Episcopal Diocese of Colombia
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, image = Catedral SanPablo.jpg , image_size = 250px , image_alt = , caption = Cathedral of Saint Paul (Bogotá) , coat = Escudoepiscopal.jpg , coat_size = 150px , coat_alt = , coat_caption = , country = , territory =
Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...
, province = Province IX , metropolitan = , deaneries = , headquarters = , coordinates = , area_km2 = , area_footnotes = , population = , population_as_of = , anglicans = , anglicans_percent = , parishes = , churches = , congregations = 35 , schools = , members = 2,776 (2020) , denomination =
Anglican 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 th ...
, sui_iuris_church = , rite =
Anglican 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 th ...
, established = 1963 , dissolved = , cathedral = Cathedral of Saint Paul (Bogotá) , cocathedral = , patron = , priests = , bishop = Elias Garcia Cardenas , metro_archbishop = , coadjutor = , auxiliary_bishops = , apostolic_admin = , vicar_general = , episcopal_vicar = , judicial_vicar = , emeritus_bishops = , map = , map_size = , map_alt = , map_caption = , website = , footnotes = The Episcopal Church in Colombia is a church 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 ...
. The
diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...
comprises 12 parishes, 15 missions and 8 preaching stations in
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
. It is part of the Province IX of the
Episcopal Church in the United States 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 provinces. The presiding bishop of ...
. Its headquarters are located in
Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...
.


History

The Episcopal Church in Colombia began as a chaplainship at the service of English-speaking foreigners residing in the country. Therefore, pastoral jurisdiction passed successively from the
Islas Malvinas The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...
, to
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
, to
British Honduras British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973,
and finally to
Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
. It was the missionary White Hocking Stirling, from the Malvinas Islands, who, having been consecrated in 1869 in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, assumed the responsibility of overseeing Colombia pastorally. The Malvinas Islands were the only territory on the American continent where an English bishop could legally settle. From such a remote residence, the bishop could hardly visit the missions or chaplaincies of Colombia, but he made use of resident priests in Panama. The Rev. James Crack Morris, consecrated bishop on February 5, 1920, was in charge of the missionary district of Panama and the
Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...
. He made his first visit to Colombia in March 1921. The financial and labor crisis of the years 1927-1929 decimated the missionary presence, because people were forced to migrate to other places in search of work. Bishop Morris died in 1930 and the diocese of Panama was vacant until Bishop Harry Beal was elected and consecrated on January 13, 1937. Two years after his consecration, Beal made his first pastoral visit to Colombia, in 1939. In 1944 Bishop Beal sent the Rev. George F. Packard to Colombia for a two-week visit. The report he gave so motivated the national council of the church that it approved the reopening of work in Colombia in February 1945. Everything was prepared for the aggressive missionary plan that would begin that same year. In 1946, 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 ...
,
Geoffrey Fisher Geoffrey Francis Fisher, Baron Fisher of Lambeth, (5 May 1887 – 15 September 1972) was an English Anglican priest, and 99th Archbishop of Canterbury, serving from 1945 to 1961. From a long line of parish priests, Fisher was educated at Marlb ...
, passed the pastoral care of the churches in Colombia and Ecuador to Bishop Henry Sherrill, president of the Episcopal Church in the United States, who placed the two countries under the pastoral care of Bishop Reginald Heber Gooden (1946-1963). The work in Colombia was to grow through Gooden's strategy. The most important temple in the diocese is that of San Alban, inaugurated on Easter in 1958. In the early 1960s it became apparent to Bishop Gooden that the ministry had to be extended nationally if further growth of the church was to be achieved. On April 13, l961, the bishop celebrated the first mass in Spanish in
Barranquilla Barranquilla () is the capital district of Atlántico Department in Colombia. It is located near the Caribbean Sea and is the largest city and third port in the Caribbean Coast region; as of 2018 it had a population of 1,206,319, making it Col ...
. Ten days later, he officiated at a baptism in Spanish in
Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,227,642 residents according to the 2018 census. The city spans with of urban area, making Cali the second ...
. The English-speaking missionaries who entered Colombia could do so under the condition that they minister pastorally only to foreigners. In 1963 the Episcopal Diocese of Colombia was erected. Colombia was cut off from the missionary district of Panama and the Canal Zone. At that time the membership of the diocese was, in a very high percentage, foreign, speaking 99 percent in English. The first diocesan convention of the Diocese of Colombia was presided over by Bishop David Reed in Barranquilla between May 18 and 20, 1964. In this convention, Bishop Reed outlined the objectives of his ministry: to create a strongly pastoral church, to make a Colombian church in Spanish, to be an
ecumenical 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 ...
church, to participate in God's world mission, to trust in the
laity In religious organizations, the laity () consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother. In both religious and wider secular usage, a layperson ...
for the exercise of a vanguard ministry in social work. The first Colombian priest, Oscar Pineda Suárez, is ordained in Guayaquil, Ecuador, by Bishop Reed, in 1964. The first Colombian deacon was Samuel Pinzón Gil. The process of indigenization of the church was achieved gradually. In 1965, the diocese had five North American priests, one British and two Colombians. In 1969 there were six Colombian priests, four North Americans and one Spaniard. Foreign membership had dropped to 65 percent.


List of bishops


Ecumenism

The Episcopal Church in Colombia participates in several ecumenical organizations: * Colombian Confederation of Religious Freedom, Conscience and Worship (CONFELIREC): confederation that seeks equal conditions for all churches in Colombia. It is a consultative entity of the Colombian government in matters of freedom and religious equality. * Ecumenical Network of Colombia: a space made up of some churches and Christian organizations with a presence in Colombia. *
Latin American Council of Churches The Latin American Council of Churches (Consejo Latinoamericano de Iglesias) is a regional ecumenical body with 139 member churches and organizations in 19 countries, representing some two million Christians. The head office of the organization is ...
(CLAI): an organization of churches and Christian movements that promotes unity among Christians on the continent.


External links


Website of the Episcopal Diocese of Colombia
*
South American worship surrounded by city noise: Episcopal Church of the Nativity, Santiago de Cali
by Duane Alexander Miller, in ''Anglican and Episcopal History'' vol. 75:4, Dec. 2006. Anglicanism in South America Protestantism in Colombia
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
Province 9 of the Episcopal Church (United States) {{Colombia-stub