The Church of the Epiphany began in the winter of 1866-7 as a mission of St. Luke's parish (the first Episcopal parish in the Rochester Area) with a series of cottage meetings in individual homes. Within three years, a mission chapel was built to provide the fledgling congregation with a permanent home, a Vestry elected and a Sunday School organized.

The mission grew, prospered and was formally recognized as a separate and independent parish in 1876 with 170 families and a church and rectory valued at $18,000.

In the early 1870s, a bell tower was added. In 1882, the chancel was recessed and a memorial window added which substantially improved the appearance of the church. In 1891, a transept and parish rooms were added to the north side of the church.

The parish flourished, providing a center of spiritual life, social life and social responsibility to the neighborhood for over 50 years. But the world following World War II was changing; people moved from the city to the suburbs, the character of the neighborhood changed. By 1952 it was apparent that the parish needed to take a hard look at itself and its environment. Despite determined efforts to reduce the declining church population by attracting the newcomers in the neighborhood, and after careful consideration, in 1958 the Vestry decided to relocate the parish to the western suburbs, following many families who had moved there.

The church purchased 17 acres of farm land in the Town of Gates and groundbreaking for a new, modern church took place on June 8, 1960. The Jefferson Avenue church was sold to a Seventh Day Adventist congregation. The last service in the old church was Easter Sunday, 1960; while the new church was under construction, services were held in the Arnett Avenue branch of the YMCA.The first service in the new church on Buffalo Road in Gates took place on Christmas Eve, 1960.

To preserve the heritage of the parish, many furnishings from the old church were incorporated into the new building including the altar, pulpit, baptismal font and two beautiful stained-glass windows including the Mumford window, dated 1882, which had been the centerpiece of the altar window ensemble.

The transplanted parish took root in its new location. The building was enlarged in 1966 to provide the church school with classrooms and the church with meeting rooms. Since then, a memorial garden and an indoor columbarium have been added.

In 1999, the chancel was renovated to make it more accessible for the physically handicapped, and to allow the altar to move which brought it closer to the congregation. This provides more flexibility to move chancel furniture for events that require different configurations such as more room for musical ensembles,  staged pageants or to bring the organ center stage for concerts.

In 2001, the parish sold eleven acres of unused land to the Episcopal Senior Life Communities to build an assisted living facility for senior citizens. Many of the residents are now part of our parish family and service to that community have become a natural part of our program to serve the needs of our members, our community and to witness to Christ in the world.

In 1951 Epiphany rector, the Rev. Harold Knight, wrote as part of our 75th anniversary history:

We who look to the past can be proud and pleased, but to each generation comes a new call to spread the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ....This history is a record of the faithful men and women who are no longer with us in this world, who have given their lives that this parish might be a beacon to God. It is for us to hold aloft the light of our time and pass it on to those who will follow. The past is a matter of record. The future is yet to be won for Christ. Our lives under God will make this possible.