| Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean | |
|---|---|
 TheCathedral of St Lawrence in Antananarivo, one of the oldest permanent Anglican churches in Madagascar. | |
| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | Anglican |
| Scripture | Holy Bible |
| Theology | Anglican doctrine |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Primate | Gilbert Rateloson Rakotondravelo |
| Associations | Anglican Communion,Global South |
| Territory | Madagascar,Mauritius and theSeychelles |
TheChurch of the Province of the Indian Ocean is aprovince of theAnglican Communion. It covers the islands ofMadagascar,Mauritius and theSeychelles. The currentArchbishop andPrimate isGilbert Rateloson Rakotondravelo,Bishop of Fianarantsoa.
The Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean is a member of theGlobal South and theGlobal Anglican Future Conference, and has been involved in theAnglican realignment. ArchbishopJames Wong attendedGAFCON III, inJerusalem, on 17–22 June 2018, and GAFCON IV inKigali,[1] on 17-21 April 2023. The province was represented at the event by a ten-member delegation, six from Madagascar and four from the Seychelles.[2]
The Bishop ofAntananarivo has been theOrdinary of theAnglican Church in Antananarivo[3] in the Indian Ocean since the diocese's erection in 1969.[4] The current bishop isSamoela Jaona Ranarivelo.
Bishops ofAntsiranana have included Gabriel Josoa (until 1982),Keith Benzies (1982 to his death in 2002), Roger Chung Po Chuen (until 2012),Oliver Simon (2012–2015) and Théophile Botomazava (2015-2021).
The diocese ofFianarantsoa was established in 2003, with andGilbert Rateloson Rakotondravelo as its first and only bishop as of 2024. He succeeded James Wong as primate in 2024, becoming the second Malagasy primate of the church. Since 2018, the diocese's cathedral has beenSt. Mark's Cathedral.[5]
Jean-Claude Andrianjafimanana was the first Anglican Bishop ofMahajanga starting in 2003.[6] He was succeeded byHall Speers from 2019 to 2024.[7] In 2024, a Canadian priest of theAnglican Church in North America,Darrell Critch, was elected and consecrated as the third missionary bishop for the diocese.[8]
WhenGrosvenor Miles was appointed assistant bishop of Madagascar in 1938, he based himself inTamatave, with the intention that this would become a diocesan see when the diocese of Madagascar was divided up;[9] but, in fact, the diocese of Tamatave was not created until 1969.[10] It was subsequently renamed the diocese of Toamasina.[11] The inaugural bishop wasJames Seth from 1969 until his death in 1975.[12] Jean-Paul Solo has been the (Anglican) Bishop ofToamasina, since before 2011.[13]
Todd McGregor was elected in 2006 to become asuffragan/assistant bishop over theToliara (Tuléar) missionary area of the Diocese of Antananarivo, to prepare that area to become a diocese. On 21 April 2013, the new Diocese of Toliara was erected out of Antananarivo diocese and McGregor became the first bishop diocesan.[14]On 14 March 2021, the Rt Rev Dr Samitiana Jhonson Razafindralambo, formerly the assistant bishop, was elected the next bishop and installed as the 2nd Bishop of Toliara on 25 April 2021.[15]
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| African provinces | ||
| Pan-American provinces | ||
| Asian provinces | ||
| European provinces |
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| Oceanian provinces | ||
| Extra-provincial churches | ||
| Churches infull communion | ||
