June 1-2, 1829, and Otey was elected
its first bishop June 30, 1833. St. Paul Episcopal Church, now in Franklin, was the statewide diocese's first congregation.

The diocese grew, and conversations about dividing it became serious during the episcopate of William Evan Sanders, its
eighth bishop. The Diocese of West Tennessee separated in 1982 along the line of the Tennessee River west of Nashville.
The Diocese of East Tennessee was born Jan. 1, 1985, when the eastern portion separated from the continuing Diocese of
Tennessee along the line of the Cumberland Plateau. Sanders chose to go with the new eastern diocese and became its
first bishop.

In October 1984, the Diocese of East Tennessee in convention adopted a seal. Three crosses on the blue background of a
shield symbolize the three dioceses now present in Tennessee. The jagged line below the three crosses symbolizes the
mountains, and a dogwood blossom is a symbol both of Christianity and of the East Tennessee region. The blossom is
centered within a gold cross on a red field at the base of the shield, reminiscent of the seal of the original Diocese
of Tennessee. The crossed key and crozier behind the shield are topped by a mitre, all of which represent the bishop.

St. John's Cathedral in downtown Knoxville is the oldest Episcopal congregation in East Tennessee. It was organized as
a mission in 1829 and attained parish status in 1844. It became the cathedral of the diocese on Dec. 4, 1986. St. Paul,
Seymour, was recognized at the 2006 diocesan convention as the newest worshiping community. The youngest churches with
parish status are St. Francis of Assisi in Ooltewah and St. Clare in LaFollette, both of which were formed in 1993.

Robert Tharp was elected bishop coadjutor in 1990. In 1991, he became the second bishop of the diocese upon Bishop
Sanders' retirement. Bishop Tharp retired in 1999, and Charles vonRosenberg was elected and consecrated third bishop of
the diocese. Bishop Tharp died in May 2003. Bishop vonRosenberg's sermons and annual addresses to the diocese are
available online, and biographies of the bishop and his predecessors - including downloadable photos - are available.

In February 1999, the annual Convention approved this vision statement: The Diocese of East Tennessee is one church. We
are called to love in the name of Jesus Christ and to grow in people and in resources for ministry and mission. We
anticipate miracles, as God works through us. The convention conducts business on behalf of the diocese, and its
proceedings are contained in each year's Convention Journal. The Bishop and Council is the executive board of the
diocese, and the bishop is its chairperson. A Standing Committee of three lay and three clergy members advises the bishop.

Ground was broken adjacent to St. John Cathedral on Oct. 9, 1987, for a diocesan center, which was completed along with
the cathedral's Great Hall in 1988. When the cathedral leadership indicated interest in purchasing the diocesan center
to ease its space constraints, the diocese sold the building to the cathedral in March 2002. Ground was broken for new
offices on two acres of land the diocese purchased from the Episcopal School of Knoxville. The new Diocesan House
opened July 7, 2003. In addition to the offices of the bishop and his staff, it contains Chapter & Verse Episcopal
Bookshop, conference and work rooms and a chapel.

Who We are Today
The diocese of East Tennessee comprises 34 counties in East Tennessee and three counties in North Georgia, with the
Cumberland Plateau as the western border. This area is approximately 14,350 square miles.

Within this area are 45 congregations and five worshiping communities servicing nearly 16,000 active members or 12,600
confirmed communicants in good standing. Average Sunday attendance is 5,800. Congregations range in attendance from 15
to more than 450 faithful worshipers. The diocesan budget is $1.72 million. (See Episcopal Church records for trends in
membership and giving as of 2007).

The Rt. Rev. Charles G. vonRosenberg is the third bishop of East Tennessee. Clergy number imore than 150, which
includes 75 priests serving congregations, 25 vocational deacons and more than 50 nonparochial and retired priests and
deacons.

The population of the diocese is concentrated in the major metro areas: Chattanooga, Knoxville and the Tri-Cities area,
which includes Kingsport, Bristol and Johnson City, and it totals 2.4 million, according to a U.S. Census estimate.

Find a parish in this diocese or check a parish Web site Diocesan clergy finder

Ministries in the diocese are numerous and diverse. Examples include:

*  A shared ministry approach in many of our parishes highlights the ministry of all the baptized.
*  We are linked in a companion diocese partnership with the Diocese of South Dakota
*  The entire diocese is in the area known as Appalachia, and our Appalachian Ministries Resource Team spearheads
    assistance and interaction activities.
*  The diocese has more than 10 Jubilee Centers, which focus on outreach.

In addition, eight parish day schools have nearly 100 teachers and an enrollment totaling nearly 700 students; campus
ministries at the University of Tennessee campuses in Knoxville and Chattanooga and at East Tennessee State University
in Johnson City; and a 269-acre camp and retreat center, Grace Point, on Watts Bar Lake near Kingston. Ministries with
youth in the diocese are focused through its youth coordinator and Youth Action Council.

 

St. Andrew's Episcopal Church

A glance at the identity of Saint Andrew's Church

Even as Harriman was being born in 1890-91, the Episcopal Church's presence was brought here with the city's founders.
Names such as Ayres and Byrd were prominent among those who brought the worship of the Episcopal Church to Harriman one
Sunday in October of Harriman's first year. The first services were held in the Byrd's home and were led by laymen. Soon
thereafter the little band of Episcopalians in the Utopia of Temperance sought and found the ministry of various
visiting clergy. Ironically, the first resident clergyman in Harriman was one who, as a younger man, had been the
photographer hired by the land company to record the beginnings of the new city as land was sold and the building began
along streets of mud. Alexander Cassidy Killeffer, who had served churches in Fayetteville and Monterey, Tennessee, came
back to Harriman as first resident priest of Saint Andrew's Church.

Since Killeffer, there has been a long line of distinguished clergy serving the people of Saint Andrew's and
surrounding area. Our current rector, the Rev. Joseph Pinner, is with us, and hit the ground running on the Feast of
Pentecost, May 23, 1999.

All the talk of who we were must finally bring us to who we are. We all are ministers, sharing in a royal priesthood.
We each have our own vocations, our calling from God. And we answer our calls in individual and corporate ways. The
ministers of Saint Andrew's Church provide the area with significant servanthood to others. The parish participates in
Hands of Mercy in providing an emergency food pantry which provides thousands of pounds of groceries each year to area
people who are in urgent need. Individuals of the parish serve as officers and just plain volunteers in very concrete
outreach ministries such as Roane County Cooperative Ministries, Habitat for Humanity, Roane County Alliance for Mental
Health, United Way, ministry to local law enforcement, and others. Many ministries undertaken by the ministers of Saint
Andrew's are anonymous and/or invisible, but are nevertheless there and serving the people of God, showing forth his
love to others.

Corporately, Saint Andrew's parish shares a common vocation to worship God in spirit and in truth, and to make that
worship a true offering of self to God. One service [click for schedule of all services] of the Holy Eucharist is
available on Sunday at 10:00 AM, followed by a time of refreshments and fellowship and Christian Education. On Thursday
the Holy Eucharist is celebrated, and may be followed by a study period or other activity which may vary. The content or
format of that discussion may change, depending on the needs of the parish, so check the link for schedule of services
(above) to see what is current. Sharing God's love with the world, caring for each other, and worshiping God in the
beauty of holiness may be said to sum up the life and ministry of the family of Saint Andrew's Church. Come and share -
God will bless.