| Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil | |
|---|---|
| Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil | |
 | |
| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | Anglican |
| Scripture | Holy Bible |
| Theology | Anglican doctrine |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Primate | Marinez Santos Bassotto |
| Associations | Anglican Communion |
| Headquarters | Praça Olavo Bilac, 63, Campos Elíseos, São Paulo |
| Territory | Brazil |
| Branched from | The Episcopal Church in the United States |
| Separations | Anglican Church in Brazil (2005) |
| Members | 120,000[1] |
| Official website | ieab |
TheAnglican Episcopal Church of Brazil (Portuguese:Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil – IEAB) is the 19th province of theAnglican Communion, covering the country ofBrazil. It is composed of nine dioceses and one missionary district, each headed by abishop, among whom one is elected as thePrimate of Brazil. The current Primate isMarinez Rosa dos Santos Bassotto.[2] IEAB is the oldest non-Catholic church in Brazil,[3] originating from the Treaty of Commerce and Navigation signed in 1810 betweenPortugal and theUnited Kingdom which allowed theChurch of England to establish chapels in the former Portuguese colony. In 1890 American missionaries from theEpiscopal Church established themselves in the country aiming to create a national church; unlike the English chapels, they celebrated services inPortuguese and converted Brazilians. The Anglican community of Brazil was a missionary district of the Episcopal Church until 1965, when it gained its ecclesiastical independence and became a separate province of the Anglican Communion. Twenty years later, IEAB began toordain women. It preaches asocial gospel, being known for its commitment to fight against problems that affect vast portions of the Brazilian society, such associal inequality,land concentration,domestic violence,racism,homophobia andxenophobia. Its stance as anInclusive Church has caused both schisms and the arrival of former Catholics and Evangelicals in search of acceptance.
Anglicanism, as a distinctive Christian tradition, began to develop from 1534 whenHenry VIII of England, driven by political and personal concerns, proclaimed the independence of theChurch of England from theHoly See, rejectingpapal authority. The church claims itself as a continuation of theprimitive church, since it has not rejected theCatholic andApostolic faith. Anglicanism soon spread to theBritish colonies in theNew World. In Brazil, however, the official religion imposed by the Portuguese settlers was Catholicism and the early attempts by Protestant missionaries – FrenchHuguenots and DutchCalvinists – failed.[4] The first Anglican to set foot in Brazil wasHenry Martin in 1805. His ship made a stop inSalvador on its route toIndia. He remained in the city for two weeks and communicated with Catholic priests inFrench andLatin.[4] He wrote the following about his impressions of the country: "What happy missionary shall be sent to bear the name of Christ to these western regions? When shall this beautiful country be delivered fromidolatry and spurious Christianity? Crosses there are in abundance, but when shall the doctrine of the Cross be held up?"[5]
In 1810, Portugal and the United Kingdom signed the Treaty of Commerce and Navigation, which allowed the Church of England to build chapels in Brazil. These were the first non-Catholic chapels in the country, intended exclusively for the attendance ofAnglo-Brazilians. Nevertheless, under the terms of the treaty, these chapels could not resemble religious temples and its Masses could only be celebrated inEnglish. The first Anglican Mass was celebrated later that year. In 1819, the first Anglican chapel, Christ Church, was established inRio de Janeiro. According to Silva, the early Anglican community did not oppose thestatus quo; he points out that some Anglicans ownedslaves, despite the Church of England's opposition to theslave trade. After theIndependence, the firstmissionary activity began. In 1853,William Cooper was sent to Brazil at the request of an Episcopalian from Rio de Janeiro, probably a member of theAmerican colony. Nevertheless, his ship sank at theCaribbean Sea and he returned to the United States.
In 1860 a Scottish priest, the Reverend Richard Holden, landed inBelém. He was also sent by theEpiscopal Church to do missionary work.[4] Holden conducted the most successful mission, remaining in the country for 12 years. He chose Belém as his work post due to the existence of a Bibles distribution station in the city and his expectation that theAmazon River would be open to international navigation. In Belém, he tried to create an Anglican community, but was not successful. He used the local media to spread the church, writing newspaper articles that provoked the wrath of the Catholic bishop,Antônio de Macedo Costa. Holden was responsible for the first Portuguese translation of theBook of Common Prayer; he also wrote a dozen hymns — two of them featured in the 1962 hymnal. He traveled the tributary rivers of the Amazon to sell Bibles in riverside communities. In 1862, he moved to Salvador, where he also tried to spread Anglicanism through the press. His articles encountered strong opposition and he survived three assassination attempts. His strong personality and controversial preaching style also provoked opposition from the Episcopal Church, which had sponsored his trip to Brazil (although it was also in disarray due to theAmerican Civil War and defeated Confederates would soon arrive in Brazil with their slaves). In 1864, Rev. Holden accepted the invitation of PresbyterianRobert Kalley to become a minister in the Fluminense Congregational Church in Rio de Janeiro. He later abandoned Anglicanism and became aDispensationalist.[4]
Anglican missions in Brazil began to flourish after 1889, whenthe Republic was proclaimed and the country became officiallysecular; this decriminalized the conversion of Catholics to Anglicanism and other churches and religions. In 1890, the priestsLucien Lee Kinsolving and James Watson Morris were sent to Brazil from theVirginia Theological Seminary. They established themselves in a rented house later known as the Mission House (Casa da Missão) inPorto Alegre, where they held the first Anglican Mass in Portuguese on 1 June 1890.[3] Three other American missionaries followed in 1891: Rev.William Cabell Brown (who would leave in 1914 to become bishop in his native Virginia, but after completing translations of the Bible and Book of Common Prayer), Rev.John Gaw Meem and lay woman Mary Packard. They established missions inSanta Rita do Rio dos Sinos,Rio Grande andPelotas. These five missionaries are regarded as the founders of the Brazilian Episcopal Church, since they preached to Brazilians in Portuguese and spread Anglicanism throughout theSouthern region of Brazil, which now has the largest number of Anglican communities.
In 1893, Morris and Brown launched theChristian Standard (Estandarte Cristão), a newspaper for the Anglican community of Porto Alegre. That same year, BishopGeorge William Peterkin of West Virginia visited the Brazilian mission and ordained four deacons. Four years later, the Brazilian mission was visited byWaite Hockin Stirling, who ordained three priests andconfirmed 159 members.
In 1899, Kinsolving became a bishop, leading the Brazilian community. In 1907, the missionary efforts resulted in the creation of the Missionary District of Brazil within the Episcopal Church. In 1908, the missionaries began their activities in Rio de Janeiro, thencapital of Brazil, where Kinsolving hoped to build the headquarters of the church. Four years later, the Anglicans opened schools in Porto Alegre andSantana do Livramento. In 1921, the missionaries began working in theState of São Paulo, reaching thestate capital in 1924. In 1926,William M. M. Thomas was elected Bishop of the Missionary District of Brazil and Kinsolving returned to the United States a year later. In 1929, the Episcopal Press was founded; it launched the most important revised edition of theBook of Common Prayer. According to Kickhofel, the Anglican worship service was envied by the Catholics, since they only began praying in Portuguese after the end of theSecond Vatican Council in 1965.
In 1940,Athalicio Theodoro Pithan became the first Brazilian-born bishop of the missionary district; Episcopalians celebrated the 40th year of their presence in Brazil that same year. In 1949, the year of bishop Thomas' retirement and succession byLouis Chester Melcher, the Missionary District of Brazil was sub-divided into three dioceses, which prompted discussions about the ecclesiastical independence of the Episcopal Church Brazilian.
In 1952, the firstGeneral Synod took place. Three years later, the chapels which were founded in the 1820s and were still being operated by the Church of England merged with the Missionary District of Brazil after a deal reached by the Episcopal Church and the Church of England. In 1965, the Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil (Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil; IEAB) gained its autonomy, becoming the 19th ecclesiastical province of theAnglican Communion and electingEgmont Machado Krischke, son of an early missionary, as its Primate Bishop. Since then, the Anglican Episcopal Church has had the autonomy to develop its own liturgy. In 1966, IEAB became a member of theWorld Council of Churches as part of its commitment to Christianecumenism. In 1974, the Brazilian province was visited, for the first time, by anArchbishop of Canterbury,Michael Ramsey. IEAB achieved financial independence from the Episcopal Church in the late 1970s.
In 1985, IEAB began toordain women following the decision of the 1984 General Synod; the first female priest was the Reverend Carmen Etel Alves Gomes. IEAB preceded the Church of England on the matter. In 1990, during its centenary, IEAB decided to focus on three areas, considering the social-economic problems of Brazil: education,service and expansion. That same year, the Primate Bishop of IEAB and the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church established a bilateral committee with the purpose of reapproaching[clarification needed] the churches, encouraging partnerships and mutual relations between them. The Episcopal Church still sends missionaries to Brazil and thedioceses of Pennsylvania and São Paulo andIndianapolis and Brasília maintain special relations. In addition, IEAB initiated a dialogue with the Anglican churches from otherPortuguese-speaking countries.
Originally under the metropolitical supervision of theEpiscopal Church, the Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil became an independent province in 1965 and consists of a single metropolitical province, so its head serves as bothmetropolitan andprimate. In this role he uses the style of "Dom", typical of the hierarchs of the Catholic Church, but does not have the usual title of "Archbishop", being known by the alternative title of "Presiding Bishop" (Bispo Primaz). The primate bishops have been:[6]
A substantial proportion of thepriests of the province are women. The president of the House of Clergy and Laity for the first time is a lay woman, Selma Rosa, who was elected at the general synod for a three-year term. The general secretary of the church is Arthur Cavalcante, also appointed at the general synod for a three-year term.
The province consists of ninedioceses, each headed by a bishop, one of whom is elected as Primate Bishop. The 30th General Synod of the church, held in July 2006, elevated the Amazon mission as the ninth diocese of the province and grouped the dioceses and the missionary district of the province into three regions.
Due to the predominance of theLiberal wing – which defends asocial interpretation of theGospels because of the oppression that aliteral interpretation may cause – IEAB rejectsfanaticism and preaches that the church should be an instrument of social change, seeking to engage congregations and communities in debates still considered taboo in Brazilian society, such as those involving land concentration, domestic violence, sexism, racism, homophobia and xenophobia. It describes itself as concerned about the social, political, moral and spiritual lives of its members. It is also consideredan inclusive church for it accepts, as members, people from historically marginalized groups such as LGBT, women, indigenous and landless. According to the canons of IEAB, "as Christians, we bear the promise of theHoly Spirit, which leads us to the Word made flesh, who welcomes the oppressed, the neglected, the misunderstood and the marginalized".
IEAB argues that "everyone baptized, faithful and obedient to God, regardless of theirsexual orientation, are full members of theBody of Christ, the Church". According to Cardoso, the Church has welcomed gay people as members since 1998. In 1997, the Bishops of IEAB signed a document saying that "sexuality is a gift from God, and sexual intercourse, when practiced in a context of love and mutual respect, should not only be accepted but also considered as one of the good things that God has created". In 2001, IEAB conducted the first national consultation on human sexuality, when its members decided to reject "the principle of exclusion implicit in the ethics of sin and uncleanness" and declare inclusiveness as an "essence of the ministry of Jesus". On 12 May 2011, IEAB released a statement declaring its support for theSupreme Federal Court decision to recognizesame-sex unions in Brazil. More recently, the Presiding Bishop issued a letter in support of theEpiscopal Church's decision to adopt a non-gender marriage stance and stating that he wanted his church to do the same soon.[8] The Church has declared its support for the ordination of openly gay clergy and has offered a service of blessing for same-sex marriages.[9] According to Santos, the politicalprogressivism of IEAB's religious leaders is the reflex of their broad theological education.
In June 2016, the presiding bishop convened an Extraordinary Synod to discuss amending the marriage canon to include same-sex marriage, but a consensus was not reached; the issue will be considered in the General Synod in 2017.[10] IEAB is among the Anglican churches that are open to blessing same-sex unions.[11] "Anglican churches in Brazil, South Africa, New Zealand and Scotland have moved to recognize same-sex relationships."[12]
Clergy were able to entercivil partnerships, and are now also able to enter intosame-sex marriages.[13] On 1 June 2018 the General Synod voted to change the marriage canon to allow same-sex couples to get married.[14]
The Diocese of Recife, led by BishopRobinson Cavalcanti, withdrew from IEAB in 2005, due to their disagreement with the national church policies on homosexuality. The diocese renamed itself as Anglican Church-Diocese of Recife and joined theGlobal Southrealignment movement as an extraprovincial diocese[15]..
| General |  | |
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| African provinces | ||
| Pan-American provinces | ||
| Asian provinces |
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| European provinces |
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| Oceanian provinces | ||
| Extra-provincial churches | ||
| Churches infull communion | ||
