The Province of the Anglican Church of the Congo (French: Province de l'Église anglicane du Congo) is a 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 ...
, stretching over the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
and the
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...
.
History
Formal Anglican structures were established in Boga-Zaire from the 1930s.
Metropolitical authority came from the
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 Justi ...
until in 1965 the 'Province of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Boga-Zaire' was established. Following expansion, Uganda became an independent province, leaving the rest of the region as the 'Province of Rwanda, Burundi, and Zaire'. 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
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
Henri Kahwa Isingoma (born November 24, 1958) is a Democratic Republic of the Congo Anglican bishop. He was the third Primate and Archbishop of the Anglican Church of the Congo since his consecration in August 2009 until March 2016, when he resigne ...
was elected the third Archbishop of the Congo on April 28, 2009.
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. The Diocese of Kinshasa also includes part of the
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...
.
Archbishop of the Congo
The Archbishop of the Congo, known as Zaire until 1997, is both
Metropolitan and
Primate
Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...
. The holders of the office have been:
*
Patrice Njojo, 1992–2003
*
Fidèle Dirokpa, 2003–2009
*
Henri Isingoma
Henri Kahwa Isingoma (born November 24, 1958) is a Democratic Republic of the Congo Anglican bishop. He was the third Primate and Archbishop of the Anglican Church of the Congo since his consecration in August 2009 until March 2016, when he resigne ...
, 2009–2016
*
Masimango Katanda
Zacharie Masimango Katanda () is a Democratic Republic of the Congo Anglican bishop. He was consecrated as the 4th Primate and Archbishop of the Province of the Anglican Church of the Congo on 11 September 2016. He has been bishop of the Diocese of ...
, 2016-2022
*
Titre Andre, January 23, 2022—
Dioceses
The Anglican Church of the Congo has 14 dioceses with one missionary area in Kalemie.
*
Aru
*
Beni
is a Japanese R&B singer, who debuted in 2004 under the Avex Trax label. In 2008, Arashiro left Avex Trax and transferred to Universal Music Japan where she started to perform as simply Beni (stylized as BENI).
She was initially best known fo ...
*
Diocese of Boga-Zaire
*
Bukavu
Bukavu is a city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), lying at the extreme south-western edge of Lake Kivu, west of Cyangugu in Rwanda, and separated from it by the outlet of the Ruzizi River. It is the capital of the South Kivu pr ...
*
Kalima
*
Kamango
*
Kasai
*
Katanga
*
Kindu
Kindu is a city in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the capital of Maniema province. It has a population of about 200,000 and is situated on the Lualaba River at an altitude of about 500 metres, and is about 400 km west of Bukavu.
Kindu is ...
*
Kinshasa
Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...
*
Kisangani
Kisangani (formerly Stanleyville or Stanleystad) is the capital of Tshopo province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the fifth most populous urban area in the country, with an estimated population of 1,312,000 in 2021, and the larg ...
*
Nord Kivu
North Kivu (french: link=no, Nord-Kivu) is a province bordering Lake Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Its capital is Goma.
North Kivu borders the provinces of Ituri to the north, Tshopo to the northwest, Maniema to the so ...
*
Goma
Goma is the capital of North Kivu province in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located on the northern shore of Lake Kivu, next to the Rwandan city of Gisenyi. The lake and the two cities are in the Albertine Rift, the weste ...
(bishop Désiré Mukanirwa Kadhoro died in office, 11 July 2020)
*
Congo Brazzaville
The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...
Anglican realignment
The Anglican Church of the Congo is a member of 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 ...
and the
Global Anglican Future Conference
The Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) is a series of conferences of conservative Anglican bishops and leaders, the first of which was held in Jerusalem from 22 to 29 June 2008 to address the growing controversy of the divisions in the An ...
, and is involved at the
Anglican realignment
The Anglican realignment is a movement among some Anglicans to align themselves under new or alternative oversight within or outside the Anglican Communion. This movement is primarily active in parts of the Episcopal Church in the United States ...
. In June 2012, Archbishop
Henri Isingoma
Henri Kahwa Isingoma (born November 24, 1958) is a Democratic Republic of the Congo Anglican bishop. He was the third Primate and Archbishop of the Anglican Church of the Congo since his consecration in August 2009 until March 2016, when he resigne ...
attended the Provincial Assembly of the
Anglican Church in North America
The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is a Christian denomination in the Anglican tradition in the United States and Canada. It also includes ten congregations in Mexico, two mission churches in Guatemala, and a missionary diocese in Cuba ...
, in
Ridgecrest, North Carolina Ridgecrest is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in eastern Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States, off Interstate 40 in North Carolina, Interstate 40/U.S. Route 70 in North Carolina, U.S. Route 70. The community is part of the ...
, to show is full support for the new province in creation of the Anglican Communion. While involved in the Anglican realignment, the Anglican Church of the Congo has also shared ministry partnerships and continued to share communion with
The Episcopal Church
The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine Ecclesiastical provinces and dioces ...
, based in the US. Additionally, the Anglican Church of the Congo, in 2015, reaffirmed its membership in the Anglican Communion, including with The Episcopal Church.
On 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
The Anglican Church of Rwanda (French: ''Église anglicane du Rwanda'') is a province of the Anglican Communion, covering 11 dioceses in Rwanda. The primate of the province is Laurent Mbanda, consecrated on 10 June 2018.
Official names
The Provi ...
, at the Anglican Church of Congo until his future was clarified. After that period, Isingoma stated that the Anglican Church of the Congo would work with the AMiA exclusively as a Missionary Society.
Archbishop Isingoma attended
GAFCON II, which took place in
Nairobi
Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...
,
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
, from 21 to 26 October 2013. The province was represented at
GAFCON III, held in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, on 17–22 June 2018, by a 34 members delegation.
GAFCON III largest pan-Anglican gathering since Toronto Congress of 1963, Anglican Ink, 20 June 2018
/ref>
References
Further reading
*''Anglicanism'', Neill, Stephen. Harmondsworth, 1965.
External links
*
The Province de l'Église anglicaine du Congo at the Anglican Communion official website
Anglican realignment denominations
Anglicanism in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
1965 establishments in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Congo
Congo