The vibrant, contemporary worship of Bread of Life is rooted in the ancient Celtic and Saxon churches of the British Isles. Anglicanism found its distinctive identity in the sixteenth and seventeenth century, when the separate Church of England, along with the Church of Ireland and the Scottish Episcopal Church, came into being.

At the time of the American Revolution, an autonomous Episcopal Church was founded in the United States, and later, Anglican or Episcopal churches were founded across the globe as a result of the missionary movements of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Today the worldwide Anglican/Episcopal family consists of an estimated 78 million Christians who are members of 44 different churches. The Episcopal Church (USA) is made up of between two and three million worshipers in about 7500 congregations across the United States and a few related dioceses outside the US.

Bread of Life is committed to remain part of the worldwide Anglican Communion, the churches around the world that trace their roots to the Church of England, and maintain a "communion" with it, hence the name "Anglican."

What Makes Us Anglican?

We experience Anglican unity by being “in communion” with the Archbishop of Canterbury of the Church of England and, through his person and ministry, "in communion" with the worldwide Anglican Communion.

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

The Book of Common Prayer

Unique to Anglicanism, though, is the Book of Common Prayer, the collection of worship services that all worshipers in an Anglican church follow. It's called "common prayer" because we all pray it together, around the world. It was first compiled in the 16th Century, and has undergone revisions over time, but its original purpose has remained the same: To provide in one place the core of the instructions and rites for Anglican Christians to worship together. The present prayer book in the Episcopal Church was published in 1979.

Scripture, Tradition, and Reason

Anglican/Episcopal churches uphold and proclaim the Catholic and Apostolic faith in a threefold discipline: Scripture, Reason, and Tradition. A particular teaching is most likely to be true to Scripture, Reason, and Tradition, if it is ancient and has been widely received and taught, not just by this Church or that, but by a concensus of the Churches through time and space. The Tradition of the Church in understanding Scripture connects all generations of believers together, guiding and guarding our own interpretation and understanding of God's Word for His world.

Based on the text of the Bible itself, and what Christians have taught us about it through the ages, we then must apply its teaching to our own lives.