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The Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil ( pt, Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil – IEAB) is the 19th province of the
Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
, covering the country of Brazil. It is composed of nine dioceses and one missionary district, each headed by a
bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
, among whom one is elected as the Primate of Brazil. The current Primate is Naudal Alves Gomes. IEAB is the oldest non- Roman Catholic church in Brazil,Calvani, Carlos Eduardo
"Anglicanismo no Brasil"
Revista USP. São Paulo: n.67, p. 36-47, setembro/novembro 2005. Página visitada em 6 de julho de 2015.
originating from the Treaty of Commerce and Navigation signed in 1810 between Portugal and the United Kingdom which allowed the Church of England to establish chapels in the former Portuguese colony. In 1890 American missionaries from the Episcopal Church established themselves in the country aiming to create a national church; unlike the English chapels, they celebrated services in
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
and converted Brazilians. The Anglican community of Brazil was a missionary district of the Episcopal Church until 1965, when it gained its ecclesiastical independence and became a separate province of the Anglican Communion. Twenty years later, IEAB began to
ordain women Ordain Women is a Mormon feminist organization that supports the ordination of women to the priesthood in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It was founded on March 17, 2013, by Kate Kelly, a human rights attorney fro ...
. It preaches a
social gospel The Social Gospel is a social movement within Protestantism that aims to apply Christian ethics to social problems, especially issues of social justice such as economic inequality, poverty, alcoholism, crime, racial tensions, slums, unclean envir ...
, being known for its commitment to fight against problems that affect vast portions of the Brazilian society, such as
social inequality Social inequality occurs when resources in a given society are distributed unevenly, typically through norms of allocation, that engender specific patterns along lines of socially defined categories of persons. It posses and creates gender c ...
, land concentration,
domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner v ...
, racism,
homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, ma ...
and xenophobia. Its stance as an
Inclusive Church Inclusive Church is an organisation founded in 2003 that advocates for the full inclusion of all people regardless of ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation, in the Christian churches (especially the Church of England), including in the threef ...
has caused both schisms and the arrival of former Roman Catholics and Evangelicals in search of acceptance.


History

Anglicanism Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
, as a distinctive Christian tradition, began to develop from 1534 when Henry VIII of England, driven by political and personal concerns, proclaimed the independence of the Church of England from the Holy See, rejecting papal authority. The church considers itself a continuation of the
primitive church The history of Christianity concerns the Christian religion, Christian countries, and the Christians with their various denominations, from the 1st century to the present. Christianity originated with the ministry of Jesus, a Jewish teac ...
, since it has not rejected the
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and Apostolic faith. Anglicanism soon spread to the
British colonies A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Council ...
in the New World. In Brazil, however, the official religion imposed by the Portuguese settlers was the Roman Catholicism and the early attempts by Protestant missionaries – French
Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Bez ...
s and Dutch
Calvinists Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Calv ...
– failed.Kickhofel, Oswaldo
"Apontamentos de História da Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil"
Centro de Estudos Anglicanos.
The first Anglican to set foot in Brazil was Henry Martin in 1805. His ship made a stop in Salvador on its route to India. He remained in the city for two weeks and communicated with Roman Catholic priests in French and Latin. He wrote the following about his impressions of the country: "What happy missionary shall be sent to bear the name of Christ to these western regions? When shall this beautiful country be delivered from idolatry and spurious Christianity? Crosses there are in abundance, but when shall the doctrine of the Cross be held up?" In 1810, Portugal and the United Kingdom signed the Treaty of Commerce and Navigation, which allowed the Church of England to build chapels in Brazil. These were the first non-Roman Catholic chapels in the country, intended exclusively for the attendance of Anglo-Brazilians. Nevertheless, under the terms of the treaty, these chapels could not resemble religious temples and its Masses could only be celebrated in English. The first Anglican Mass was celebrated later that year. In 1819, the first Anglican chapel, Christ Church, was established in Rio de Janeiro. According to Silva, the early Anglican community did not oppose the
status quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. ...
; he points out that some Anglicans owned slaves, despite the Church of England's opposition to the slave trade. After the
Independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the st ...
, the first missionary activity began. In 1853, William Cooper was sent to Brazil at the request of an Episcopalian from Rio de Janeiro, probably a member of the American colony. Nevertheless, his ship sank at the
Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...
and he returned to the United States. In 1860 a Scottish priest, the Reverend Richard Holden, landed in
Belém Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará) often called Belém of Pará, is a Brazilian city, capital and largest city of the state of Pará in ...
. He was also sent by the Episcopal Church to do missionary work. Holden conducted the most successful mission, remaining in the country for 12 years. He chose Belém as his work post due to the existence of a Bibles distribution station in the city and his expectation that the
Amazon River The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile. The headwaters of ...
would be open to international navigation. In Belém, he tried to create an Anglican community, but was not successful. He used the local media to spread the church, writing newspaper articles that provoked the wrath of the Roman Catholic bishop, Antônio de Macedo Costa. Holden was responsible for the first Portuguese translation of the ''
Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...
''; he also wrote a dozen hymns — two of them featured in the 1962 hymnal. He traveled the tributary rivers of the Amazon to sell Bibles in riverside communities. In 1862, he moved to Salvador, where he also tried to spread Anglicanism through the press. His articles encountered strong opposition and he survived three assassination attempts. His strong personality and controversial preaching style also provoked opposition from the Episcopal Church, which had sponsored his trip to Brazil (although it was also in disarray due to the American Civil War and defeated Confederates would soon arrive in Brazil with their slaves). In 1864, Rev. Holden accepted the invitation of Presbyterian Robert Kalley to become a minister in the Fluminense Congregational Church in Rio de Janeiro. He later abandoned Anglicanism and became a Dispensationalist. Anglican missions in Brazil began to flourish after 1889, when the Republic was proclaimed and the country became officially secular; this decriminalized the conversion of Roman Catholics to Anglicanism and other churches and religions. In 1890, the priests Lucien Lee Kinsolving and James Watson Morris were sent to Brazil from the
Virginia Theological Seminary Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), formally called the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia, located at 3737 Seminary Road in Alexandria, Virginia is the largest and second oldest accredited Episcopal seminary in the Unite ...
. They established themselves in a rented house later known as the Mission House () in
Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the twelfth most populous city in the country and the center of Brazil's fi ...
, where they held the first Anglican Mass in Portuguese on 1 June 1890. Three other American missionaries followed in 1891: Rev. William Cabell Brown (who would leave in 1914 to become bishop in his native Virginia, but after completing translations of the Bible and Book of Common Prayer), Rev.
John Gaw Meem John Gaw Meem IV (November 17, 1894 – August 4, 1983) was an American architect based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is best known for his instrumental role in the development and popularization of the Pueblo Revival Style and as a proponent of a ...
and lay woman Mary Packard. They established missions in Santa Rita do Rio dos Sinos, Rio Grande and Pelotas. These five missionaries are regarded as the founders of the Brazilian Episcopal Church, since they preached to Brazilians in Portuguese and spread Anglicanism throughout the Southern region of Brazil, which now has the largest number of Anglican communities. In 1893, Morris and Brown launched the ''Christian Standard'' (), a newspaper for the Anglican community of Porto Alegre. That same year, Bishop George William Peterkin of West Virginia visited the Brazilian mission and ordained four deacons. Four years later, the Brazilian mission was visited by Waite Hockin Stirling, who ordained three priests and
confirmed In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...
159 members. In 1899, Kinsolving became a bishop, leading the Brazilian community. In 1907, the missionary efforts resulted in the creation of the Missionary District of Brazil within the Episcopal Church. In 1908, the missionaries began their activities in Rio de Janeiro, then capital of Brazil, where Kinsolving hoped to build the headquarters of the church. Four years later, the Anglicans opened schools in Porto Alegre and
Santana do Livramento Santana do Livramento is a city in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It is located along the border with the city of Rivera, Uruguay, forming together an international city of almost 170,000 inhabitants. Santana do Livramento was founded on ...
. In 1921, the missionaries began working in the
State of São Paulo State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * '' Our ...
, reaching the state capital in 1924. In 1926, William M. M. Thomas was elected Bishop of the Missionary District of Brazil and Kinsolving returned to the United States a year later. In 1929, the Episcopal Press was founded; it launched the most important revised edition of the ''Book of Common Prayer''. According to Kickhofel, the Anglican worship service was envied by the Roman Catholics, since they only began praying in Portuguese after the end of the Second Vatican Council in 1965. In 1940, Athalicio Theodoro Pithan became the first Brazilian-born bishop of the missionary district; Episcopalians celebrated the 40th year of their presence in Brazil that same year. In 1949, the year of bishop Thomas' retirement and succession by Louis Chester Melcher, the Missionary District of Brazil was sub-divided into three dioceses, which prompted discussions about the ecclesiastical independence of the Episcopal Church Brazilian. In 1952, the first
General Synod The General Synod is the title of the governing body of some church organizations. Anglican Communion The General Synod of the Church of England, which was established in 1970 replacing the Church Assembly, is the legislative body of the Church of ...
took place. Three years later, the chapels which were founded in the 1820s and were still being operated by the Church of England merged with the Missionary District of Brazil after a deal reached by the Episcopal Church and the Church of England. In 1965, the Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil (; IEAB) gained its autonomy, becoming the 19th ecclesiastical province of the
Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
and electing Egmont Machado Krischke, son of an early missionary, as its Primate Bishop. Since then, the Anglican Episcopal Church has had the autonomy to develop its own liturgy. In 1966, IEAB became a member of the
World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most jur ...
as part of its commitment to Christian
ecumenism Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...
. In 1974, the Brazilian province was visited, for the first time, by an
Archbishop of Canterbury 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 diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Jus ...
, Michael Ramsey. IEAB achieved financial independence from the Episcopal Church in the late 1970s. In 1985, IEAB began to
ordain women Ordain Women is a Mormon feminist organization that supports the ordination of women to the priesthood in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It was founded on March 17, 2013, by Kate Kelly, a human rights attorney fro ...
following the decision of the 1984 General Synod; the first female priest was the Reverend Carmen Etel Alves Gomes. IEAB preceded the Church of England on the matter. In 1990, during its centenary, IEAB decided to focus on three areas, considering the social-economic problems of Brazil: education,
service Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a p ...
and expansion. That same year, the Primate Bishop of IEAB and the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church established a bilateral committee with the purpose of reapproaching the churches, encouraging partnerships and mutual relations between them. The Episcopal Church still sends missionaries to Brazil and the dioceses of Pennsylvania and São Paulo and
Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
and Brasília maintain special relations. In addition, IEAB initiated a dialogue with the Anglican churches from other
Portuguese-speaking countries The Community of Portuguese Language Countries ( Portuguese: ''Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa''; abbreviated as the CPLP), also known as the Lusophone Commonwealth (''Comunidade Lusófona''), is an international organization and pol ...
.


Presiding Bishop

Originally under the metropolitical supervision of the Episcopal Church, the Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil became an independent province in 1965 and consists of a single metropolitical province, so its head serves as both
metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...
and primate. In this role he uses the style of " Dom", typical of the hierarchs of the Roman Catholic Church, but does not have the usual title of "Archbishop", being known by the alternative title of "Presiding Bishop" (). The primate bishops have been: * Egmont Machado Krischke, 1965—1971 * Arthur Rodolpho Kratz, 1972—1984 * Olavo Ventura Luiz, 1986—1992 * Glauco Soares de Lima, 1993—2003 * Orlando Santos de Oliveira, 2003—2006 * Maurício José Araújo de Andrade, 2006—2013 * Francisco de Assis da Silva, 2013—2018 * Naudal Alves Gomes, 2018–present


Governance

A substantial proportion of the priests of the province are women. The president of the House of Clergy and Laity for the first time is a lay woman, Selma Rosa, who was elected at the general synod for a three-year term. The general secretary of the church is Arthur Cavalcante, also appointed at the general synod for a three-year term.


Dioceses and mission districts

The province consists of nine dioceses, each headed by a bishop, one of whom is elected as Primate Bishop. The 30th General Synod of the church, held in July 2006, elevated the Amazon mission as the ninth diocese of the province and grouped the dioceses and the missionary district of the province into three regions. * Anglican Diocese of the Amazon ** Headed by Bishop Marinez Rosa dos Santos Bassotto, it covers the states of
Pará Pará is a state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest are the borders of Guyana a ...
,
Amapá Amapá () is one of the 26 states of Brazil. It is in the northern region of Brazil. It is the second least populous state and the eighteenth largest by area. Located in the far northern part of the country, Amapá is bordered clockwise by Fr ...
, Roraima, Amazonas and Acre. * Anglican Diocese of Brasilia ** Headed by Bishop Maurício José Araújo de Andrade (former Primate Bishop), it covers the Federal District, the states of
Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian state located in the Center-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso. The state capital is Goiâ ...
, Tocantins and the west portion of Minas Gerais. * Anglican Diocese of Curitiba ** Headed by Bishop Naudal Alves Gomes, it covers the state of Paraná. * Anglican Diocese of Pelotas ** Headed by Bishop Renato Raatz, it covers the area of the town of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul and the surrounding coastline. Previous bishops include Luis Prado. *Anglican Diocese of Recife ** Headed by Bishop João Cancio Peixoto, it covers the area of the Northeast Region of Brazil. *Anglican Diocese of Rio de Janeiro ** Headed by Bishop Eduardo Coelho Grillo, it covers the states of Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo, and most of Minas Gerais. *Anglican Diocese of São Paulo ** Headed by Bishop Flávio Augusto Borges Irala, it covers the state of São Paulo. *Southern Diocese ** Headed by Bishop Francisco de Assis da Silva (also Primate Bishop), it covers the coastal areas of the states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, excluding the area in the Diocese of Pelotas. *South-West Diocese ** Headed by Bishop Humberto Maiztegui Gonçalves, it covers the inland areas of the states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul. *Missionary District of the West ** Also headed by Bishop Francisco de Assis da Silva, it covers the states of Rondônia,
Mato Grosso Mato Grosso ( – lit. "Thick Bush") is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest by area, located in the Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible for 1.9% of the Brazilian GDP. Neighboring ...
and
Mato Grosso do Sul Mato Grosso do Sul () is one of the Midwestern states of Brazil. Neighboring Brazilian states are (from north clockwise) Mato Grosso, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Paraná. It also borders the countries of Paraguay, to the southwest, and ...
.


Social issues

Due to the predominance of the
Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and ...
wing – which defends a social interpretation of the Gospels because of the oppression that a literal interpretation may cause – IEAB rejects
fanaticism Fanaticism (from the Latin adverb ''fānāticē'' ren-''fānāticus''; enthusiastic, ecstatic; raging, fanatical, furious is a belief or behavior involving uncritical zeal or an obsessive enthusiasm. Definitions Philosopher George Santayana ...
and preaches that the church should be an instrument of social change, seeking to engage congregations and communities in debates still considered taboo in Brazilian society, such as those involving land concentration, domestic violence, sexism, racism, homophobia and xenophobia. It describes itself as concerned about the social, political, moral and spiritual lives of its members. It is also considered an
Inclusive Church Inclusive Church is an organisation founded in 2003 that advocates for the full inclusion of all people regardless of ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation, in the Christian churches (especially the Church of England), including in the threef ...
for it accepts, as members, people from historically marginalized groups such as LGBT, women, indigenous and landless. According to the canons of IEAB, "as Christians, we bear the promise of the Holy Spirit, which leads us to the Word made flesh, who welcomes the oppressed, the neglected, the misunderstood and the marginalized". IEAB argues that "everyone baptized, faithful and obedient to God, regardless of their sexual orientation, are full members of the
Body of Christ In Christian theology, the term Body of Christ () has two main but separate meanings: it may refer to Jesus' words over the bread at the celebration of the Jewish feast of Passover that "This is my body" in (see Last Supper), or it may refer ...
, the Church". According to Cardoso, the Church has welcomed gay people as members since 1998. In 1997, the Bishops of IEAB signed a document saying that "sexuality is a gift from God, and sexual intercourse, when practiced in a context of love and mutual respect, should not only be accepted but also considered as one of the good things that God has created". In 2001, IEAB conducted the first national consultation on human sexuality, when its members decided to reject "the principle of exclusion implicit in the ethics of sin and uncleanness" and declare inclusiveness as an "essence of the ministry of Jesus". On 12 May 2011, IEAB released a statement declaring its support for the
Supreme Federal Court The Supreme Federal Court ( pt, Supremo Tribunal Federal, , abbreviated STF) is the supreme court (court of last resort) of Brazil, serving primarily as the Constitutional Court of the country. It is the highest court of law in Brazil for const ...
decision to recognize same-sex unions in Brazil. More recently, the Presiding Bishop issued a letter in support of the Episcopal Church's decision to adopt a non-gender marriage stance and stating that he wanted his church to do the same soon. The Church has declared its support for the ordination of openly gay clergy and has offered a service of blessing for same-sex marriages. According to Santos, the political progressivism of IEAB's religious leaders is the reflex of their broad theological education. In June 2016, the presiding bishop convened an Extraordinary Synod to discuss amending the marriage canon to include same-sex marriage, but a consensus was not reached; the issue will be considered in the General Synod in 2017. IEAB is among the Anglican churches that are open to blessing same-sex unions. "Anglican churches in Brazil, South Africa, New Zealand and Scotland have moved to recognize same-sex relationships." Clergy were able to enter
civil partnerships A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...
, and are now also able to enter into same-sex marriages. On 1 June 2018 the General Synod voted to change the marriage canon to allow same-sex couples to get married.


Anglican realignment

The Diocese of Recife, led by Bishop Robinson Cavalcanti, withdrew from IEAB in 2005, due to their disagreement with the national church policies on homosexuality. The diocese renamed itself as Anglican Church-Diocese of Recife and joined the
Global South The concept of Global North and Global South (or North–South divide in a global context) is used to describe a grouping of countries along socio-economic and political characteristics. The Global South is a term often used to identify region ...
realignment movement as an extraprovincial diocese.


See also

* Anglican Chapel of Salvador, former church building in Salvador, Bahia


References


External links

* (Portuguese)
Anglican Diocese of Recife
(Portuguese) {{Portal bar, Christianity, Brazil Anglicanism in Brazil Christian organizations established in 1965 Members of the World Council of Churches Brazil