The Anglican Church of India (ACI) is a union of independent Anglican churches

Local church

A local church is a Christian congregation of members and clergy.Local church may also refer to:* Local churches , a Christian group based on the teachings of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, and associated with the Living Stream Ministry publishing house.* Parish church, a local church united with...

 in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. When India became independent in 1947, the Church of South India

Church of South India

The Church of South India is the successor of the Church of England in India. It came into being in 1947 as a union of Anglican and Protestant churches in South India. With a membership of over 3.8 million, it is India's second largest Christian church after the Roman Catholic Church in India...

 (CSI) was formed as a united church of Anglicans, Baptists, Basel Mission

Basel Mission

The Basel Mission is a Christian missionary society active from 1815 to 2001, when it was merged into Mission 21, the successor organization of Kooperation Evangelischer Kirchen und Missione founded in 2001....

, Lutherans and Presbyterians. The united Church of South India accepted an order of uniformity in worship and practice which was at the expense of the Anglican faith. Traditional Anglicans in the CSI did not accept this and there was a provision for separation within a period of 30 years from the CSI. Therefore, in 1964, some Anglicans decided to withdraw from the CSI and re-established the Anglican Church of India on 24 August 1964.

V. J. Stephen was consecrated as a bishop by Anglican bishops from the United States and Africa and also by an "Anglicanised" Evangelical bishop from Kerala, India, on 5 May 1966.

Even though the church was re-established in 1964, the synod of the Anglican Church of India was only formed in 1990 at Kottayam. The synod consists of all the diocesan bishops, clergy secretaries, lay leaders of the dioceses and church-related organisations and representatives of each diocese and independent churches. Independent churches function where there are not enough congregations to form a diocese and are also given representation in the synod. Archbishop Stephen Vattappara serves as the chairman of the synod and also as the Metropolitan of the Anglican Church of India.

Faith

The foundation of the ACI's faith is contained in the what is known as the Lambeth Quadrilateral accepted by the Church of England in 1888 which states:

(1) Accepting the Holy Bible as the ultimate source of divine truth

(2) Acceptance of the Apostles and Nicene Creeds

(3) Acceptance of the only two sacraments ordained by Jesus Christ, Holy Baptism and Holy Eucharist

(4) Acceptance of the historic episcopal succession

Biblical beliefs

Among other equally important biblical beliefs, ACI accepts:

- the divine inspiration of the scriptures

- the Holy Trinity

- the virginity of Mary, Mother of Jesus

- the redemption of sinners through Christ

- the resurrection of Christ and

- the everlasting bliss of the saved

The head of the Anglican Church of India [Church of England in India] was the Bishop of Calcutta. His title was metropolitan. In 1947 this ceased to exist as the main stream of Anglican Churches joined the Church Unions of South and North India [the present CSI and CNI]. They call their heads moderators. But when the ACI formed its synod in 1990 it decided to bring back the title of metropolitan.

Metropolitan: Stephen Vattappara

Vattappara began his public life as a college students' union chairman in Kottayam. He served as a telecommunication engineer in Bombay and Northern India. He resigned his job and entered the ordained ministry in 1971. He was consecrated as bishop of the Diocese of Travancore and Cochin in 1982 and became the adjutor bishop in 1987. He was selected as the First Metropolitan of the Anglican Church of India in 1990 and serves also as a vice president of the International Council of Christian Churches (ICCC). In Christianity banned Libya, while visiting his wife in 1987, Vattappara formed ‘The Interdenominational Christian Fellowship’ which still remains as the only Christian movement in that country. Vattappara served as the editor of Malayalam Christian publications such as 'Griha Deepam' and 'Christian Beacon'. He has written and published several books, including He that guides in to All Truth, Gathereth not with Jesus, Scattereth, The End is not at once, Lo Here or There, My Kingdom is not of this World, The Anglican Church History, Baptist - A type of Antichrist? and A Complete Study on Baptism.

Dioceses

The Anglican Church of India consists of different dioceses, independent churches and other organizations. The Diocese of Travancore and Cochin is now elevated to the status of an archdiocese. The ACI currently has 15 dioceses and several independent churches as members of the synod. Out of the 15 dioceses, five are under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Travancore and Cochin. The ACI is growing rapidly and is influencing many believers to come and join their fellow Anglican believers.

Name	Headquarters	Admin Region	Bishop	Location
Central Diocese	Kottayam Kottayam Kottayam is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 55.40 km2. It is the administrative capital of the Kottayam district. Kottayam Kottayam (Malayalam: കോട്ടയം) is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 55.40 km2. It is the administrative...	Archdiocese of Travancore & Cochin	Archbishop Stephen Vattappara	Kerala Kerala or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
Malankara Diocese	Chelakompu		Bp. J. J. Kochuparampil
High Range Diocese	Idukki		Bp. Levi Joseph Ikera
Maramon Diocese	Thiruvalla		Bp. John Thundukulam
South Kerala Diocese	Eanathul		Bp. Lukose Vallieathil
Anglican Church of Philadelphia	Philadelphia		Archbishop Stephen Vattappara	USA
Haryana Diocese	Gurgaon Gurgaon Gurgaon is the second largest city in the Indian state of Haryana. Gurgaon is the industrial and financial center of Haryana. It is located 30 km south of national capital New Delhi, about 10 kilometers from Dwarka Sub City and 268 km south of Chandigarh, the state capital...	North India	Bp. D. E. Singh	Haryana Haryana Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
Delhi Diocese	New Delhi New Delhi New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...		Bp. Cyril S Porter	New Delhi
Chandigarh Diocese	Chandigarh Chandigarh Chandigarh is a union territory of India that serves as the capital of two states, Haryana and Punjab. The name Chandigarh translates as "The Fort of Chandi". The name is from an ancient temple called Chandi Mandir, devoted to the Hindu goddess Chandi, in the city...		Bp. Javed Massey	Chandigarh
Dehradun Diocese	Dehradun Dehradun - Geography :The Dehradun district has various types of physical geography from Himalayan mountains to Plains. Raiwala is the lowest point at 315 meters above sea level, and the highest points are within the Tiuni hills, rising to 3700 m above sea level...		See Vacant	Uttarakhand Uttarakhand Uttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...
Jammu & Kashmir Diocese	Jammu Jammu Jammu , also known as Duggar, is one of the three administrative divisions within Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state in India.Jammu city is the largest city in Jammu and the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir...		Bp. Pankaj John	Jammu & Kashmir
Secunderabad Diocese	Secunderabad Secunderabad Secunderabad popularly known as the twin city of Hyderabad is located in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh north of Hyderabad. Named after Sikandar Jah, the third Nizam of the Asaf Jahi dynasty, Secunderabad was founded in 1806 AD as a British cantonment...	South India	Bp. T.Raj Kishore	Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
Tamil Nadu & Pondicherry Diocese	Chennai Chennai Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...		Bp.Gladstone	Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

Vatican Announcement

The Episcopal Synod of the Anglican Church of India joins our Primate, Archbishop John Hepworth in welcoming the historical announcement of the preparation of an Apostolic Constitution to provide for full, visible communion between Traditional Anglicans and the Holy see. We express our gratitude and appreciation to the congregation for the doctrine as historical truth and fellowship.