About_Us

A Short History of St. Timothy's

St. Timothy's was founded on July 17, 1977. Most of the founders came from old St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in the West Ashley area of Charleston. There had been for some time a great deal of turmoil in the Episcopal Church over changes or plans for changes in the liturgy and the Book of Common Prayer. To many it seemed that the Episcopal Church was abandoning the traditional articles of faith in favor of trendy contemporary ideology. After much prayer many decided that it was time to leave the innovations of contemporary Episcopalians behind and start a Church devoted to maintaining the traditional practice, liturgy, and doctrine.

Services were first held at the Hugenot Church in downtown Charleston and over the years have been held in a number of locations until finding a permanent home at it's present location on Old Parsonage Road in West Ashley. The church purchased a house on 7 acres of land lined with great oaks. In 2002 we sold 3 1/2 acres of the land to build a lovely Anglican Church building on our remaining property. The new Church was consecrated on August 30, 2003.

The first full time rector of St. Timothy's was Fr. Robert C. Harvey, who celebrated his first St. Timothy's service on February 19, 1978. Fr. Harvey remained rector until his election to be the Bishop designate to the Anglican Catholic Church. He was consecrated April 19, 1980 in Austin,Texas. St. Timothy's voted to join the Anglican Catholic Church on April 20, 1980. Fr. Steven A. Head became the next rector and remained until he was called to other duties on September 19, 1983. Fr. James Livingston served as rector from July 16, 1984 until 1989. Fr. John Kress was called in 1990 and remained until 1994 and Fr. Norman Trimmier, our present rector, began his rectorship on January 1, 1995.

The Anglican Catholic Church

Faith

We are Anglican because our heritage is the Church of England. We are Catholic because we are a part of the Universal Church established by our Lord, Jesus Christ. We maintain the Apostolic Ministry of Bishops, Priests and Deacons in unbroken succession as set forth by the Apostles. We believe the ancient Faith as declared in the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds and as established by the seven Councils of the Undivided Church in the first thousand years of Christianity. We know the Bible to be the Word of God and to contain all things necessary for Salvation. Some of it is literal and some symbolic, but all of it is Truth.

Our Worship is liturgical and ritualistic in nature, allowing for everyone to be active participants rather than just listeners. The center of our worship is the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, the feast of Christ's Body and Blood, given for us at the Last Supper and upon the altar of Calvary. We believe Christ to be truly present in this Sacrament. We rely upon the seven Sacraments of Grace as the tools Christ has given us to approach God and in turn to receive His blessings.

And we are fortunate to have inherited, as part of the Anglican tradition, the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer, two masterpieces of the English language.

Fellowship

Our people come from every conceivable background and from every denomination. We seek the same thing: a Church where Tradition and Faith are unchanged, where "old fashioned" morality isn't old fashioned, a Church where Jesus Christ is worshipped in sincerity and truth and where the Holy Ghost is alive and at work in His people. We do not come to show off the new dress or climb social ladders. We come to worship God and to build His Kingdom here on earth. Some of us come in blue jeans and some in three-piece suits, but all come to build the Church, to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked and care for the neglected. Above all, we seek to be the hands and feet, the visible Body, of Jesus Christ reaching out to all people, everywhere.

We are not involved in politics either within the Church or in the nation. We consider it job enough simply to make good disciples of Christ. If you long for a Church where "Christian" is more than just a title, where devotion and sincerity and commitment are the rule and not the exception; if you seek a Church where people are actually trying to live real Christian lives, then we invite you to come and join with us.