St Patrick's Austin is a member of the Anglican Communion, which encompasses 85+ million people worldwide. Anglicanism originated during the English Reformation, but its roots extend back to the early Church, creating a unique blend of multiple Christian traditions.

First and foremost, to be Anglican is to be “simply Christian” and yet the Christian faith is rooted in real history and tradition, and so Anglicanism is the particular way we live out and embody the Christian faith. 

The first missionaries came to the British Isles in the second century, and early Anglicanism was shaped mainly by the monastic and intellectual life of the church. The Reformation of the 16th century dramatically transformed the Anglican tradition by combining the influences of the patristic and medieval eras with the primacy of scripture and reformational views of grace.

Today it is the largest Christian body on earth outside of Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy, with 85% of its adherents living in the Global South. Anglicanism is sometimes called the “via media” (middle way) between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. Anglicans have retained the best of Roman Catholicism (liturgy, tradition, bishops, priests, and deacons) and Protestantism (the authority of Scripture and doctrine of justification). It has catholic, evangelical, and pentecostal expressions across the globe and is characterized by a sense of appreciation for the spectrum of Christian worship and spirituality.

We embrace the richness and diversity of Anglicanism, and St Patrick’s desires to showcase the catholic, evangelical, and pentecostal expressions of our tradition. We believe that the emphases on corporate spirituality, beauty, symbolism in worship, contemplation, and Christ’s true, real, and objective presence in Word and Sacrament. All these gifts of the catholic emphasis in Anglicanism are deeply needed and healing resources for a culture yearning for Truth, Beauty, and Good anchors in an ever-changing culture. We believe that the Protestant fervor for the primacy of Scripture is a necessary starting point for the Christian life, and we believe the pentecostal influence of prayer and equipping the saints of God for ministry allows us to be a church guided by the Holy Spirit.