| Province of the Anglican Church of Burundi | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | Anglican |
| Scripture | Holy Bible |
| Theology | Anglican doctrine |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Primate | Sixbert Macumi |
| Headquarters | Bujumbura |
| Territory | Burundi |
| Members | 1,276,000 (2020) |
| Official website | Province of the Anglican Church of Burundi Official Website |
TheProvince of the Anglican Church of Burundi (French:Province de l'Église anglicane du Burundi) is a province of theAnglican Communion, located inEast Africa betweenTanzania,Rwanda,Kenya, and theCongo. The Archbishop and Primate ofBurundi isSixbert Macumi. According to theWorld Christian Database and theWorld Christian Encyclopedia, published byEdinburg University Press, the church claims to have 1,276,000 baptised members.[1][2]
The name of the Province of the Episcopal Church of Burundi changed to the Province of the Anglican Church of Burundi (Province de l’Eglise Anglicane du Burundi) as the result of a decision taken at the Provincial Synod held in Bujumbura, March 2005.
After the first missionary work, the first Anglican structures in Burundi were established around 1935 and grew rapidly. The former Ruanda Mission set up its first mission stations atBuhiga andMatana in 1935, andBuye in 1936. There was much growth through medical work and education.Metropolitical authority came from theArchbishop of Canterbury until in 1965 the 'Province of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Boga-Zaire' was established, and the first national bishop was consecrated for the Diocese of Buye (covering the whole country).
Following expansion, Uganda became an independent province, leaving the rest of the region as the new Province of Rwanda, Burundi, and Boga-Zaire.[3] In 1975, Buye diocese was divided into two and theDiocese of Bujumbura was created. TheDiocese of Gitega came into existence in 1985, followed by theDiocese of Matana in 1990. The most recent diocese to be created was the Diocese of Rumonge, created from the southern part of the Diocese of Bujumbura and comprising around 50 parishes. Their first bishop elected was Pedaculi Birakengana, with the official inauguration of the diocese taking place on 4 August 2013.[4]
In 1992, the three countries of the Province each gained independence under their own individual Metropolitan Archbishop. The Episcopal Church of Burundi had his first Primate inSamuel Sindamuka, who would be in office until 1998. He was followed bySamuel Ndayisenga, Primate from 1998 to 2005. In Burundi expansion continued, withMakamba diocese established in 1997 andMuyinga in 2005. In 2005, the Province adopted the current name. Archbishop Bernard Ntahoturi was elected Primate the same year and reelected in 2010.
There were approximately 1,000,000 Anglicans in an estimated population of 12 million inBurundi.[5] The church claims 1,276,000 baptised members.[1]
The polity of the Anglican Church of Burundi isEpiscopal church governance, which is the same as otherAnglican churches. The church maintains a system of geographicalparishes organized intodioceses. The spiritual head of the province is itsArchbishop, who isOrdinary of one of the dioceses,Metropolitan of the Province, andPrimate. There are currently nine dioceses, each headed by abishop:
The Archbishop of Burundi is bothMetropolitan andPrimate; he retains his diocesan See along with the Primacy. The holders of the office have been:
The Anglican Church of Burundi embraces three orders of ministry: deacon, priest, and bishop. A local variant of theBook of Common Prayer is used.
The center of the Anglican Church of Burundi's teaching is the life and resurrection ofJesus Christ. The basic teachings of the church, orcatechism, 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 ofRichard 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 (on how scripture, tradition, and reason work to "uphold and critique each other in a dynamic way").[6]
The Church's major concerns include peace and reconciliation, repatriation of refugees and displaced people, community development, literacy and education, and fightingAIDS. It is committed to mission and evangelism and is concerned to support theological education and training for ministry.
Unlike other Anglican churches, the Anglican Church of Burundi is not a member of many ecumenical bodies. The Church is not a member of theWorld Council of Churches.[7][8]
The Anglican Church of Burundi is a member of theGlobal South but hasn't been very active so far in theAnglican realignment. ArchbishopBernard Ntahoturi attendedGAFCON II, that took place inNairobi,Kenya, from 21 to 26 October 2013.[9] The province was represented atGAFCON III, held inJerusalem, on 17-22 June 2018, by a single delegate.[10] The leading name of theGAFCON in the province is Bishop Seth Ndayirukye, of the Diocese of Matana. Four bishops of the Anglican Church of Burundi attended the GAFCON Training Bishops Institute in May 2019.[11]
The House of Bishops commended a statement byRowan Williams, a former Archbishop of Canterbury, in 2006 with a commitment to remaining part of the Anglican Communion.[12] In 2023, the Province reaffirmed its commitment to the Anglican Communion and denied "rumours" that the church was going to align with GAFCON.[13] The Church of Burundi ordains women as deacons and priests.[14][15]
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