Number of members 35,000 | ||
 | ||
Territory Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Panama Territories Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama | ||
The Anglican Church in Central America (Spanish: Iglesia Anglicana de la Región Central de América) is a province of the Anglican Communion, covering five sees in Central America.
Contents
History
Four of the five dioceses of the Iglesia Anglicana de la Región Central de America were founded by the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Anglicanism was also introduced by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel when England administered two colonies in Central America, British Honduras and Miskitia. In later years, immigrants brought the Anglican Church with them.
Bishop William C. Frey was consecrated as the first missionary bishop of the Diocese of Guatemala in 1967.
By 2008, the Anglican Church in Central America had voted to consecrate women bishops although none of have been consecrated as of yet. By 2013, the Diocese of El Salvador, and possibly others, offered ministries on behalf of and in support of LGBT members.
Sturdie Downs, Bishop of Nicaragua was elected in late 2014 to serve a four-year term of office as primate (2015–2019); he succeeded Armando Guerra, Bishop of Guatemala (2011–2015), who in turn succeeded Martin Barahona, Bishop of El Salvador (2003–2011).
Membership
Today, there are over 35,000 Anglicans out of an estimated population of 30.1 million.
Structure
The polity of the Iglesia Anglicana de la Región Central de América is Episcopalian church governance, which is the same as other Anglican churches. The church maintains a system of geographical parishes organized into dioceses. There are 5 of these, each headed by a bishop:
Some countries of Central America are part of other Anglican churches:
Worship and liturgy
The Iglesia Anglicana de la Región Central de América embraces three orders of ministry: deacon, priest, and bishop. The Spanish-language version of the Episcopal Church (USA)'s 1979 Book of Common Prayer is used.
Doctrine and practice
The center of the Iglesia Anglicana de la Región Central de América's teaching is the life and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The basic teachings of the church, or catechism, includes:
Ecumenical relations
Unlike many other Anglican churches, the Iglesia Anglicana de la Región Central de América is not a member of the ecumenical World Council of Churches.
Social issues
Within the province, the dioceses represent a diversity of opinions on social issues. Regarding gender equality, the province has dioceses, including the Episcopal Church of Costa Rica, that recognize women in ordained ministry. On human sexuality, the Diocese of El Salvador formed a ministry for LGBT people in the country. In 2014, the Episcopal Church of Costa Rica, a diocese of the province, has taken steps to welcome LGBT members.