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 a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...

, stretching over the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

and the

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

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 Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

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 Fidèle Dirokpa Balufuga (died 30 December 2021) was a former Democratic Republic of the Congo Anglican bishop. He was the Anglican Archbishop of the Province of the Anglican Church of the Congo. He was also Bishop of Kinshasa. Ecclesiastical ca ...

in 2003, who held office until 2009. The Most Rev. Henri Isingoma 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: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

and

Primate Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...

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

, 2003–2009 * Henri Isingoma, 2009–2016 * Zacharie Masimango Katanda, 2016-2022 *

Georges Titre Ande Georges Titre Ande is a Congolese Anglican bishop. Since 2022, he has been primate of the Anglican Church of the Congo. Biography Ande obtained his doctorate from University of Birmingham. Since 2006, Ande has also been bishop of the Diocese o ...

, January 23, 2022—

Dioceses

The Anglican Church of the Congo has 14 dioceses with one missionary area in Kalemie. * Aru * Beni *

Diocese of Boga-Zaire The Diocese of Boga-Zaire is an Anglican See in the Province of the Anglican Church of the Congo The Province of the Anglican Church of the Congo (French: Province de l'Église anglicane du Congo) is a province of the Anglican Communion, stretchi ...

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 P ...

* 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 (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

Kisangani Kisangani (), formerly Stanleyville (), is the capital of Tshopo, Tshopo Province, located on the Congo River in the eastern part of the central Congo Basin in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the country's fifth-most populous urban a ...

Nord Kivu North Kivu () is a province bordering Lake Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The capital city is Goma. Spanning approximately 59,483 square kilometers with a population estimate of 12,024,400 as of 2025, it is bordered by It ...

Goma Goma is a city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the North Kivu, North Kivu Province; it is located on the northern shore of Lake Kivu and shares borders with the Bukumu Chiefdo ...

(The first bishop,

Désiré Mukanirwa Kadhoro Désiré Mukanirwa Kadhoro (22 August 1968 – 11 July 2020) was a Democratic Republic of the Congo Anglican bishop. He was the first bishop of the Diocese of Goma in the Province of the Anglican Church of the Congo. Early life and education Mu ...

, died in office in 2020. He was succeeded by

Martin Gordon Martin Gordon (born 3 May 1954) is an English musician who plays bass guitar, double bass, and piano. After a long period as band member and session musician, he embarked on a solo career in 2004. His most recent album release was in 2024. Bi ...

in 2023.) *

Congo Brazzaville The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

Anglican realignment

The Anglican Church of the Congo is a member of the

Global South Global North and Global South are terms that denote a method of grouping countries based on their defining characteristics with regard to socioeconomics and politics. According to UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Global South broadly com ...

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 Ang ...

, 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 (United States), Episco ...

. In June 2012, Archbishop Henri Isingoma 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 ...

, 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 (TEC), also known as the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America (PECUSA), is a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion, based in the United States. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is ...

, 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 ch ...

, a former missionary organization of the

Anglican Church of Rwanda The Anglican Church of Rwanda (; ) is a province of the Anglican Communion, covering 13 dioceses in Rwanda. The Primate (bishop), primate of the province is Laurent Mbanda, consecrated on 10 June 2018. Official names The Province of the Anglican ...

, 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 city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

, from 21 to 26 October 2013. The province was represented at GAFCON III, held in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, 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
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References

External links