Province of the Anglican Church of the Congo

The Province of the Anglican Church of the Congo (French: Province de l'Église anglicane du Congo) is a province of the Anglican Communion, stretching over the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo.

History

Formal Anglican structures were established in Boga-Zaire from the 1930s. Metropolitcal authority came from the Archbishop of Canterbury until in 1965 the 'Province of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Boga-Zaire' was established.^[1] Following expansion, Uganda became an independent province, leaving the rest of the region as the 'Province of Rwanda, Burundi, and Zaire'.^[2] In 1992 the three countries of the united Province each gained independence under their own individual Metropolitan Archbishop, and the Church of the Province of Zaire came into existence. Their first Archbishop was the Most Rev. Patrice Njojo. In 1997, to reflect the change in name of the nation, the church became known as the Province of the Anglican Church of the Congo. Archbishop Njojo was succeeded by Fidèle Dirokpa in 2003, who held office until 2009. The Most Rev. Henri Isingoma was elected the third Archbishop of the Congo on April 28, 2009.^[3] Most of the Congolese Anglicans lives in the eastern Swahili speaking region of the country, the most damaged part of Congo due to two civil wars.^[4] The Diocese of Kinshasa also includes part of the Republic of the Congo.^[5]

Archbishop of the Congo

The Archbishop of the Congo, known as Zaire until 1997, is both Metropolitan and Primate. The holders of the office have been:

• Patrice Njojo, 1992–2003
• Fidèle Dirokpa, 2003–2009
• Henri Isingoma, 2009–

Dioceses

The Anglican Church of Congo has currently nine dioceses:

• Aru
• Boga
• Bukavu
• Kasai
• Katanga
• Kindu
• Kinshasa
• Kisangani
• Nord Kivu

Anglican realignment

The Anglican Church of the Congo is a member of the Global South (Anglican) and is involved at the Anglican realignment movement. In June 2012, Archbishop Henri Isingoma attended the Provincial Assembly of the Anglican Church in North America, in Ridgecrest, North Carolina, to show is full support for the new province in creation of the Anglican Communion.^[6]

In April 29, 2012, Henri Isingoma expressed his official approval for the temporary admission of the Anglican Mission in the Americas, a former missionary organization of the Anglican Church of Rwanda, at the Anglican Church of Congo until his future was clarified.^[7] After that period, Isingoma stated that the Anglican Church of the Congo would work with the AMiA exclusively as a Missionary Society.^[8]

Archbishop Isingoma attended GAFCON II, which took place in Nairobi, Kenya, from 21 to 26 October 2013.^[9]

References

Further reading

• Anglicanism, Neill, Stephen. Harmondsworth, 1965.

External links

• Official website
• The Province de l'Église anglicaine du Congo at the Anglican Communion official website

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