Church in the Province of the West Indies
Encyclopedia
The Church in the Province of the West Indies is a member province
in the worldwide Anglican Communion
. The church comprises eight diocese
s spread out over much of the West Indies area. The present position of archbishop
and primate
of the West Indies is held by The Most Rev. John Holder. The Most Rev. Drexel Wellington Gomez was the previous primate until 2009, and has retired. The church is also part of the Global South
.
in 1883 because of the Church of England
missions in territories that became British colonies. It is made up of two mainland dioceses and six island dioceses, including Antigua
, Barbados
, Belize
, Guyana
, Jamaica
, the Bahamas, the North-Eastern Caribbean and Aruba, Trinidad and Tobago
, and the Windward Islands
. Great emphasis is being placed on training personnel for an indigenous ministry. The island locations and scattered settlements make pastoral care difficult and costly.
in the Province of the West Indies. The society focuses on evangelisation with special relevance to daily human needs.
The society was established in 1861 as a subsidiary of the church, intended to target those sections of Jamaica's "hard to reach" population. For many years the mission stations established and maintained by the society provided the only means of reaching the masses of the population with Christianity and basic education.
Ecclesiastical Province
An ecclesiastical province is a large jurisdiction of religious government, so named by analogy with a secular province, existing in certain hierarchical Christian churches, especially in the Catholic Church and Orthodox Churches and in the Anglican Communion...
in the worldwide Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
. The church comprises eight diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
s spread out over much of the West Indies area. The present position of archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
and primate
Primate (religion)
Primate is a title or rank bestowed on some bishops in certain Christian churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority or ceremonial precedence ....
of the West Indies is held by The Most Rev. John Holder. The Most Rev. Drexel Wellington Gomez was the previous primate until 2009, and has retired. The church is also part of the Global South
Global South (Anglican)
The Anglican Global South is a grouping of twenty of the thirty-eight provinces of the Anglican Communion. The provinces identified with the Global South grouping represent most, but not all, of the Third World countries within the Communion and are mostly conservative on matters of sexual ethics,...
.
History
The West Indies became a self-governing provinceProvince
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
in 1883 because of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
missions in territories that became British colonies. It is made up of two mainland dioceses and six island dioceses, including Antigua
Antigua
Antigua , also known as Waladli, is an island in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region, the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua means "ancient" in Spanish and was named by Christopher Columbus after an icon in Seville Cathedral, Santa Maria de la...
, Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
, Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
, Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
, Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, the Bahamas, the North-Eastern Caribbean and Aruba, Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
, and the Windward Islands
Windward Islands
The Windward Islands are the southern islands of the Lesser Antilles, within the West Indies.-Name and geography:The Windward Islands are called such because they were more windward to sailing ships arriving in the New World than the Leeward Islands, given that the prevailing trade winds in the...
. Great emphasis is being placed on training personnel for an indigenous ministry. The island locations and scattered settlements make pastoral care difficult and costly.
Mission Organisations
The Jamaica Church Missionary Society is the recognised missionary agency of the Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman IslandsAnglican Diocese of Jamaica
The Anglican Diocese in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands was formed in 1824 and has had the following Bishops #Christopher Lipscomb 1824-1843#Aubrey George Spencer 1843-1872#Reginald Courtenay 1872-79#William George Tozer 1879-1880#Enos Nuttall 1880-1916...
in the Province of the West Indies. The society focuses on evangelisation with special relevance to daily human needs.
The society was established in 1861 as a subsidiary of the church, intended to target those sections of Jamaica's "hard to reach" population. For many years the mission stations established and maintained by the society provided the only means of reaching the masses of the population with Christianity and basic education.
Dioceses List of updated diocesan names
- Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos IslandsBishop of NassauThe Bishop of Nassau was an episcopal title given to the Ordinary of the Diocese of Nassau, from its formation in 1861 until it was retitled the Diocese of Nassau and The Bahamas in 1942.-References:...
- Barbados
- BelizeAnglican Diocese of BelizeThe Anglican diocese of Belize was established in 1891. The current bishop is the Right Revernd Philip Wright.-References:...
- GuyanaAnglican Diocese of GuyanaThe Anglican Diocese of Guyana is one of eight within the Province of the West Indies. Its cathedral is St. George's Cathedral, Georgetown. The current bishop is the Rt Rev Cornell Jerome Moss....
- Jamaica and the Cayman IslandsAnglican Diocese of JamaicaThe Anglican Diocese in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands was formed in 1824 and has had the following Bishops #Christopher Lipscomb 1824-1843#Aubrey George Spencer 1843-1872#Reginald Courtenay 1872-79#William George Tozer 1879-1880#Enos Nuttall 1880-1916...
- North East Caribbean and ArubaBishop of AntiguaThe Anglican diocese of Antigua and the Leeward Islands was formed in 1842, as the diocese of Barbados, then one of two covering the Caribbean, was sub-divided.There is also a Catholic diocese.-List of Anglican bishops of Antigua:...
- Trinidad and TobagoAnglican Diocese of Trinidad and TobagoThe Anglican diocese of Trinidad and Tobago is the administrative structure grouping together Anglicans in the nation of Trinidad and Tobago under a bishop. As of 2009, it included 30 parishes, and was responsible for 59 primary schools, one special school, and nine high schools. It is part of the...
- Windward IslandsAnglican Diocese of the Windward IslandsThe Anglican Diocese of the Windward Islands is one of eight diocese within the Province of the West Indies. The current bishop is the The Rt Revd Calvert Leopold Friday.-References:...
External links
- Anglican Communion provincial Web site
- Church of England history in the West Indies
- Anglicanism in the West Indies and Caribbean from Project CanterburyProject CanterburyProject Canterbury is an online archive of material related to the history of Anglicanism. It was founded by Richard Mammana, Jr. in 1999, and is hosted by the non-profit Society of Archbishop Justus...
- About St. Kitts Anglican Church — part of the Diocese of North East Caribbean and Aruba