St Francis Episcopal Church

The Diocese of Georgia is one of 116 dioceses that comprises The Episcopal Church (TEC). TEC is a constituent member of the Anglican Communion, a fellowship within the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church of those duly constituted dioceses, provinces, and regional Churches in communion with the See of Canterbury. This fellowship upholds and propagates the historic Faith and Order as set forth in the Book of Common Prayer.

The beginning of the Church in Georgia is well stated by Dr. Henry Malone in his book, "The Episcopal Church In Georgia," published in 1960. In the opening chapter he writes, "[An ordained] minister of the Church of England stepped ashore with Georgia's first colonists in 1733, and this church has served the people of Georgia ever since. Anglicanism in this country survived the challenge of the American Revolution to become the Protestant Episcopal Church. The Georgia Episcopal structure, very weak after the Revolutionary era, flickered and sputtered but emerged as a small Diocese of three parishes in 1823. Seventeen years later there were six churches, and these half-dozen parishes elected the first Georgia bishop." The Diocese of Atlanta (northwestern Georgia) was set apart from the Diocese of Georgia in 1907. Today, our diocese covers the southeast 32,994 square miles of the State of Georgia.

That's the what and the where. Now for the who! As of this writing (2009), we are nearly 19,000 baptized ministers, 188 of whom are ordained. We go out into the world from 70 congregations to spread the Good News. Our ministries are as varied as we are: in-reach and outreach, liturgical and social. We work, study and pray in congregations ranging in size from 20 to 1500 communicants. We offer programs to renew souls, deepen spirituality, and broaden knowledge.