Christ Episcopal Church

Christ Church houses a small yet dedicated and welcoming congregation of the American Anglican tradition, striving to be a beacon of light for an open and generous Christianity in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains of Southwest Virginia. As Episcopalians, we strive to live by the message of Christ, in which there are no outcasts and all are welcomed with love and through His grace.

Our worship services are liturgical and sacramental in nature. For the newcomer, liturgy may be exhilarating… or confusing. Services may involve standing, sitting, kneeling, sung or spoken responses, and other participatory elements that may provide a challenge for the first-time visitor. However, liturgical worship can be compared with a dance: once you learn the steps, you come to appreciate the rhythm, and it becomes satisfying to dance, again and again, as the music changes. 

Whatever your background and wherever you are on your walk through life, we humbly invite you to partake of the spiritual journey with us through Christ our Lord. Our services meet at 11 AM on Sundays, with Coffee Hour and fellowship following afterward in the Parish Hall.

A Virginia Historical Landmark, the Christ Church was organized on October 31, 1890.  The building was designed by T. Buckler Chequior, a Baltimore architect.   The church was originally painted red, due to the fact that Mr. J. K. Taggart, an early settler of Big Stone Gap, had extra paint left from painting his barn.  It is still a tradition today for the Taggart family to give the red paint.  The altar of the church is a relic from the mid-nineteenth century Episcopal Church is Rustburg, Virginia.