A readable and accurate account of the beginnings of the Anglican Church in America at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607, to the establishment of the Protestant Church in America after the War of Independence to the present day. All who are insterested in Americn church history and in the influence of the Espicopal Church on American history will find Holmes' book most enlightening.

The perfect book for inquirers and new members, as well as current Church members who may be unfamiliar with some of the Church s history, beliefs, and practices. This new introduction to the history, polity, spirituality, worship, and outreach of the Episcopal Church is written in an easy-to-read conversational tone, and includes study questions at the end of each chapter, making it an excellent resource for adult parish study and inquirers' classes."

Nancy J. Ricketts lives in the midst of her books overlooking her gardens on a quiet street in Sitka, Alaska. She walks to town, to the school and museum where she volunteers, to the two libraries and to church. She sings in the choir at St. Peter's and frequently performs with the Sitka Recorder Society. A long-time member of the Society of American Archivists, Nancy bears the title of Archivist Emeritus. Sheldon Jackson College Library from which she is retired, Kettleson Library and Isabel Miller Museum house collections she has brought into being. She has written a number of documented histories of institutions such as the Sitka Summer Music Festival, and the Sitka Conservation Society.

In 2012, the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina declared its independence from the Episcopal Church. It was the fifth of the 111 dioceses of the Church to do so since 2007. A History of the Episcopal Church Schism in South Carolina is the sweeping story of how one diocese moved from the mainstream of the Episcopal Church to separate from the church. It examines the underlying issues, the immediate causes, and the initiating events as well as the nature and results of the schism. The book traces the escalating conflict between the diocese and the church that led up to the schism. It also examines the legal war between the two post-schism dioceses, the majority in the independent Diocese of South Carolina and the minority in the Episcopal Church in South Carolina. This is the first scholarly history of a diocesan schism from the Episcopal Church. It is extensively researched from original and secondary sources and documented in over 2,000 notes citing nearly 900 works. This story stands as a cautionary tale of what happens in a major Christian denomination when majority and minority factions increasingly differentiate themselves and what impact that can have for both parties.