- Date:
- 2009 - present
- Areas Of Involvement:
- Anglicanism
Anglican Church in North America
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What is the Anglican Church in North America?
The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) formed in 2009 by theological traditionalists who seceded from the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada. This was due to disputes over the ordination of women and homosexuals.
The ACNA is not formally recognized by the Anglican Communion, the global association of Anglican churches, because the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church in Canada are the established provinces in their respective countries. The ACNA adheres to orthodox Anglican theology based on the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion and opposes same-sex unions and the ordination of homosexuals.
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When and why was the Anglican Church in North America formed?
The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) was formed in 2009 in Bedford, Texas, by theological traditionalists who had seceded from the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada.
Tensions had been growing since the 1990s within the Anglican Communion over the ordination of women and homosexuals, especially after the election of an openly gay man as bishop in the Episcopal Church in 2003. In 2008, dissenting congregations from the Anglican Church of Canada and several dioceses from the Episcopal Church met to discuss forming a separate Anglican church in North America. They affirmed the Jerusalem Statement and Declaration to emphasize the need for orthodoxy and discipline within Anglicanism. The ACNA was founded with approximately 100,000 members, 800 clergy, and 30 bishops.
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What are the main beliefs of the Anglican Church in North America?
The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), formed in 2009, adheres to orthodox Anglican theology based on the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion of 1571, interpreted in their literal sense.
ACNA's essential beliefs align with the Lambeth Quadrilateral: the Bible, Nicene Creed, baptism and Holy Communion, and the episcopate. It maintains a conservative stance, rejecting same-sex unions and the ordination of homosexuals. The church allows the ordination of women as priests but not as bishops.
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How is the Anglican Church in North America organized and governed?
The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) was formed in 2009 by theological traditionalists who had seceded from the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada.
At its founding, the ACNA's constitution allowed for the ordination of women as priests but not as bishops. It called for adherence to orthodox Anglican theology based on the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion of 1571. The church rejected same-sex unions and the ordination of homosexuals.
The ACNA is not formally recognized by the Anglican Communion, the global association of Anglican churches, because the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church in Canada are the established provinces in their respective countries.
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How does the Anglican Church in North America differ from other Anglican churches?
The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), formed in 2009, differs from other Anglican churches, such as the Anglican Church of Canada, because it was created by theological traditionalists who split from the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada. The ACNA is not formally recognized by the Anglican Communion.
The ACNA adheres to orthodox Anglican theology based on the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion of 1571, interpreted strictly. While allowing the ordination of women as priests, it does not allow their ordination as bishops. The ACNA rejects same-sex unions and the ordination of homosexuals, reflecting a conservative stance. These differences arose from disputes over the ordination of women and homosexuals within the broader Anglican Communion.
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What challenges and growth has the Anglican Church in North America experienced since its founding?
The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) was formed in 2009 by theological traditionalists who had seceded from the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada. This was due to disputes over the ordination of women and homosexuals, and same-sex unions.
At its founding, ACNA comprised approximately 100,000 members, 800 clergy, and 30 bishops. While ACNA allows the ordination of women as priests, it does not allow them as bishops. The church adheres to orthodox Anglican theology based on the Thirty-nine Articles.
Since its creation, the ACNA has grown but has faced challenges. While some Anglican churches have declared themselves in full communion with the ACNA, it has not been recognized as a member of the Anglican Communion because the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada are the established provinces in their respective countries.
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Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), Anglican church formed in 2009 in Bedford, Texas. Its founders were theological traditionalists who had seceded from the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada. It is not one of the 42 churches formally recognized by the Anglican Communion, the global association of Anglican churches.
Beginning in the 1990s, disputes about the validity within Anglican theology of ordaining women (particularly as bishops) and homosexuals fueled tension between conservatives and liberals in the Anglican Communion. These disputes became especially heated among congregations of the Episcopal Church after the election of V. Gene Robinson, an openly gay man, as the bishop of New Hampshire in 2003. Anglican churches subsequently were pressed from both theological liberals and traditionalists at home and abroad over whether or not they would bless same-sex unions (this decision was largely left up to the individual bishop of a diocese). Soon after Robinson’s installation, conservatives in the denomination began to consider secession, and by 2008 the dioceses of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Quincy, Illinois; Fort Worth, Texas; and San Joaquin, California, as well as several individual parishes, had left the Episcopal Church. Dissenting congregations from the Anglican Church of Canada were represented by the Anglican Network in Canada.
In 2004 the Anglican Network joined several other conservative organizations to form the Common Cause Partnership, providing a united theological response to liberalizing trends within Anglicanism in the U.S. and Canada. Other prominent members of the partnership were the American Anglican Council, the Reformed Episcopal Church, and Forward in Faith North America. These groups met in Wheaton, Illinois, in December 2008 to affirm the Jerusalem Statement and Declaration, a document created earlier that year by the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) movement to emphasize the need for orthodoxy and discipline within Anglicanism. They also proposed a draft constitution and a set of canons for a new Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), both of which were ratified at the church’s founding conference in Bedford on June 22, 2009. Robert Duncan, a vocal conservative and former Episcopal bishop of the Pittsburgh diocese, was named the new denomination’s first archbishop. Several observers from across the Anglican Communion attended the meeting, including a representative of Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the Anglican Communion’s titular head.
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At its founding the ACNA comprised approximately 100,000 members, 800 clergy, and 30 bishops. Its new constitution allowed for the ordination of women as priests but not as bishops. It also called for strict adherence to an orthodox Anglican theology based on the traditional doctrinal statement of Anglicanism, the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion of 1571, stipulating that they be “taken in their literal and grammatical sense.” The church took a conservative stance on the issue of homosexuality, specifically rejecting both same-sex unions and the ordination of homosexuals. Although several Anglican churches in Africa and South America declared themselves in full communion with the ACNA, the church has not been recognized as a member of the Anglican Communion because of the status of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church in Canada as the established provinces in their respective countries.
In 2014 Duncan was succeeded by influential conservative Foley Beach as the archbishop of the ACNA. Foley also served as chairman the GAFCON from 2019–2024. In 2024 Stephen Wood was elected as the third archbishop of the ACNA. He announced a voluntary leave of absence in November 2025 following allegations of sexual harassment, bullying, and the plagiarism of sermons.