The Episcopal Church of the Epiphany

The Episcopal Church of the Epiphany was founded in 1840 by Dr. George Washington Dame, who came to town to serve as principal of the Danville Female Academy. Four years later the church erected a wooden structure of Gothic design, on the corner of Main Street and Jefferson Avenue. By the time of the Civil War, Dr. Dame’s original congregation of four women had grown to 265 communicants. The original frame building was demolished to make way for the present structure, which was consecrated in 1880. In his autobiography, Dr. Dame spoke of his belief that God called him to ministry and later to Danville. He wrote, "I could never understand what made me leave my home and make the heavy sacrifice unless it was the moving of Him who by His Spirit leads the blind by ways they know not..." In Dr. Dame, God called a new church into being. And 175 years later, we strive to live into that early call. Throughout its history, the people of the Church of the Epiphany have followed a call to be a church whose heart is centered in revealing and manifesting God's love to the world. Over and over we have sought to be a place whose arms open wide for the work of God's kingdom.