Anglican Catholic Church
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| The ACC Crest. | |
| Classification | Continuing Anglican |
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| Orientation | Anglo-Catholic |
| Polity | Episcopal, (with Apostolic Succession) |
| Associations | Inter-Communion with Anglican Province of Christ the King, United Episcopal Church of North America |
| Geographical areas | United States, India, Latin America, Australia, Southern Africa |
| Origin | 1977 St. Louis, Missouri |
| Separated from | Episcopal Church in the United States of America |
| Separations | Anglican Church in America, Holy Catholic Church (Anglican Rite) |
| Congregations | 135 (In the U.S.) |
| Members | 10,000 (In the U.S.) |
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The Anglican Catholic Church is a worldwide body of Anglican Christians in the continuing Anglican movement which grew out of the 1977 Congress of St. Louis. The Congress was called in response to the Episcopal Church's heavy revision of the Book of Common Prayer, which was felt to abandon a true commitment to both scripture and historical Anglicanism[1]. The decision to allow the ordination of women was just one part of a larger theological shift introduced by the revisions and opposed by the Congress of St. Louis. As a result of the desire to maintain the Apostolic tradition of male-only clergy and the exclusive use of historical Anglican liturgical forms, the church was separated and the advocates carry on with the tradition under the name of "Anglican Church in North America". The name was later changed to the Anglican Catholic Church.
The Congress's statement of principles, the "Affirmation of St. Louis", summarized the new church's reason for being as follows: “…the Anglican Church of Canada and the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, by their unlawful attempts to alter Faith, Order and Morality (especially in their General Synod of 1975 and General Convention of 1976), have departed from Christ's One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.”[2]
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[edit] History
By 1978 four bishops had been consecrated. What had provisionally been called the Anglican Church in North America (Episcopal) was eventually divided. The Canadian parishes formed the Anglican Catholic Church of Canada, while the United States saw the formation of the Anglican Catholic Church and the Anglican Province of Christ the King.
In 1984 the five dioceses of the Church of India (Anglican) were received by the Anglican Catholic Church and constituted as its Second Province. Since 1990 the Anglican Catholic Church has expanded to twelve dioceses in the Americas, the United Kingdom and Australia. Also during this time period a number of parishes left the Anglican Catholic Church to merge with the American Episcopal Church in forming the Anglican Church in America. It further suffered the loss of additional parishes which formed themselves into the Holy Catholic Church (Anglican Rite).
[edit] Leadership
- Metropolitan and Archbishop, The Most Reverend Mark Haverland, Athens, Georgia
- Bishop, Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic States, The Right Reverend William McClean, Charlotte Hall, Maryland
- Bishop, Diocese of the Midwest, The Right Reverend Rommie Starks, Indianapolis, Indiana
- Bishop, Diocese of New Orleans, The Right Reverend Presley Hutchens, Natchitoches, Louisiana
- Bishop, Diocese of the United Kingdom, The Right Reverend Damien Mead, Lydd,Romney Marsh, Kent
[edit] Recent developments
In October 2005 the Most Reverend Mark D. Haverland of Athens, Georgia replaced the Most Reverend Brother John Charles as archbishop and metropolitan. On May 17, 2007, Haverland signed an intercommunion agreement negotiated with the United Episcopal Church of North America. At the 17th Provincial Synod, October 2007, the Right Reverend Wilson Garang and his Diocese of Aweil in Sudan were received into the Anglican Catholic Church so that today the Anglican Catholic Church (Original Province) has over 250 parish churches and missions worldwide, not including the second province of India.
[edit] Interchurch developments
In October of 2008 Bishop Presley Hutchens of the ACC addressed the United Episcopal Church of North America's ninth triennial convention and discussed uniting the ACC and UECNA. In a move toward unity the clergy and delegates of the UECNA subsequently elected three suffragan bishops who will serve the UECNA but also assist the ACC and the Anglican Province of Christ the King when requested.
[edit] Province I
- Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic States
- Diocese of the Midwest
- Diocese of New Orleans
- Diocese of the Holy Trinity
- Diocese of the Resurrection
- Diocese of the South
- Diocese of the United Kingdom
- Diocese of Aweil, Sudan
- Missionary Diocese of Australia
- Missionary Diocese of the Caribbean
- Missionary Diocese Of New England
- Missionary Diocese of New Grenada
- Missionary Diocese of Southern Africa
[edit] Province II - Church of India (Anglican)
For information about the history of the Anglican Catholic Church in India, please see http://churchofindia-cipbc.org/history.htm.
