The Anglican Church

Saint Paul’s is part of the Anglican Church in North America, which is part of the Anglican Communion. With 80 million members, the Anglican Communion is the 3rd largest Christian community in the world. The churches of the Anglican Communion trace their roots from the Church of England’s expansion and missionary work across the world, particularly in the 1700’s and 1800’s.  Christianity has existed in England from the 1st century, through the witness of Roman soldiers and Jewish converts.

Saint Paul’s Anglican Church was founded in 1964 as a community committed to the same doctrines that the early church universally believed, and which were rekindled in the sixteenth century by the English Reformers.

In God’s providence, we found a permanent home when the property at 101 North El Monte Avenue, Los Altos, came on the market in 1970. A small Baptist group had built two lovely buildings on two acres of land. 


Saint Paul’s acquired the property, and the first service in its new home was held on October 25, 1970. Saint Paul’s Anglican Church is incorporated under the laws of the State of California. Both federal and state tax deductibility have been granted. 


The Very Reverend Norman Milbank became the parish’s first rector when he was ordained at nearly fifty years of age. Rev. Milbank credits his personal friend and parishioner Dr. Rousas John Rushdoony as the impetus to also launch Canterbury Christian School on the campus. 

The Prayerbook

We worship using the 1928 Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is one of the most influential works in the English language. While many of us are familiar with such famous words as, “Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here. . .” or “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,” we may not know that they originated with The Book of Common Prayer, which first appeared in 1549 during the English Reformation. Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, organized the traditional Western liturgy from Latin into an authoritative manual of Christian worship throughout England. As time passed, new forms of the book were made to suit the many English-speaking nations: first in Scotland, then in the new United States, and eventually wherever the British Empire extended its arm.  

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