The Diocese of the Southeast

A Diocese of the Reformed Episcopal Church and ACNA

About Us

Meeting of Carolina Bishops

Bishop Gadsden and Bishop White with other Anglican bishops from the Carolinas

Thank you for visiting the website for the Diocese of the Southeast of the Reformed Episcopal (RE) Church and is a Founding Diocese of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). The diocese is located in Summerville, SC, and is composed of 31 parishes dedicated to the Gospel of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. The Diocese of the Southeast is responsible for parishes in South Carolina, Georgia, and Southeastern Florida and the Cummins Theological Seminary, Summerville, SC.

We take as our mission the mission statement of the Reformed Episcopal Church as approved by the General Committee on October 5, 2003:

Built upon the foundation of the authoritative Word of God, the Holy Scriptures, the Reformed Episcopal Church sets her highest priority on biblical WORSHIP and declares her commitment to the work of EVANGELISM, the bold and unadulterated proclamation of salvation by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 8:4). In keeping the faith once delivered to the saints, the Reformed Episcopal Church, however, does not believe evangelism to be the end, but rather the beginning of her divinely given vocation.

In addition to being evangelical, she is deeply committed to DISCIPLESHIP, the work of training evangelized men and women in Christian living (St. Matthew 28:20). When the Gospel is truly proclaimed and the mercies of God are made known, redeemed men and women must be led to offer their bodies as a living sacrifice, which is their spiritual service (Romans 12:1). Thus, the Reformed Episcopal Church understands the Christian life to be necessarily corporate. The Gospel call of salvation is not only to a savior, but also to a visible COMMUNION (I Cor.12:27) which, being indwelt by Christ's Spirit, transcends both temporal and geographic bounds.

Therefore, the Reformed Episcopal Church is CREEDAL, following the historic catholic faith as it was confessed by the early undivided Church in the Apostles' (A.D. 150), Nicene (A.D. 325) and Athanasian Creeds (circa. A.D. 401); SACRAMENTAL, practicing the divinely ordained sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper as outward and visible signs of His inward and spiritual grace; LITURGICAL, using the historic Book of Common Prayer; and EPISCOPAL, finding unity with the Church of the earliest Christian eras through submission to the government of godly bishops.

In this fashion, by embracing the broad base of doctrine and practice inherent in apostolic Christianity received by the Church of the English Reformation and expressed in the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, the Reformed Episcopal Church has a foundation for effective ministry in the name of Christ to a world which is lost and dying without Him.

Under the leadership of Bishop Alphonza Gadsden, the Diocese of the Southeast has accomplished the highly significant objective of being debt free . Other diocesan goals and objectives include:

  • Creating a greater sense of oneness with other dioceses and the Anglican Communion.
  • Fostering a greater sense of unity among both members and clergy of the diocese.
  • Developing the Bishop Jerdan Conference Center (BJCC) on the Intracoastal waterway.
  • Completing Accreditation Process for Cummins Theological Seminary.
  • Attaining financial stability.
  • Building alliances with other bodies of Bible believing, Christ centered churches of the local ecumenical community.

More information about our Diocese, parishes, and the Reformed Episcopal Chuch can be found on this site or in links to other sites, such as:

If you have any questions or desire more information, please contact us!