| Anglican Church in America | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms of the Anglican Church in America | |
| Classification | Christian |
| Orientation | Anglican |
| Theology | Anglo-Catholicism |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Leader | Juan Garcia |
| Full communion | Anglican Province of America andAnglican Catholic Church |
| Region | United States |
| Headquarters | Belchertown,MA |
| Founder | Louis Falk |
| Origin | 1991 |
| Merger of | American Episcopal Church (AEC) and approximately 1/3 of the parishes of theAnglican Catholic Church (ACC) |
| Separations | Anglican Province of AmericaAmerican Anglican Church |
| Merged into | Anglican Catholic Church |
| Congregations | c. 65 |
| Members | 5,200 |
| Official website | www |
TheAnglican Church in America (ACA) was aContinuing Anglican church body and the United States branch of theTraditional Anglican Church (TAC). The ACA, which is separate from theEpiscopal Church (TEC), is not a member of theAnglican Communion. It comprised five dioceses and around 5,200 members. In 2025, the church's House of Bishops unanimously voted to reunite with theAnglican Catholic Church and disaffiliate with Traditional Anglican Church. On October 15 of the same year, the Anglican Catholic Church received the Anglican Church in America and the ACA ceased to exist.[1]
The Anglican Church in America[2] was created in 1991 following extensive negotiations between theAnglican Catholic Church (ACC) and the American Episcopal Church (AEC). The effort was aimed at overcoming disunity in theContinuing Anglican movement. This was only partially successful. Most ACC parishes declined to enter the new ACA, resulting in a continuing existence for the ACC, while the remainder of its parishes and some of its bishops joined the AEC in forming the new church. In 1995, some parishes which had formerly been part of the AEC, primarily in eastern states and thePacific Northwest, withdrew from the ACA and formed theAnglican Province of America under the leadership of Bishop Walter Grundorf.
In 2006, Bishop George Langberg, bishop of the Diocese of the Northeast, publicly opposed actions taken at the Convention of the Episcopal Church and held a requiem "in observance of the death of the Episcopal Church."[3][4]
The Traditional Anglican Communion had been seeking unity with theRoman Catholic Church while still retaining aspects of its Anglican heritage.[5] In 2007, inPortsmouth, England, all TAC bishops present accepted the ministry of the Bishop of Rome and theCatechism of the Catholic Church and requested a means of establishing full communion. The petition was signed on the altar.[6]The Vatican has a record of making some accommodations for Anglicans. In 1980, thePastoral Provision was issued which allowed the creation of theAnglican Use and the establishment of Anglican Use parishes within dioceses of the United States.[7] These parishes were initially composed of former members of the Episcopal Church.[7]
TheVatican answered the requests of various Anglican groups for full communion by issuing theapostolic constitutionAnglicanorum Coetibus, thus opening the possibility of corporate reunion with Rome for some Anglicans. On March 3, 2010, in Orlando, Florida, the eight members of the House of Bishops of the ACA voted unanimously to accept the Pope's proposal by formally petitioning the Vatican for apersonal ordinariate in the United States.[8][9] The ACA petition to establish an ordinariate in the United States urged it be established "as soon as possible" and indicated that they were establishing an interim governing council.[10]
In September 2010, however, the bishop of the ACA Diocese of the West, Daren K. Williams, announced that the bishops were divided on the matter and that parishes had left the church since the earlier news broke that union with the Roman Catholic Church was anticipated by the bishops. He also stated that talks between the ACA and the Anglican Province of America concerning a possible intercommunion agreement between the two were planned.[11] That agreement was finalized in September, 2011. As of 2016, a reconciliation committee with bishops and priests from the ACA and the APA, under the leadership of Bishop George Langberg, is working on ways to unite the two churches.
On February 5, 2011, the chancellor of the Anglican Church in America issued a statement on behalf of the bishops of the ACA announcing that the church would remain aContinuing Anglican Church. The statement also reported that one diocesan bishop who favored acceptance of the Pope's proposal had submitted his resignation and that approximately fifteen parishes were expected to leave the ACA with him.[12]
Brian R. Marsh was president of the ACA House of Bishops from 2011 to 2020. Since 2020, the Presiding Bishop has been Juan Garcia.[13]
The ACA voted to merge with the ACC on June 6th, 2025.[14] This was accomplished on October 15th at a Joint Synod held inNorth Charleston, SC.
At the time it merged into the ACC, the ACA consisted of five dioceses:
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