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Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria of the Anglican Communion speaks during the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) opening session in Jerusalem - Source: Reuters -
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The Anglican Church in North America held its first assembly
this week in a Dallas suburb to ratify its constitution and install
Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh as its first archbishop.
Following are some questions and answers about the newest arrival
on America's large and diverse faith scene:
What is the Anglican Church in North America (
ACNA
)?
Most of its founding bodies have recently broken ranks with the
Episcopal Church - the main US branch of Anglicanism - over the
issues of
gay
and women clergy.
Long-standing divisions between liberals and conservatives had
already fragmented the Episcopal Church by 2003 when it consecrated
Gene Robinson of New Hampshire as the first bishop known to be in
an openly gay relationship in more than four centuries of Anglican
Church history.
Many of the dissident dioceses aligned themselves with conservative
archbishops in Africa and South America.
The ACNA says it has united some 100,000 Anglicans in 700 parishes
and 28 dioceses in the United States and Canada. The main Episcopal
Church, which has more than two million members, questions these
numbers.
ACNA founding members include the Reformed Episcopal Church,
founded in 1873, and two dioceses from Canada.
What does it stand for?
It takes a traditional or conservative position on issues of gender
and sexual orientation. It is opposed to same-sex marriage and the
consecration of openly gay clergy.
All of its founding bodies ordain female deacons but allowing women
into the priesthood is up to each diocese. It will only install men
as bishops.
The preamble to its constitution says that orthodox Anglicans are
grieved by the current state of brokenness within the Anglican
Communion prompted by those who have embraced erroneous teaching
and who have rejected a repeated call to repentance.
The church says that as a branch of Anglicanism its orthodoxy is
defined by and centered on our church's classic formularies - the
Book of Common Prayer, including the Ordinal, and the Thirty-nine
Articles - which all point back to the authority of the Holy Bible
and articulate foundational principles of the Anglican tradition
throughout the world.
The Thirty-nine Articles were established in 1563 and are regarded
as the founding statements of Anglican doctrine. The Book of Common
Prayer refers to a number of prayer books used by the Church of
England and other Anglican churches.
What will the ACNA's status be?
It says its status is a Province-in-formation in the global
Anglican Communion. A Province usually refers to a geographical
jurisdiction or church within the community, which numbers close to
80 million people worldwide.
Formal acceptance as a Province - which would put it on an equal
footing with the Episcopal Church - could take years.
It will require approval from two-thirds of the primates - the
heads of national churches - in the Anglican Communion and ultimate
recognition from the Anglican Consultative Council, another church
body.
The ACNA says it is already recognized by at least nine Provinces
from Africa, Asia and Latin America.
The global Anglican Communion has 34 Provinces in its fold.
