Jurisdiction & Presiding Bishop

St. Francis Anglican Church of Austin is a member parish of the Episcopal Missionary Church. The Episcopal Missionary Church is a Continuing Anglican church body in the United States. Its founding in the early 1990s can be traced to members of The Episcopal Church in the United States of America (ECUSA) who were concerned that their church had departed from the historic faith.

At first, these clergy and laypersons sought to change the direction of ECUSA by working from within it, to which end they formed a voluntary association, the "Episcopal Synod of America." When they later concluded that this approach would not succeed, a new missionary diocese was formed by them, still attempting to remain within ECUSA. In 1992, however, the missionary diocese withdrew from ECUSA and formed a separate church, the Episcopal Missionary Church. The Rt. Rev. A. Donald Davies, retired ECUSA Bishop of Dallas and Fort Worth, was named the first Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Missionary Church.

The Episcopal Missionary Church affirms the Holy Scriptures as containing all things necessary to salvation and as the ultimate rule and standard of faith. The Church acknowledges the Nicene and Apostles' Creeds and the necessity of the Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion. It uses the 1928 American edition of the Book of Common Prayer or the Anglican Missal based upon it, and emphasizes the preservation of Apostolic Succession.

The current presiding bishop is The Rt. Rev. Council Nedd, II of Monroeville, Pennsylvania. Christ Church in Monteagle, Tennessee serves as our national cathedral. For more information concerning the Episcopal Missionary Church, please visit http://www.emchome.org.

Diocese of the Western States

St. Francis Anglican Church of Austin is a member parish of the Diocese of the Western States, constituting all Episcopal Missionary Church parishes located to the west of the Mississippi river. The diocese is presently without an incumbent bishop. In the interim Bishop Millsaps provides episcopal oversight to the diocese. Our rector, Fr. Len Giacolone serves as the Vicar General of the Diocese of the Western States.

Relations with Other Anglican Jurisdictions

The Episcopal Missionary Church is a member of the Federation of Anglican Churches in the Americas ("FACA"). The Federation was established in 2006 to provide a vehicle for communication, fellowship and cooperation between the various Anglican Jurisdictions in the Americas.

FACA's other members currently include: The Anglican Mission in the Americas, The Anglican Province of America, The Reformed Episcopal Church, and The Diocese of the Holy Cross.