Anglican Mission in America

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The Anglican Mission in America (AMiA) is a Christian missionary organization active in the United States. Established in 2000, it aims to be an alternative jurisdiction to the Episcopal Church in the USA, the long-established denomination for Anglican Communion members in the United States.

The AMiA was formed by Episcopalians and Anglicans who see the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (ECUSA) as apostate. AMiA members have criticized numerous actions, documents, policies and doctrines of the ECUSA as being in conflict with Holy Scripture. The most visible and public of these conflicts is ECUSA's acceptance and encouragement of practicing, non-celibate homosexual members in both laity and clergy.

The AMiA is technically a missionary organization to the USA under the authority of the Anglican Church of Rwanda and the Anglican Church of South East Asia, both of which are member churches of the Anglican Communion. The AMiA's priests and bishops are ordained by (and obtain, members believe, the benefits of Apostolic Succession through them) the Archbishops of Rwanda and Southeast Asia. As the website of the AMiA states,

The Anglican Mission provides a way for congregations and clergy to be fully Anglican—connected to the worldwide Anglican Communion through the leadership in Rwanda and South East Asia—while, at the same time, being free of the crises of faith, leadership and mission in the Episcopal Church USA.'

Most AMiA clergy are former Episcopal priests who seek to promote traditional Anglicanism through establishing new parishes in the United States. The Rwandan and Southeast Asian provinces of which AMiA is part have consecrated American bishops for the United States, meaning that the usual pattern of missionary work in which the personnel of one nation are sent overseas is not required for AMiA's work.

The AMiA is similar to the Continuing Anglican Movement with the obvious differences that: 1) it is an extension of member provinces of the Anglican Communion, whereas most of the Continuing Churches disavow the Anglican Communion, 2) it has women clergy, and 3) its parishes customarily use the 1979 Book of Common Prayer of ECUSA which Continuing Anglicans consider to be defective.

Another, larger organization of this type -- often compared with the AMiA -- is the Anglican Communion Network (ACN). It is made up of dioceses and parishes which, unlike AMiA, have remained within the Episcopal Church in the USA.

While the AMiA believes itself to be part of the worldwide Anglican Communion, George Carey, who was Archbishop of Canterbury (and as such, head of the Anglican Communion) at the time of the formation of the AMiA, stated otherwise in a personal opinion. The Archbishop's comments from his final address to the Anglican Consultative Council in 2002 make clear his own view that clergy who join the AMiA are leaving the Communion. [1]

I have been clear in my condemnation of the schism created by AMiA and the actions of those Primates and other bishops who consecrated the six bishops. Sadly, I see little sign of willingness on the part of some bishops in the Communion to play their part in discouraging teaching or action that leads some conscientious clergy to conclude that they have no option other than to leave us for AMiA.

The current Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has not directly addressed the standing of the AMiA.

[edit] Ordination of Women

After several years of consideration, the AMiA decided against ordaining women to the priesthood. This decision, however, is not applied ex post facto. At least two female priests who left the Episcopal Church for AMiA retain AMiA recognition of their ordinations. Additionally, the AMiA fully recognizes the ordination of female deacons.