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Cathedral Church of the Apostles
Cathedral Church of the Apostles
Location	Columbia, South Carolina
Country	United States
Denomination	Anglican Church in North America
Website	apostlescolumbia.org
History
Founded	2004
Founder(s)	The Rt. Rev. Chip Edgar
Dedicated	2011
Architecture
Years built	1956-1964
Administration
Diocese	Carolinas
Clergy
Bishop(s)	The Most Rev. Steve Wood (diocesan); The Rt. Rev. David Bryan (suffragan)
Dean	The Very Rev. Eric J. Speece
Subdean	The Rev. John Barr
Canon(s)	The Rev. Tom Garman
Archdeacon	The Ven. Jan Kaneft
Deacon(s)	The Rev. Lisa Wheeler; The Rev. Allison Lewis

The Church of the Apostles is an evangelical Anglican church in downtown Columbia, South Carolina. Founded in 2003 as part of the Anglican realignment, it serves today as the cathedral parish for the Diocese of the Carolinas.

History

History of the building

Apostles' current building at 1520 Bull Street was originally occupied by the Second Calvary Baptist Church, a historically African-American congregation. Second Calvary was founded in 1889 and dedicated a building on the present site in 1891. The current edifice was constructed between 1956 and 1964. In 2006, Second Calvary completed construction on a new church building in a different area of Columbia and sold the Bull Street building.^[1]

Early history of Apostles

Church of the Apostles was planted in 2003 and officially founded in 2004 as part of the Anglican Mission in America, a group of breakaway Episcopalians whose clergy were canonically resident in the Anglican Church of Rwanda. The Rev. Chip Edgar, a former Episcopal Church priest in Illinois, was the founding rector, leading a group of 25 parishioners.^[2] In the church's early years, it met in the auditorium of the South Carolina State Museum.^[3]

After Second Calvary vacated the Bull Street building, Apostles purchased it and renovated the church, occupying the space for worship services in 2011.^[2] In 2016, Apostles raised $1 million toward a building expansion and program funds and tithed $100,000 to the Rwandan Anglican church. “We owe a debt to Rwanda,” said Edgar. “We couldn’t pay down our own financial debt without acknowledging in a tangible way the spiritual debt we owe the Church of Rwanda for the critical role they played in the formation of the ACNA.”^[4]

Designation as a cathedral

In 2014, after several AMIA churches had left the organization to become part of PEARUSA, Church of the Apostles was designated as pro-cathedral of PEARUSA's Southeast Network. In 2016, the PEARUSA Southeast Network dissolved and Church of the Apostles joined the Diocese of the Carolinas, where it was designated as the diocesan cathedral and Edgar as dean.^[3]

In 2021, Edgar was elected as the second ACNA bishop of South Carolina and consecrated the following year.^[5] At the time of his departure, Apostles had grown from 25 to 550 in average Sunday attendance.^[2]

Architecture

Apostles' exterior—a modern colonial style faced with white-painted brick—and interior have been described as "austere." The nave, laid out in a cruciform plan, seats 450. The campus includes a side chapel.^[2]

The cathedral's Möller Op. 4748 pipe organ dates to 1927.^[6]

Programs

The Church of the Apostles places emphasis on continued works of church planting; between 2004 and 2021, Apostles commissioned church planters or church revitalizers in Bellevue, Washington; Woodstock, Georgia; Houston, Texas; Wilmore, Kentucky; Lynn Haven, Florida; and Lexington, South Carolina.^[3] Apostles also hosts a two-year Simeon Fellowship to provide training and support for new pastors.^[7]

References

^ "Our History". Second Calvary Baptist Church. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Parish Profile". Church of the Apostles. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c "As an Anglican Parish". Church of the Apostles. Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
^ Moskel, Carol (28 November 2016). "Church of the Apostles donates $100,000 to help Rwanda reach sustainability". Carolinas Currently. Diocese of the Carolinas. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
^ Dennis, Rickey Ciapha (19 March 2022). "SC's new Anglican bishop says 'planting' new churches key to growth". The Post and Courier. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
^ "APOSTLES (ANGLICAN), CHURCH OF THE COLUMBIA SC" (PDF). THE GREATER COLUMBIA CHAPTER AMERICAN GUILD OF ORGANISTS. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
^ Albert, Lucy. "Simeon Fellowship Launched & Going Strong". Retrieved 29 September 2022.