Church of the Province of West Africa
Encyclopedia
The Church of the Province of West Africa is a province of the Anglican Communion
, covering 15 sees
in West Africa
, specifically in Gambia, Ghana
, Guinea
, Liberia
, Sierra Leone
. The current primate
of the province is Archbishop
Justice Akrofi
.
s of five West African diocese
s, with the consent of the Archbishop of Canterbury
. In February 1979, the new Church of Nigeria
was inaugurated, while the Dioceses of Accra, Kumasi, Liberia, Gambia and Guinea and Sierra Leone (later Freetown) continued in the Province of West Africa. In 1981 the new missionary diocese of Bo was inaugurated and four new Dioceses of Cape Coast, Koforidua, Sekondi and Sunyani/Tamale were formed. Today, the Church exists in areas of civil unrest where Christians remain a minority.
es organized into diocese
s. There are 15 of these, each headed by a bishop.
is used.
, includes:
The threefold sources of authority in Anglicanism are scripture, tradition, and reason. These three sources uphold and critique each other in a dynamic way. This balance of scripture, tradition and reason is traced to the work of Richard Hooker
, a sixteenth century apologist. In Hooker's model, scripture is the primary means of arriving at doctrine and things stated plainly in scripture are accepted as true. Issues that are ambiguous are determined by tradition, which is checked by reason.
.
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...
, covering 15 sees
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
in West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
, specifically in Gambia, Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
, Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
, Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
. The current 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 province is 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...
Justice Akrofi
Justice Akrofi
Justice Ofei Akrofi is the Anglican Bishop of Accra and Archbishop of the Church of the Province of West Africa. He was elected to that position in 2003.- Education :...
.
History
Missionary work began in Ghana in 1752. The Church of the Province of West Africa was established in 1951 by the bishopBishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s of five West African 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, with the consent of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
. In February 1979, the new Church of Nigeria
Church of Nigeria
The Church of Nigeria is the Anglican church in Nigeria. It is the second-largest province in the Anglican Communion, as measured by baptized membership, after the Church of England. It gives its current membership as "over 18 million", out of a total Nigerian population of 140 million.Since 2002...
was inaugurated, while the Dioceses of Accra, Kumasi, Liberia, Gambia and Guinea and Sierra Leone (later Freetown) continued in the Province of West Africa. In 1981 the new missionary diocese of Bo was inaugurated and four new Dioceses of Cape Coast, Koforidua, Sekondi and Sunyani/Tamale were formed. Today, the Church exists in areas of civil unrest where Christians remain a minority.
Membership
Today, there are over one million Anglicans out of an estimated population of 35 million.Structure
The polity of the Church of the Province of West Africa is Episcopal church governance, which is the same as other Anglican churches. The church maintains a system of geographical parishParish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
es organized into 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. There are 15 of these, each headed by a bishop.
Diocesan Bishops
- Anglican Diocese of AccraAnglican Diocese of AccraThe Anglican Diocese of Accra is a diocese of the Church of the Province of West Africa, a member church of the Anglican Communion. It was founded in 1909 by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The cathedral of the diocese is Holy Trinity Cathedral in Accra, Ghana....
- Most Revd. Dr. Justice O. AkrofiJustice AkrofiJustice Ofei Akrofi is the Anglican Bishop of Accra and Archbishop of the Church of the Province of West Africa. He was elected to that position in 2003.- Education :...
(Archbishop and Primate of the Province of West Africa) - Anglican Diocese of Bo - Rt. Revd. Samuel Sao Gbonda
- Anglican Diocese of Cameroon - Rt Rev Dibo Thomas-Babyngton Elango
- Anglican Diocese of Cape Coast - Rt. Revd. Dan. Allotey
- Anglican Diocese of Freetown - The Right Reverend Julius Olotu Prince Lynch,
- Anglican Diocese of GambiaAnglican Diocese of Gambia and the Rio PongasThe Anglican Diocese of Gambia and The Rio Pongas was founded in 1935....
- Rt. Revd. Dr. Solomon Tilewa Johnson - Anglican Diocese of Guinea - Rt. Revd. Albert D.G. Gomez
- Anglican Diocese of Ho - Rt. Revd. Matthias Mededues-Badohu
- Anglican Diocese of Koforidua - Rt. Revd. Francis Quashie
- Anglican Diocese of Kumasi - Rt. Revd. Daniel Y. Safo
- Episcopal Diocese of Liberia - Rt. Revd. Jonathan B. Hart
- Anglican Diocese of Sekondi - Rt. Revd.{Lt.Col.} J. K. Otoo
- Anglican Diocese of Sunyani - Rt. Revd. Festus Yeboah Asuamah
- Anglican Diocese of Tamale - Rt. Revd. Emmanuel A. Arongo
- Anglican Diocese of Wiawso - Rt. Revd. Abraham Kobina Ackah
- nglican Diocese of Dunkwa-on-Offin - Rt. Revd. Dawson-Amoah
Worship and liturgy
The Church of the Province of West Africa embraces three orders of ministry: deacon, priest, and bishop. A local variant of the Book of Common PrayerBook of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...
is used.
Doctrine and practice
The center of the Church of the Province of West Africa's teaching is the life and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The basic teachings of the church, or catechismCatechism
A catechism , i.e. to indoctrinate) is a summary or exposition of doctrine, traditionally used in Christian religious teaching from New Testament times to the present...
, includes:
- Jesus Christ is fully human and fully God. He died and was resurrected from the dead.
- Jesus provides the way of eternal life for those who believe.
- The Old and New Testaments of the Bible were written by people "under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit". The Apocrypha are additional books that are used in Christian worship, but not for the formation of doctrine.
- The two great and necessary sacramentsAnglican sacramentsIn keeping with its prevailing self-identity as a via media or "middle path" of Western Christianity, Anglican sacramental theology expresses elements in keeping with its status as a church in the Catholic tradition and a church of the Reformation...
are Holy BaptismBaptismIn Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
and Holy EucharistEucharistThe Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance... - Other sacramental ritesAnglican sacramentsIn keeping with its prevailing self-identity as a via media or "middle path" of Western Christianity, Anglican sacramental theology expresses elements in keeping with its status as a church in the Catholic tradition and a church of the Reformation...
are confirmation, ordinationOrdinationIn general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
, marriageMarriageMarriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
, reconciliation of a penitentConfessionThis article is for the religious practice of confessing one's sins.Confession is the acknowledgment of sin or wrongs...
, and unction. - Belief in heavenHeavenHeaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
, hellHellIn many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
, and Jesus's return in glorySecond ComingIn Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...
.
The threefold sources of authority in Anglicanism are scripture, tradition, and reason. These three sources uphold and critique each other in a dynamic way. This balance of scripture, tradition and reason is traced to the work of Richard Hooker
Richard Hooker
Richard Hooker was an Anglican priest and an influential theologian. Hooker's emphases on reason, tolerance and the value of tradition came to exert a lasting influence on the development of the Church of England...
, a sixteenth century apologist. In Hooker's model, scripture is the primary means of arriving at doctrine and things stated plainly in scripture are accepted as true. Issues that are ambiguous are determined by tradition, which is checked by reason.
Ecumenical relations
Like many other Anglican churches, the Church of the Province of West Africa is a member of the ecumenical World Council of ChurchesWorld Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches is a worldwide fellowship of 349 global, regional and sub-regional, national and local churches seeking unity, a common witness and Christian service. It is a Christian ecumenical organization that is based in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland...
.