The Origin of the Church of the Holy Apostles is in the abandoned quarry in what was known as East Sioux Falls. It was there that a “chapel of ease” was erected for the stonecutters from the British Isles who came to work in those quarries. When the quarry was worked out, the little chapel, called St. Peter’s was moved to the corner of Sixth Street and Cliff Avenue in Sioux Falls. Through the years that followed it served the neighborhood community as a mission of the Cathedral Church, often having the dean of the cathedral as its vicar.

In the 1930s a newly ordained priest, Conrad H. Gesner, was appointed a missioner and served as St. Peter’s vicar. Later, that priest was to become Bishop of South Dakota and in 1963 broke the ground and opened a new church on the east side of Sioux Falls, the Church of the Holy Apostles. It was dedicated to almighty God in thanksgiving for the ministry of the Right Reverend Conrad H. Gesner. This church replaced St. Peter’s, the property on which St. Peter’s stood being sold, and this new church built in a rapidly growing area of the city. Many years later the congregation and clergy of Holy Apostles were to minister to Bishop Gesner in his last days on this earth.

The Church of the Holy Apostles was built according to the liturgical principles just being realized in the 1960s. It was the first in the diocese to have a free standing altar at which the celebrant faces the people. The interior was stark rather than being highly decorated. The Holy Eucharist was the chief service on Sundays and Holy Days.

The church is known as an Anglo-Catholic Church. This term means “English Catholic” rather than “Roman Catholic.” Many of the practices are shared with the Roman Catholic Church. The Mass is celebrated on Sundays and most days of the week. There are statues and icons and stations of the cross, holy water fonts, incense, and chanting. What we do in worship at Holy Apostles represents the whole catholic church throughout the ages. None of the ceremonies are new, but have been a part of the church from its earliest days.

The parish family is made up of people from Sioux Falls and the surrounding area and a number of Sudanese who have immigrated to the United States in recent years. Many of these members are “Lost Boys.”

We would be very happy to have you join with us in acclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord of all creation, and the center of our lives. Come and worship with us.