Orthodox Anglicans Still Fractured But Maintain Identity, Strength

We have compared current jurisdictional websites and other relevant sources with the data reported in the FCC’s November 2007 Directory of Traditional Anglican & Episcopal Parishes, and find that we have a slight increase in parishes that we could identify as orthodox (1,146 over and against 1,027), if one uses support for the historic all-male priesthood as a key criterion.

However, we also find that orthodox Anglicans remain fragmented, with some 30 jurisdictions noted, though a number of them (and generally those with larger parish totals) can be found within three of four umbrella groupings of orthodox Anglican bodies: original derivatives of the post-1976 Continuing Anglican movement, the Federation of Anglican Churches in the Americas (launched in 2006), and the (new) Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), established in 2009.

Indeed, the first major change since publication of the last Directory was the formation of the ACNA, wherein we find 337 parishes (out of a current total of 686) to be orthodox (i.e., opposed to the priesting of women). The second major change was the defection to Rome by 29 of the 41 Anglican Catholic Church of Canada (ACCC) parishes we listed in the 2007 Directory; 23 out of 95 parishes listed for the Anglican Church in America (ACA); three out of 92 orthodox parishes within the Episcopal Church (TEC); and one out of 23 parishes of the Episcopal Missionary Church (EMC). To read more, click here.