Via Apostolica is a missionary district in the

Anglican Church of 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 ...

(ACNA), comprising five parishes in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan. Despite being located in Canada, the missionary district clergy are canonically resident in the

Anglican Diocese of the Upper Midwest The Anglican Diocese of the Upper Midwest is a diocese of the Anglican Church in North America. It includes about two dozen parishes in the American states of Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri, and South Dakota. The state with most par ...

, in the United States. Its founding bishop is

Todd Atkinson Todd Atkinson is a Canadian Anglican bishop. He is a bishop at the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) and was the first bishop of Via Apostolica. He was consecrated a bishop on the Eve of the Ascension 2012. Atkinson was later admitted into ...

, currently on a leave of absence while inhibited from episcopal ministry.

History

Via Apostolica was an independent church movement which started in 2012 and found continuity with the Anglican tradition. Via began partnering with the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) in 2014, when their clergy attended the diocese's synod that year. Through the efforts of ANiC's moderator bishop Charlie Masters, Via's bishop Todd Atkinson was welcomed into ACNA's College of Bishops on January 10, 2019. The next year, during ACNA's provincial assembly, a motion was made to admit Via Apostolica as a provincial missionary district. This motion, was overwhelmingly passed on June 24, 2020. One of the main purposes is that their growth will led them to become a full member diocese of ACNA. The ACNA official website noticed on 5 September 2021, that due to an oingoing investigation on bishop Todd Atkinson, amidst allegations of misconduct, he will be taking a leave of absence. On 16 October 2021, it was announced that during Atkinson's leave of absence, ACNA had appointed as interim bishop of Via Apostolica,

Quigg Lawrence Raymond Quigg Lawrence Jr. (born 1959) is an American bishop of the Anglican Church in North America. He was consecrated in 2013 as bishop suffragan in the Atlantic coast network of PEARUSA, which in 2016 became the Anglican Diocese of Christ Our ...

, who was until then Suffragan Bishop of the

Anglican Diocese of Christ Our Hope The Anglican Diocese of Christ Our Hope is a diocese of the Anglican Church in North America. The diocese originated from the dissolution of the Missionary District of PEARUSA, which resulted in the creation of two new dioceses, both admitted at ...

. On 6 November 2021, ACNA reported that the provincial investigation of Todd Atkinson had begun. In July 2022, an ACNA board of inquiry unanimously determined that "probable cause and reasonable grounds" to present Atkinson for trial for four violations of Canon IV.2.4, which prohibits bishops from " nduct giving just cause for scandal or offense, including the abuse of ecclesiastical power." Atkinson was inhibited pending trial on July 8. On Sept. 13, Atkinson pleaded not guilty to the charges. On October 6, 2022, Via Apostolica's Bishop's Council announced that all of the missionary district's congregations "have begun official steps of discernment for a new ecclesial home and episcopal oversight" within the ACNA.

References

External links

Via Apostolica Official Website
Anglican Church in North America Christian organizations established in 2012 {{Anglican-stub