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 Just ...

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

Archbishop of the Congo

The Archbishop of the Congo, known as Zaire until 1997, is 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 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 includin ...

. The holders of the office have been: * Patrice Njojo, 1992–2003 * Fidèle Dirokpa, 2003–2009 *

, 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 pro ...

* 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 ...

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 of ...

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 *

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 ...

(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 A ...

, 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

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, 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 provinces. The presiding bishop o ...

, 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 The Anglican Mission in the Americas (AMiA) or The Anglican Mission (AM) is a self-governing church inheriting its doctrine and form of worship from the Episcopal Church in the United States (TEC) and Anglican Church of Canada with members and chu ...

, 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 Provinc ...

, 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 ...

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

External links