History 

Montgomery Parish, the parish of Christ Church, was created by the Act of the General Assembly of Virginia in October, 1777. The present parish boundaries were established in 1898 and include approximately the northern half of Montgomery County. The parish had two churches: Christ Church in central Blacksburg and its mission, Emmanuel Chapel, at High Top. When the chapel was founded in 1916, its site was in the countryside. The chapel was deconsecrated and closed in the late 1990s.

The congregation dates from 1857 when first services were conducted by an Episcopal mission worker. The first full-time rector for the four congregations of the parish (Blacksburg, Christiansburg, New River Depot, and Radford) came in 1873. Seven rectors served the parish between that date and 1897. Since 1897, Christ Church itself has been served by 18 rectors. From 1958 to the present, in addition to the rector there has usually been a college chaplain or a curate in the parish.