Who we are

Holy Sepulchre is a vibrant Anglican church in the City of London, with a vision of ‘seeking the presence of God in the church, for our City and the world’.

Our vision is huge – we want to see the picture in our East window become a reality in our city, with Christ and the cross lifted high over London.  Jesus taught his disciples to expect God to do great things through us, but that that is only possible when we are rooted in him. Our priority as a church is therefore to seek God’s presence and God’s will in everything we do, believing that revival and transformation will overflow out of that.  That belief and vision is summed up in our ‘strapline’

“seeking the presence of God in the Church and for our city”

Seeking the presence of God…

“There is a river whose streams make glad the City of God” (Psalm 46v4)

The Psalmist uses the image of a river to express God’s presence with his people.  We long to see that river flowing more and more through our church, and to be a people and place of encounter with God.  We believe that God has called us to focus on three ‘wells’, each a historic strength of our church:

·       worship – using music in worship to the glory of God

·       word – knowing God through preaching and reading the Bible

·       prayer – looking to God in prayer

…in the Church…

Christ himself gave the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to equip the holy people for works of ministry so that the body of Christ might be built up…” (Ephesians 4v11-12)

The core of the church is not the building, institution or programmes, but the people who make up the body of Christ.  We want to equip them in seeking God themselves and living lives of obedience to Christ, so that they can then bear fruit in the whole of their lives.  We are committed to doing this on three levels:

·       individual – equipping and discipling individuals  

·       our church – building a strong community of faith

·       the Church – partnering with other Christians and churches working in our local area

…and for our city

“’Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, rivers will flow from within them.’ By this he meant the Spirit” – John 7v37-39

To be filled with the Spirit is something that should overflow from within us, transforming the world around us.  Jesus own ministry was characterised by three elements that we long to see in our own:

·       Evangelism – proclaiming the good news and calling people to follow Jesus

·       Justice and Compassion – loving the poor and needy in practical ways

·       Power – ministering in the power of God’s Spirit through prophecy, signs and wonders

Our Patron

St. John’s College Oxford have been our patron at Holy Sepulchre since 1636.  Over the years the role of patron has gone through many changes and iterations, but these days patrons are primarily involved in appointing new rectors (or vicars) and being a supportive friend and partner to the church. St. John’s have been active and supportive as patrons over the years, particularly at the moment through the sponsoring of one of our choral scholarships.

Diocese of London

Throughout its history Holy Sepulchre has been a part of the Church of England Diocese of London and this remains core to our identity today.  It is exciting to be part of a larger whole and to be able to work with other churches in sharing the good news of Jesus with our City.