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Primates in the Anglican Communion are the most senior bishop or archbishop of one of the 42 [1] churches of the Anglican Communion. [2] The Church of England, however, has two primates, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of York.
Some of these churches are stand-alone ecclesiastical provinces (such as the Church of the Province of West Africa), while others are national churches comprising several ecclesiastical provinces (such as the Church of England). Since 1978, the Anglican primates have met annually for an Anglican Communion Primates' Meeting at the invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who is regarded as the symbolic leader (though primus-inter-pares ) of the Anglican primates. While the gathering has no legal jurisdiction, it acts as one of the informal instruments of unity among the autonomous provinces of the communion.
In stand-alone ecclesiastical provinces, the primate is the metropolitan archbishop of the province. In national churches composed of several ecclesiastical provinces, the primate will be senior to the metropolitan archbishops of the various provinces, and may also be a metropolitan archbishop. In those churches which do not have a tradition of archiepiscopacy, the primate is a bishop styled "primus" (in the case of the Scottish Episcopal Church), "presiding bishop", "president bishop", "prime bishop" or simply "primate". In the case of the Episcopal Church in the United States, which is composed of several ecclesiastical provinces, there is a presiding bishop who is its primate, but the individual provinces are not led by metropolitans.
Anglican primates may be attached to a fixed see (e.g., the Archbishop of Canterbury is invariably the Primate of All England), who may be chosen from among sitting metropolitans or diocesan bishops and retain the see (as with, for example, the Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia), or who may have no see (as in the Anglican Church of Canada). Primates are generally chosen by election (either by a synod consisting of laity, clergy and bishops, or by a House of Bishops). In some instances, the primacy is awarded on the basis of seniority among the episcopal college. In the Church of England, the primate, like all bishops, is appointed by the British sovereign, in the capacity of Supreme Governor of the established church, on the advice of the Crown Appointments Commission.
The United Churches of South India, of North India, of Pakistan and of Bangladesh have neither metropolitan (arch)bishops nor national primates. Instead, each has a Moderator of the Synod (and a Vice-Moderator), elected from among the bishops for a fixed term, who is ranked among the Anglican primates. [3]
In the Church of England and the Church of Ireland, the metropolitan of the second province has since medieval times also been accorded the title of primate. In England, the Archbishop of Canterbury is known as the "Primate of All England" [4] while the Archbishop of York as "Primate of England" [5] (see also Primacy of Canterbury). In Ireland both the Anglican and Roman Catholic Archbishops of Armagh are titled "Primate of All Ireland"; [6] [7] while both the Anglican and Roman Catholic Archbishops of Dublin are titled "Primate of Ireland". [7] As both of these positions pre-date the 1921 partition, they relate to the whole of Ireland. The junior primates of these churches do not normally participate in the Primates' Meeting.
Key | |||
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Active primate | Male primate | ||
Inactive primate | Female primate | ||
Position vacant or acting primate |
This is a list of the 42 current primates (including four moderators of united churches) in the worldwide Anglican Communion. The list is given according to the Anglican order of precedence, with the Archbishop of Canterbury as primus inter pares first and the others in order of seniority by their first installation to a primacy.
Province | Primate | Person | Date of birth & age | Consecration [i] | Took office [ii] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Church of England | The Archbishop of Canterbury & Primate of All England | Justin Welby | 6 January 1956 | 28 October 2011 | 4 February 2013 |
Anglican Church of Southern Africa | The Archbishop of Cape Town & Primate of Southern Africa | Thabo Makgoba | 15 December 1960 | 25 May 2002 | 31 December 2007 |
Church of the Province of Myanmar (Burma) | The Archbishop of Myanmar & Bishop of Yangon | Stephen Than Myint Oo | 1958 (age 65–66) | 2005 | 17 February 2008 |
Anglican Church of Chile | The Primate of Chile, Presiding Bishop of the Anglican Church of Chile & Bishop of Santiago | Tito Zavala | 16 October 1954 | 1998 | 2010–2016 (South America) 4 November 2018 –present (Chile) |
Church of the Province of Central Africa | The Archbishop of Central Africa & Bishop of Northern Zambia | Albert Chama | unknown | 2003 | 20 March 2011 |
Anglican Church of Kenya | The Primate and Archbishop of All Kenya & Bishop of All Saints' Cathedral | Jackson Ole Sapit | 12 June 1964 | 2005 | 3 July 2016 |
Anglican Church of Korea | The Presiding Bishop of the Anglican Church of Korea & Bishop of Busan | Onesimus Park | May 16, 1963 | 2012 | 11 May 2017–2018 (first term) 12 July 2024 –present (second term) [8] |
Scottish Episcopal Church | The Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church & Bishop of Moray, Ross and Caithness | Mark Strange | 2 November 1961 | 23 October 2007 | 27 June 2017 |
Province of the Episcopal Church of Sudan | The Archbishop of Khartoum & Primate of Sudan | Ezekiel Kondo | 1957 (age 66–67) | 2003 | 30 July 2017 |
Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean | The Archbishop of the Indian Ocean & Bishop of Seychelles | James Wong | 1960 (age 63–64) | 19 April 2009 | 27 August 2017 |
Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia [iii] | Te Pīhopa o Aotearoa, Primate of New Zealand & Te Pīhopa o Te Tairāwhiti | Don Tamihere | 1972 (age 51–52) | 11 March 2017 | 8 April 2018 |
Province of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan | The Archbishop of Juba & Primate of South Sudan | Justin Badi Arama | 1964 (age 59–60) | 2001 | 22 April 2018 |
Anglican Church of Tanzania | The Archbishop of Tanzania & Bishop of Tanga | Maimbo Mndolwa | 1968 (age 55–56) | 4 September 2012 | 20 May 2018 |
Church of the Province of Rwanda | The Archbishop of Rwanda & Bishop of Gasabo | Laurent Mbanda | 1954 (age 69–70) | May 2010 | 10 June 2018 |
Church of Bangladesh [iv] | The Moderator of the Church of Bangladesh & Bishop of Dhaka | Samuel Sunil Mankhin | unknown | 8 November 2009 | 5 December 2018 |
Church in the Province of the West Indies | The Archbishop of the West Indies & Bishop of Jamaica | Howard Gregory | 1950or1951(age 73–74) | 17 May 2017 | 28 May 2019 |
Church of the Province of Melanesia | The Archbishop of Melanesia & Bishop of Central Melanesia | Leonard Dawea | 1971or1972(age 52–53) | August 2016 | 15 September 2019 |
Church of Uganda | The Archbishop of Uganda & Bishop of Kampala | Stephen Kaziimba | 15 August 1962 | 26 October 2008 | 1 March 2020 |
Church of Nigeria | The Archbishop of Abuja & Primate of All Nigeria | Henry Ndukuba | 18 July 1961 | September 1999 | 25 March 2020 [9] |
Anglican Church of Australia | The Primate of Australia & Archbishop of Adelaide | Geoffrey Smith | 1958or1959(age 65–66) [10] | 25 July 2007 | 7 April 2020 [11] |
Church of Ireland | The Archbishop of Armagh & Primate of All Ireland | John McDowell | 1956 (age 67–68) | 23 September 2011 [12] | 28 April 2020 [13] |
Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui | The Archbishop of Hong Kong & Bishop of Western Kowloon | Andrew Chan | 1962 (age 61–62) | 25 March 2012 [14] | 3 January 2021 [14] |
Church of Pakistan [iv] | The Moderator of the Church of Pakistan & Bishop in Raiwind | Azad Marshall | unknown | 1994 | 14 May 2021 |
Episcopal/Anglican Province of Alexandria | The Archbishop of Alexandria & Bishop of Egypt | Samy Fawzy | 1963 (age 60–61) | 27 February 2017 | 8 June 2021 |
Episcopal Church in the Philippines | The Prime Bishop of the Philippines | Brent Alawas | March 27, 1957 | 28 October 2009 | 6 August 2021 |
Province of the Anglican Church of Burundi | The Archbishop of Burundi & Bishop of Buye | Sixbert Macumi | 1968 (age 55–56) | 2005 | 21 August 2021 |
Church in Wales | The Archbishop of Wales & Bishop of Bangor | Andy John | 9 January 1964 | 29 November 2008 | 6 December 2021 |
Province of the Anglican Church of the Congo | The Archbishop of the Congo & Bishop of Aru | Georges Titre Ande | unknown | unknown | 23 January 2022 [15] |
Church of the Province of West Africa | The Primate of West Africa, Metropolitan Archbishop of Ghana & Bishop of Asante Mampong | Cyril Kobina Ben-Smith | 21 February 1964 | May 2011 | 3 June 2022 [16] |
Anglican Church of Mexico [v] | Archbishop of Mexico & Bishop of Cuernavaca | Enrique Treviño Cruz | 1959 (age 64–65) | 23 February 2013 | 11 June 2022 [17] |
Anglican Church in Central America | The Primate of Central America & Bishop of El Salvador | Juan David Alvarado | 1961or1962(age 62–63) | 24 January 2015 | 24 August 2022 [18] |
Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil | The Primate of Brazil & Bishop of Amazon | Marinez Rosa dos Santos Bassotto | 1971or1972(age 52–53) | 2018 | 23 November 2022 |
Church of North India [iv] | The Moderator of the Church of North India & Bishop of Agra | Bijay Kumar Nayak | unknown | 8 May 2005 | 9 December 2022 |
Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia [iii] | The Bishop of Polynesia & Primate of New Zealand | Sione Uluʻilakepa | 1965 (age 58–59) | 11 March 2023 | 11 March 2023 [19] |
Anglican Church of South America | The Presiding Bishop of South America & Bishop of Argentina | Brian Williams | unknown | 8 November 2020 | 7 May 2023 |
Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East | The President Bishop and Primate of the Church in Jerusalem & Archbishop in Jerusalem | Hosam Naoum | 1974 (age 49–50) | 14 June 2020 | 12 May 2023 |
Church of the Province of South East Asia | The Archbishop of South East Asia & Bishop of Singapore | Titus Chung | 1964or1965(age 59–60) | 18 October 2020 [20] | 23 January 2024 [21] |
Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia [iii] | The Senior Bishop of the New Zealand Dioceses, Primate of New Zealand & Bishop of Wellington | Justin Duckworth | 1968 (age 55–56) | 30 June 2012 | 22 May 2024 [22] |
Anglican Church in Japan | The Primate of Japan & Bishop of Okinawa | David Eisho Uehara | unknown | 7 September 2013 [23] | 30 May 2024 [24] |
The Episcopal Church in the USA | The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church | Sean W. Rowe | 6 February 1975 | 8 September 2007 | 1 November 2024 |
Anglican Church of Mozambique and Angola | The Presiding Bishop of IAMA & Bishop of Zambezia | Vicente Msosa | 18 February 1981 | 25 February 2017 | 15 November 2024 [25] |
Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea | The Senior Bishop of Papua New Guinea & Bishop of Aipo Rongo | Nathan Ingen | unknown | unknown | 11 May 2020 (Acting) |
Church of South India [iv] | The Deputy Moderator of the Church of South India & Bishop of Karimnagar | K. Reuben Mark | 29 March 1961 | 4 May 2015 | 5 September 2023 [26] |
Anglican Church of Canada | The Acting Primate of Canada & Archbishop of Algoma and Moosonee | Anne Germond | 1960 (age 63–64) | 11 February 2017 | 15 September 2024 |
The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Formally founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The traditional origins of Anglican doctrine are summarised in the Thirty-nine Articles (1571) and The Books of Homilies. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, recognised as primus inter pares, but does not exercise authority in Anglican provinces outside of the Church of England. Most, but not all, member churches of the communion are the historic national or regional Anglican churches.
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. Justin Welby was enthroned as archbishop of Canterbury at Canterbury Cathedral on 21 March 2013. In late 2024, he announced his resignation, to take effect on 6th January 2025. Welby is the 105th person to hold the position, as part of a line of succession going back to Augustine of Canterbury, the "Apostle to the English", who was sent to England by Pope Gregory the Great and arrived in 597.
Primate is a title or rank bestowed on some important archbishops in certain Christian churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority or (usually) ceremonial precedence.
The Scottish Episcopal Church is a Christian denomination in Scotland. Scotland's third largest church, the Scottish Episcopal Church has 303 local congregations. It is also an ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion.
The Primacy of Ireland belongs to the diocesan bishop of the Irish diocese with highest precedence. The Archbishop of Armagh is titled Primate of All Ireland and the Archbishop of Dublin Primate of Ireland, signifying that they are the senior clerics on the island of Ireland, the Primate of All Ireland being the more senior. The titles are used by both the Catholic Church in Ireland and Church of Ireland. Primate is a title of honour, and in the Middle Ages there was an intense rivalry between Armagh and Dublin as to seniority. The Archbishop of Armagh's leading status is based on the belief that his see was founded by St. Patrick, making Armagh the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland. On the other hand, Dublin is the political, cultural, social, economic and secular centre of Ireland, and has been for many centuries, thus making the Archbishop of Dublin someone of considerable influence, with a high national profile. The dispute between the two archbishoprics was settled by Pope Innocent VI in 1353, with occasional brief controversy since. The distinction mirrors that in the Church of England between the Primate of All England, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Primate of England, the Archbishop of York.
The Church of Nigeria is the Anglican church in Nigeria. It is the second-largest province in the Anglican Communion, as measured by baptised membership, after the Church of England. In 2016 it stated that its membership was “over 18 million", out of a total Nigerian population of 190 million. It is "effectively the largest province in the Communion." As measured by active membership, the Church of Nigeria has nearly 2 million active baptised members. According to a study published by Cambridge University Press in the Journal of Anglican Studies, there are between 4.94 and 11.74 million Anglicans in Nigeria. The Church of Nigeria is the largest Anglican province on the continent of Africa, accounting for 41.7% of Anglicans in Sub-Saharan Africa, and is "probably the first [largest within the Anglican Communion] in terms of active members."
The Archbishop of Westminster heads the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster, in England. The incumbent is the metropolitan of the Province of Westminster, chief metropolitan of England and Wales and, as a matter of custom, is elected president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, and therefore de facto spokesman of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. All previous archbishops of Westminster have become cardinals. Although all the bishops of the restored diocesan episcopacy took new titles, like that of Westminster, they saw themselves in continuity with the pre-Reformation Church and post-Reformation vicars apostolic and titular bishops. Westminster, in particular, saw itself as the continuity of Canterbury, hence the similarity of the coats of arms of the two sees, with Westminster believing it has more right to it since it features the pallium, a distinctly Catholic symbol of communion with the Holy See.
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis.
Primus inter pares is a Latin phrase meaning first among equals. It is typically used as an honorary title for someone who is formally equal to other members of their group but is accorded unofficial respect, traditionally owing to their seniority in office.
An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consists of several dioceses, one of them being the archdiocese, headed by a metropolitan bishop or archbishop who has ecclesiastical jurisdiction over all other bishops of the province.
The Anglican Church of Canada is the province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French-language name is l'Église anglicane du Canada. In 2022, the Anglican Church counted 294,931 members on parish rolls in 1,978 congregations, organized into 1,498 parishes. The 2021 Canadian census counted 1,134,315 self-identified Anglicans, making the Anglican Church the third-largest Canadian church after the Catholic Church and the United Church of Canada.
Primate of New Zealand is a title held by a bishop who leads the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. Since 2006, the Senior Bishop of each tikanga serves automatically as one of three co-equal Primates-and-Archbishops. Previously, one of these three would be Presiding Bishop and the other two Co-Presiding Bishops; and before that there was only one Primate.
A prolocutor is a chairman of some ecclesiastical assemblies in Anglicanism.
The history of the Anglican Communion may be attributed mainly to the worldwide spread of British culture associated with the British Empire. Among other things the Church of England spread around the world and, gradually developing autonomy in each region of the world, became the communion as it exists today.
The Anglican Communion Primates' Meetings are regular meetings of the primates in the Anglican Communion, i.e. the principal archbishops or bishops of each ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion. There are currently 38 primates of the Anglican Communion. The primates come together from the geographic provinces around the world for discussion and consultation. As primus inter pares of the communion, the Archbishop of Canterbury chairs the meetings, with the Secretary General of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) serving as secretary.
The Most Reverend is an honorific style given to certain high-ranking religious figures, primarily within the historic denominations of Christianity, but occasionally also in more modern traditions. It is a variant of the more common style "The Reverend".
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 ordination of women in the Anglican Communion has been increasingly common in certain provinces since the 1970s. Several provinces, however, and certain dioceses within otherwise ordaining provinces, continue to ordain only men. Disputes over the ordination of women have contributed to the establishment and growth of progressive tendencies, such as the Anglican realignment and Continuing Anglican movements.
Francisco Manuel Moreno was a Mexican Anglican bishop who was primate of the Anglican Church of Mexico.