{{Portal, Christianity Grace Episcopal Church is an Episcopal Church in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C. In 2020, the population was 159,467. ...

, in the

Episcopal Diocese of Virginia The Diocese of Virginia is the largest diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, encompassing 38 counties in the northern and central parts of the state of Virginia. The diocese was organized in 1785 and is one of the Episco ...

. Grace Episcopal Church is a center for worship and fellowship, a school for discipleship and stewardship and a community for healing and outreach.

History

The church was founded in 1855 by members of Christ Church and St. Paul's Episcopal Church who wanted to start another Episcopal Church in the expanding West end of Alexandria. The parish's original founding statement says "where all may come without regard for temporal estate, freely and without fee, as brethren come one to another.

This was in contrast to the common practice at the time for parishioners to pay a pew tax. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, the church's building was used as a hospital. It was associated with the Oxford Movement. After World War II, the parish expanded and moved to Alexandria's outskirts, constructing the current church building in gothic style in 1948. A grade school was added in 1959 in the parish education wing.

Current practice

Today, the parish continues to proclaim itself to be a place "where all may worship freely by God's grace." The parish is inclusive, and welcomes all persons. The parish also includes La Gracia, a liturgy for Spanish-speaking members. La Gracia meets on Sunday mornings at 9:00 am in the parish hall. Grace Episcopal School accepts children ages 3 years old to 5th grade of all faiths and ethnicitie

Worship

Grace Church considers itself to be

High Church The term ''high church'' refers to beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology that emphasize formality and resistance to modernisation. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term originate ...

by tradition. The

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

is the center of worship at Grace Church, and is celebrated several times per week. The weekly Eucharist schedule includes services on Sunday at 7:30 am, 9 am, 11:15 am, and 5:00 pm, as well as Tuesday at 6:30 pm, Wednesday mornings at 7:30 am and Thursdays at 12:15 pm. Grace Church uses both Rite I and Rite II from the

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...

for worship services, and conducts one 9 am Eucharist on Sundays in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

Worship times vary in the summer, and during the seasons of Lent and Adven

Architecture

The current church building was constructed in 1948. It has nineteen stained glass windows, including 6 in the

Nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

. The stained glass windows were made by

Willet Hauser Architectural Glass Willet Hauser Architectural Glass, Inc is a North American stained glass firm located in Winona, Minnesota that specializes in the design, fabrication, preservation and restoration of leaded stained glass and faceted glass windows. The studio, on ...

, a leader in the Gothic Revival movement and creator of many of the windows in the National Cathedral, as well as the West Point chapel and other notable buildings. The twelve windows in the Nave portray twelve prominent church figures, including: *

Paul of Tarsus Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

Athanasius Athanasius I of Alexandria, ; cop, ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲡⲓⲁⲡⲟⲥⲧⲟⲗⲓⲕⲟⲥ or Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲁ̅; (c. 296–298 – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, ...

* Augustine of Hippo * Bede * Dunstan * Anselm of Canterbury * Francis of Assisi *

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wit ...

William Laud William Laud (; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Charles I's religious reforms, he was arrested by Parliament in 1640 ...

Samuel Seabury Samuel Seabury (November 30, 1729February 25, 1796) was the first American Episcopal bishop, the second Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, and the first Bishop of Connecticut. He was a leading Loyalist ...

, first bishop of The Episcopal Church *

Edward Pusey Edward Bouverie Pusey (; 22 August 180016 September 1882) was an English Anglican cleric, for more than fifty years Regius Professor of Hebrew at the University of Oxford. He was one of the leading figures in the Oxford Movement. Early years ...

* Bishop Fabian of the Anglican Diocese of Trinidad and Tobago The stained glass window in the

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...

is a rose window and contains the symbol for the Anglican Communion with the words, "the truth shall make you free." The pulpit is wood carved, and shows images of five great British

evangelists Evangelists may refer to: * Evangelists (Christianity), Christians who specialize in evangelism * Four Evangelists, the authors of the four Gospel accounts in the New Testament * ''The Evangelists ''The Evangelists'' (''Evangheliştii'' in Roma ...

: * St. Patrick * St. Margaret of Scotland *

Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then ...

* John Donne *

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...

External links

Grace Episcopal Church website

Grace Episcopal School website

Episcopal churches in Virginia Anglo-Catholic church buildings in the United States Episcopal schools in Virginia Private elementary schools in Virginia Religious organizations established in 1855 Churches in Alexandria, Virginia 1855 establishments in Virginia