| Anglican Province of America | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Classification | Anglo-Catholic |
| Orientation | Anglican |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Presiding Bishop | Chandler Holder Jones, SSC |
| Associations | |
| Region | United States, Ecuador, India, Philippines, Haiti |
| Headquarters | Dunwoody, Georgia, U.S. |
| Origin | 1995 |
| Members | 30,000 |
| Official website | anglicanprovince |
The Anglican Province of America (APA) is a Continuing Anglican church in the United States. The church was founded by former members of the Episcopal Church in the United States.
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In the 1960s, the Episcopal Church in the United States (ECUSA) increasingly involved itself with the civil rights movement. Some in the church began to question areas of ECUSA's involvement which seemed to them to be supporting radical causes. At the same time, revisions made in Roman Catholic liturgies caused many within the ECUSA leadership to champion an updating of the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer.
Opposition to these actions led to the founding of the American Episcopal Church (AEC) in March 1968. At a meeting held in Mobile, Alabama, it was agreed that a new body was needed in order to preserve traditional Anglicanism. [1]
The Presiding Bishop of the APA from its founding until 2021 was Walter Howard Grundorf, who was consecrated on October 3, 1991, by the Rt. Rev. Robert William Stanley Mercer, CR, sometime Bishop of Matabeleland in the Province of Central Africa, the Rt. Rev. Robert Herbert Mize, Junior, sometime Bishop of Damaraland in the Province of Southern Africa, and the Rt. Rev. Charles Francis Boynton, sometime Bishop Suffragan of New York and Missionary Bishop of Puerto Rico. [2] Grundorf was a signatory to the Bartonville Agreement of 1999 which outlined a plan for cooperation between some of the Continuing Anglican churches and conservatives in the Episcopal Church.
Through the Federation of Anglican Churches in the Americas, the APA was associated with the Common Cause Partnership, an organization seeking to unite various Anglican jurisdictions to form a new conservative province of the Anglican Communion in North America. But when, in July 2008, the APA voted to delay a decision on its membership until a number of contentious issues were resolved in the Common Cause Partnership, including whether or not to accept the practice of ordaining women, the APA's Diocese of the West disaffiliated. It subsequently joined the Reformed Episcopal Church and, through her, the Common Cause Partnership. [3] On March 4, 2009, the Anglican Province of America (APA) reorganized its Diocese of the West (DOW) with parishes that had chosen not to follow Richard Boyce out of the APA.
On June 10, 2010, the Rev. Canon Chandler Holder Jones SSC, was elected Bishop Suffragan of the Diocese of the Eastern United States at the 42nd annual synod of the diocese, held in Orlando, Florida. He was consecrated on September 18, 2010, at Saint Alban's Cathedral in Oviedo, Florida by the Most Rev. Walter Howard Grundorf, assisted by the Rt. Rev. Larry Lee Shaver, the Rt. Rev. C. Peter Brewer, the Rt. Rev. Paul C. Hewett (Diocese of the Holy Cross), the Rt. Rev. Clark Dorman, and the Rt. Rev. Arthur Rushlow. [4]
On July 18, 2019, Bishop Chandler Jones was elected Bishop Coadjutor of the Diocese of the Eastern United States at the 51st annual synod, held in Orlando, Florida. [5]
On July 19, 2012, the Rev. Robert Todd Giffin was elected Bishop Suffragan of the Diocese of Mid-America at the 3rd annual synod of the diocese, held in Lima, Ohio. He was consecrated on October 6, 2012, by the Most Rev. Walter Howard Grundorf, assisted by the Rt. Rev. Chandler Holder Jones, SSC, the Most Rev. Brian Richard Marsh (Anglican Church in America) and the Rt. Rev. Larry Lee Shaver. [6] On February 22, 2014, the Rt. Rev. Robert Todd Giffin was elected Bishop Coadjutor of the Diocese of Mid-America at an election synod held in Merrillville, Indiana. [7] On June 20, 2015, Bishop Giffin was installed and enthroned by the Most Rev Walter Howard Grundorf, Presiding Bishop of the Anglican Province of America, as the new Bishop Ordinary of the DMA at the diocese's 6th annual synod. The synod, installment and enthronement were held at the Pro-Cathedral of St. Andrew the Evangelist in Merrillville, Indiana. Bishop Giffin succeeded the Rt. Rev. Larry Lee Shaver as the second bishop of the diocese, which was formed in 2010. On July 22, 2021, upon consent and ratification by the Provincial Synod, the Diocese of Mid-America and the Diocese of the West joined to form the Diocese of the Central and Western States. Bishop Giffin is the Bishop Ordinary of the new diocese, which held its Primary Synod on August 22, 2021. [8]
Upon Bishop Grundorf's retirement at the 53rd annual Synod of the Diocese of the Eastern United States held in Dunwoody Georgia, on July 22, 2021, Bishop Chandler Holder Jones was enthroned as the fourth Bishop Ordinary of the Diocese of the Eastern United States at the newly designated Saint Barnabas Cathedral in Dunwoody, Georgia. [9] The following day, July 23, 2021, Bishop Jones was elected by the Provincial Synod as the new Presiding Bishop of the Province, and was installed by the retired Presiding Bishop Grundorf at Saint Barnabas Cathedral. Presiding Bishop Jones now serves as the Primate of the Anglican Province of America, and Metropolitan of the APA affiliated Churches in India, Ecuador, the Philippines, and Haiti.
In 2015, Bishop Jones addressed Forward in Faith North America at the International Catholic Congress of Anglicans. [10]
There have recently been discussions of unifying elements of the Anglican Church in America with the Anglican Province of America. The Traditional Anglican Communion, including its American branch, the ACA, has long sought unity with the Roman Catholic Church. In October 2009, the Vatican responded with Anglicanorum Coetibus, which allows for the establishment of Anglican personal ordinariates under papal authority. Some members of the ACA agreed to join the ordinariate, while others have not. Instead, the latter continued as the Anglican Church in America and pursued establishing closer relationships with other Continuing Anglican jurisdictions, particularly their former brethren, the APA. In July 2011, the APA's provincial synod voted unanimously to approve an intercommunion agreement with the ACA, anticipating a formal reunion of the two bodies at some time in the future. [11]
In January 2016, the APA reached a formal accord with the ACA, the Anglican Catholic Church, and the Diocese of the Holy Cross. [12]
The Indigenous Pastorale of the Anglican Province of America in Ecuador comprises thirty-two communities totaling about 20,000 people. This Global Partnership was established and recognized by the government of Ecuador in July 2016. [13] The communicants of the IPAPAE were formerly under the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Riobamba.
On October 6, 2017, at a joint synod in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S.), the primates of the Anglican Province of America, the Anglican Church in America, the Anglican Catholic Church, and the Diocese of the Holy Cross signed a concordat of full communion. The Most Rev. Brian R. Marsh (ACA), the Most Rev. Mark D. Haverland (ACC), the Most Rev. Walter H. Grundorf (APA), and the Rt. Rev. Paul C. Hewett (DHC) signed the following document, called the Atlanta Concordat: "We acknowledge each other to be orthodox and catholic Anglicans in virtue of our common adherence to the authorities accepted by and summarized in the Affirmation of St. Louis in the faith of the Holy Tradition of the undivided Catholic Church and of the seven Ecumenical Councils. We recognize in each other in all essentials the same faith; the same sacraments; the same moral teaching; and the same worship; likewise, we recognize in each other the same Holy Orders of bishops, priests, and deacons in the same Apostolic Succession, insofar as we all share the episcopate conveyed to the Continuing Churches in Denver in January 1978 in response to the call of the Congress of Saint Louis; therefore, We welcome members of all of our Churches to Holy Communion and parochial life in any and all of the congregations of our Churches; and, We pledge to pursue full, institutional, and organic union with each other, in a manner that respects tender consciences, builds consensus and harmony, and fulfills increasingly our Lord’s will that His Church be united; and, We pledge also to seek unity with other Christians, including those who understand themselves to be Anglican, insofar as such unity is consistent with the essentials of Catholic faith, order, and moral teaching." [14]
On February 16, 2022, it was announced that the APA has entered into an agreement of full sacramental communion (communio in sacris) with the Traditional Anglican Church. [15] The Most Reverend Shane B. Janzen, Metropolitan of the Anglican Catholic Church of Canada, serves as Primate of the TAC.
According to the Constitution of the Anglican Province of America (2022), the 1928 American Edition of the Book of Common Prayer is to be used. In addition "other traditional Anglican liturgies" as may be authorized by the bishop ordinary, are "permitted for general use" in the worship of the church. The following are permitted for general use in addition to, and subordination to, The Book of Common Prayer, 1928 American Edition: 1. The Book of Offices, Third Edition, 1970, or earlier editions thereof; [16] 2. The Calendar and the Collects, Epistles, and Gospels contained in the Lesser Feasts and Fasts and Special Occasions (1963 Edition or earlier); 3. The Priest's Manual; 4. The Book of Occasional Offices (1960 Edition); 5. The Hymnal, 1940, and other hymns and music authorized by the incumbent; 6. The Anglican Missal ;7. The American Missal. [17]
The Continuing Anglican movement, also known as the Anglican Continuum, encompasses a number of Christian churches, principally based in North America, that have an Anglican identity and tradition but are not part of the Anglican Communion.
The Traditional Anglican Church (TAC), formerly the Traditional Anglican Communion, is an international church consisting of national provinces in the continuing Anglican movement, independent of the Anglican Communion and the Archbishop of Canterbury. The TAC upholds the theological doctrines of the Affirmation of St. Louis. Each of the respective jurisdictions utilizes a traditional Book of Common Prayer deemed to be free of theological deviation. Most parishioners of these churches would be described as being traditional Prayer Book Anglicans in their theology and liturgical practice. Some Anglo-Catholic parishes use the Anglican Missal in their liturgies. The TAC is governed by a college of bishops from across the church and headed by an elected primate.
The Anglican Catholic Church (ACC), also known as the Anglican Catholic Church (Original Province), is a body of Christians in the continuing Anglican movement, which is separate from the Anglican Communion. This denomination is separate from the Anglican Catholic Church in Australia and the Anglican Catholic Church of Canada.
The Anglican Diocese of Quincy is a member of the Anglican Church in North America and is made up of 32 congregations, principally in Illinois but also in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Texas, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Hawai'i, Colorado, Tennessee, and Florida in the United States. The diocese was a founding member of the Anglican Church in North America in 2009.
The Anglican ministry is both the leadership and agency of Christian service in the Anglican Communion. "Ministry" commonly refers to the office of ordained clergy: the threefold order of bishops, priests and deacons. More accurately, Anglican ministry includes many laypeople who devote themselves to the ministry of the church, either individually or in lower/assisting offices such as lector, acolyte, sub-deacon, Eucharistic minister, cantor, musicians, parish secretary or assistant, warden, vestry member, etc. Ultimately, all baptized members of the church are considered to partake in the ministry of the Body of Christ.
The Episcopal Church of Cuba is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States. The diocese consists of the entire country of Cuba. From 1966 to 2020, it was an extra-provincial diocese under the archbishop of Canterbury. As of 2021, it had nearly 1,600 members and an average worship attendance of more than 600 in forty-four parishes, including the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Havana.
The September 14-16, 1977 Congress of St. Louis was an international gathering of nearly 2,000 Anglicans in St. Louis, Missouri, united in their rejection of theological changes introduced by the Anglican Church of Canada and by the Episcopal Church in the United States of America in its General Convention of 1976. Anglicans who attended this congress felt that these changes amounted to foundational alterations in the American and Canadian provinces of the Anglican Communion and meant that they had "departed from Christ's One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church." Theological liberalism, revisions to the Book of Common Prayer, and the ordination of women priests were not the only reasons for the split, but they were seen by these churches as evidence of the mainline church's departure from Anglican orthodoxy. The idea for a congress originated with the Reverend Canon Albert J. duBois in 1973 in preparation for the Louisville General Convention of the Episcopal Church. This congress was sponsored by the Fellowship of Concerned Churchmen, an organization founded in 1973 as a coordinating agent for laypeople and clergy concerned about the breakdown of faith and order within the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada.
The Anglican Church in America (ACA) is a Continuing Anglican church body and the United States branch of the Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC). The ACA, which is separate from the Episcopal Church, is not a member of the Anglican Communion. It comprises five dioceses and around 5,200 members.
The Episcopal Missionary Church (EMC) is a Continuing Anglican church body in the United States and a member of the Federation of Anglican Churches in the Americas.
The Episcopal Church in the Philippines is a province of the Anglican Communion comprising the country of the Philippines. It was established by the Episcopal Church of the United States in 1901 by American missionaries led by Charles Henry Brent, who served as the first resident bishop, when the Philippines was opened to Protestant American missionaries. It became an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion on May 1, 1990.
The Christian Episcopal Church (XnEC) is a Continuing Anglican jurisdiction consisting of parishes in Canada and the United States and with oversight of several parishes in the Cayman Islands. Its bishops claim apostolic succession through the Right Rev. A. Donald Davies. Davies was formerly the bishop-in-charge of the Convocation of American Churches in Europe and the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, Texas.
William Wesley Millsaps is a Continuing Anglican bishop. He is bishop of the Episcopal Missionary Church. He is the rector of Christ Church in Monteagle, Tennessee, and Presiding bishop of the Episcopal Missionary Church. He had served previously from 2001-2010. He was elected again in December 2014 at a Synod held at Christ Church, Warrenton, Virginia.
The Bartonville Agreement came from a meeting held in May 1999 by bishops representing both the Anglican Communion's American province and a number of Continuing Anglican jurisdictions in North America. As such, it was an early effort made by conservative Episcopal bishops and Continuing Anglican bishops to voice a common set of principles which might become the basis of future cooperation between their churches or dioceses. The schism that had divided these church bodies had occurred in 1977 at the Congress of St. Louis when "Continuers" met and formed a new Anglican church in reaction to changes in doctrine and practice that had been approved by the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada.
The Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (ECUSA) in Florida which extends from Marco Island on the south, to Brooksville on the north, and inland to Plant City, Arcadia and LaBelle on the east. As part of the ECUSA, the diocese is a constituent member of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
The Episcopal Church Diocese of Puerto Rico is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in Puerto Rico.
The Diocese of Quincy was a diocese of the Episcopal Church in western Illinois from 1877 to 2013. The cathedral seat was originally in Quincy, Illinois but was moved to St. Paul's Cathedral in Peoria in 1963. In order to avoid confusion with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria, the diocese retained the name of the location of its original "home" city, Quincy, where its cathedral seat was St. John's.
The Holy Catholic Church (Anglican Rite) (also known as the Anglican Rite Catholic Church or HCC-AR) is a body of Christians in the Continuing Anglican movement. It is represented by dioceses and missionary jurisdictions in the United States of America, Latin America, and India.
The REC Diocese of Mid-America, with the Convocation of the West and Western Canada, is a Reformed Episcopal Church and an Anglican Church in North America diocese, since its foundation in 2009. The REC Diocese of Mid-America is distinct from a diocese of the same name of the Anglican Province of America, which is not affiliated with the Anglican Church in North America. It has 34 congregations, 32 in 12 American states, which are Arkansas, California, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, North Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin, and 2 congregations in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Its headquarters are located in Katy, Texas. The Bishop Ordinary was the late Royal U. Grote, Jr., replaced upon his passing by the Bishop Coadjutor, Ray R. Sutton.
Richard Walter Lipka is an American Anglican bishop. Lipka served as a Roman Catholic and Episcopal priest before being consecrated in the Charismatic Episcopal Church. He has served since 2021 as bishop ordinary of the Missionary Diocese of All Saints, an Anglo-Catholic diocese in the Anglican Church in North America. He is a significant figure in the Episcopal charismatic renewal movement and the Anglican realignment.
