Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean | |
---|---|
Classification | Protestant |
Orientation | Anglican |
Scripture | Holy Bible |
Theology | Anglican doctrine |
Polity | Episcopal |
Primate | Gilbert Rateloson Rakotondravelo |
Associations | Anglican Communion, Global South |
Territory | Madagascar, Mauritius and the Seychelles |
The Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean is a province of the Anglican Communion. It covers the islands of Madagascar, Mauritius and the Seychelles. The current Archbishop and Primate is Gilbert Rateloson Rakotondravelo, Bishop of Fianarantsoa.
The Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean is a member of the Global South and the Global Anglican Future Conference, and has been involved in the Anglican realignment. Archbishop James Wong attended GAFCON III, in Jerusalem, on 17–22 June 2018, and GAFCON IV in Kigali, [1] on 17-21 April 2023. The province was represented at the event by a ten-member delegation, six from Madagascar and four from the Seychelles. [2]
The Bishop of Antananarivo has been the Ordinary of the Anglican Church in Antananarivo [3] in the Indian Ocean since the diocese's erection in 1969. [4] The current bishop is Samoela Jaona Ranarivelo.
Bishops of Antsiranana have included Gabriel Josoa (until 1982), Keith Benzies (1982 to his death in 2002), Roger Chung Po Chuen (until 2012), Oliver Simon (2012–2015) and Théophile Botomazava (2015-2021).
The diocese of Fianarantsoa, has been established since at least 2003 [5] and Gilbert Rakotondravelo had been the Bishop of Fianarantsoa since before 2010. [6]
Jean-Claude Andrianjafimanana was the first Anglican Bishop of Mahajanga starting in 2003. [5] He was succeeded by Hall Speers from 2019 to 2024. [7] In 2024, a Canadian priest of the Anglican Church in North America, Darrell Critch, was elected and consecrated as the third missionary bishop for the diocese. [8]
When Grosvenor Miles was appointed assistant bishop of Madagascar in 1938, he based himself in Tamatave, with the intention that this would become a diocesan see when the diocese of Madagascar was divided up; [9] but, in fact, the diocese of Tamatave was not created until 1969. [10] It was subsequently renamed the diocese of Toamasina. [11] The inaugural bishop was James Seth from 1969 until his death in 1975. [12] Jean-Paul Solo has been the (Anglican) Bishop of Toamasina, since before 2011. [13]
Todd McGregor was elected in 2006 to become a suffragan/assistant bishop over the Toliara (Tuléar) missionary area of the Diocese of Antananarivo, to prepare that area to become a diocese. On 21 April 2013, the new Diocese of Toliara was erected out of Antananarivo diocese and McGregor became the first bishop diocesan. [14] On 14 March 2021, the Rt Rev Dr Samitiana Jhonson Razafindralambo, formerly the assistant bishop, was elected the next bishop and installed as the 2nd Bishop of Toliara on 25 April 2021. [15]
The Toamasina Province is a former province of Madagascar with an area of 71,911 km2. It had a population of 2,855,600 (2004). Its capital was Toamasina, the most important seaport of the country. The province was also known as Tamatave Province.
The Catholic Church in Madagascar is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.
The Anglican Church of South America is the ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion that covers six dioceses in the countries of Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.
The Anglican Church of Tanzania is a province of the Anglican Communion based in Dodoma. It consists of 28 dioceses headed by their respective bishops. It seceded from the Province of East Africa in 1970, which it shared with Kenya. The current primate and archbishop is Maimbo Mndolwa, enthroned on 20 May 2018.
The Province of the Anglican Church of Burundi is a province of the Anglican Communion, located in East Africa between Tanzania, Rwanda, Kenya, and the Congo. The Archbishop and Primate of Burundi is Sixbert Macumi.
The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is a Christian denomination in the Anglican tradition in the United States and Canada. It also includes ten congregations in Mexico, two mission churches in Guatemala, and a missionary diocese in Cuba. Headquartered in Ambridge, Pennsylvania, the church reported more than 1,000 congregations and more than 128,000 members in 2023. The first archbishop of the ACNA was Robert Duncan, who was succeeded by Foley Beach in 2014. In June 2024, the College of Bishops elected Steve Wood as the third archbishop of the ACNA. Authority was transferred to him during the closing Eucharist at the ACNA Assembly 2024 conference in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.
The Province of the Anglican Church of the Congo is a province of the Anglican Communion, stretching over the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toamasina is one of five Latin Metropolitan archdioceses on Madagascar, yet depends on the missionary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
Vincent William Ryan was an Anglican bishop who served as the first Bishop of Mauritius. His work was instrumental in establishing the Anglican Church's presence in the Indian Ocean and East Africa, paving the way for future dioceses in the region.
James Richard Wong Yin Song is a Mauritian-Seychellois Anglican bishop. He is the archbishop and primate of the Anglican Province of the Indian Ocean, and fourth bishop of The Seychelles.
Ranarivelo Samoela Jaona is the current Malagasy Anglican bishop of the Diocese of Antananarivo. He was consecrated on the 29 June 2008 at the cathedral of Saint Laurent's in Ambohimanoro, and is the fourth bishop of Antananarivo.
Vicente Msosa is a Mozambican Anglican bishop. He was the youngest bishop in the Anglican Communion when he was consecrated as bishop of Niassa in 2017 at the age of 35. Since 2024, he has been the first elected presiding bishop of the Anglican Church of Mozambique and Angola, the newest province of the Anglican Communion.
Andrew John Lines is a British Anglican bishop. Since June 2017, he has been the Missionary Bishop to Europe of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), a province outside the Anglican Communion. In 2020, he became the first presiding bishop of the Anglican Network in Europe, a "proto-province" recognized by the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans. Since 2000, he has been Mission Director and CEO of Crosslinks. He is also the chairman of the executive committee of the Anglican Mission in England (AMiE), the missionary arm of GAFCON in England. In June 2017, it was announced that he would be made a bishop for ACNA and GAFCON; he was consecrated on 30 June 2017.
The Cathedral of Saint Patrick is the Cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Toliara, in the south of Madagascar. The Diocese of Toliara is within the Eklesia Episkopaly Malagasy, and is part of the Indian Ocean Province
The Cathedral of Saint James in Toamasina is the Cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Toamasina, Madagascar.
James Seth was an Anglican bishop in Madagascar. He was the first bishop of Tamatave from its creation in 1969 until his death in 1975.
The Anglican Network in Europe (ANiE) is a Christian denomination in the Anglican tradition with churches in Europe. Formed as part of the worldwide Anglican realignment, it is a member jurisdiction of the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (GAFCON) and is under the primatial oversight of the chairman of the GAFCON Primates Council. ANiE runs in parallel with the Free Church of England (RECUK). GAFCON recognizes ANiE as a "proto-province" operating separately from the Church of England, the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Church in Wales and other Anglican Communion jurisdictions in Great Britain and the European continent. ANiE is the body hierarchically above the preexisting Anglican Mission in England; the former is the equivalent of a province whilst the latter is a convocation, the equivalent of a diocese.
Darrell Critch is a Canadian-born Anglican bishop. Since December 2024, he has been the third diocesan bishop of Mahajanga, Madagascar, in the Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean. Prior to his election as bishop, he was the founding rector of the Anglican Church of the Good Samaritan in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.