Diocese of Angola

Diocese of Angola
Location
Ecclesiastical province Southern Africa
Archdeaconries 4
Statistics
Parishes 63
Members c. 58,000
Information
Rite Anglican
Current leadership
Bishop André Soares

The Diocese of Angola (Portuguese: Diocese Anglicana de Angola) is a diocese in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, encompassing the entire country of Angola. It is divided in four archdeaconries, Luanda, Lukunga Lozi (Songo), Nzadi a Lukiki and Uíge, with a total of 63 parishes.

History

Anglicanism reached the Portuguese colony of Angola in 1923, due to the English missionary Archibald Patterson. The current diocese has been formed from the Igreja Evangélica Unida de Angola, which shared a common history with the Igreja Evangélica Reformada de Angola from 1922 to 1975.

It was constituted as the Evangelical Reformed Church of Angola in 1975. Angola was an archdeaconry of the Mozambican Anglican Diocese of Lebombo until 2003. It became a diocese of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa in 2003, with André Soares as the first bishop. The Angolan bishop had already shown his support for women ordination, adding that he doesn't believe it is an obstacle to ecumenism.[1]

Membership

The current membership is c. 58,000.[2]

List of Bishops

References

  1. ↑ "Vou ordenar mais mulheres para o sacerdócio", Article by Muanamosi Matumonaj, Jornal de Angola, 29 April 2010 (Portuguese)
  2. ↑ Diocese of Angola - Statistics, June 2013, ALMA Link
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