The Church of the Ascension in Centreville, Virginia, is a member of the Disocese of the Mid-Atlantic States in the Anglican Catholic Church. The church is also known locally as "The Old Stone Church" or "TOSC", because both the sanctuary and the parish hall are made of local fieldstone.
The Church of the Ascension is blessed with a beautiful and historic place of worship. The Old Stone Church has served many throughout its eventful existance.
The Sanctuary of the Old Stone Church was built by members of the Centreville Methodist Episcopal Church, South in 1854.
During the US Civil War (1861 1865), “The Old Stone Church” was the first designated Union Army surgical hospital (MASH). The surgical hospital received major casualties from the Battle of Blackburn's Ford (1861), and during First Manassas (1861) and Second Manassas (1862). The Old Stone Church as an army hospital was traded back and forth between the medical departments of the Confederate and Union forces with the changes of the battle line.
The noted Union spy, Sarah Emma Edmonds, worked as a nurse in the church when it was used as a hospital, and described her experiences and impressions in her book, "Nurse and Spy in the Union Army." [1]
The church building was burned during the Union troops' occupation of Centreville in 1864. The church was rebuilt in the 1870s, and vestiges of the slaves' gallery can still be seen over the door.
In 1939 the Centerville Methodist Church took over The Old Stone Church and held services through 1968.
Servicemen returning from World War II built the Parish Hall in 1944-1945.
In 1968 the Centerville United Methodist Church began worship at The Old Stone Church.
The Church of the Ascension purchased The Old Stone Church on Saint Nicholas of Myra Day (6 December 1973) and began services in it on Christmas Eve 1973.
The Church of the Ascension is one of the founding parishes of both the Anglican Catholic Church and the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic States.
On October 23, 2010, the Rt. Rev. William McClean, Jr, Bishop Ordinary of the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic States instituted the Rev. Michael C. Weaver as the 6th rector of the Church of the Ascension.
The Affirmation of St. Louis was adopted by those Anglicans meeting in St. Louis, Missouri in 1977 as a statement of principles to guide them and others in the establishment of the new Anglican jurisdiction. As such, it is a foundation document of the Church.
The word Catholic is often misunderstood as meaning Roman Catholic. But Rome has no copyright on the word. The words "Catholic Church" in ancient times referred to the universal Church, teaching the entire Faith of Jesus Christ which He gave to the Apostles. In our day, when the Church is sadly divided, the term Catholic Church denotes those branches of the Church who still teach the Apostolic Faith and continue Apostolic practice. The word Anglican refers to our heritage and roots in the Church of England.
By way of traditional Episcopal and Anglican worship, and as part of the Continuing Anglican movement, the Church of the Ascension uses the 1928 Book of Common Prayer and the 1940 Episcopal Hymnal for their services.