Structure
The Anglican Mission remained under the oversight of the Church of the Province of Rwanda, a member church of the Anglican Communion, through 2011. On December 5, 2011 Bishop Murphy and most of the bishops of the AM announced to the Province of Rwanda that the Anglican Mission would shortly be severing its relationship with the Rwandan Church. The two bishops who did not resign from the Rwandan church's House of Bishops were appointed by the Archbishop of Rwanda to oversee the parishes and clergy in the USA that remained in affiliation with the Province of Rwanda through a new jurisdiction known as PEARUSA. All clergy had been ordained under the supervision of the Archbishop of Rwanda and other participating Anglican Primates and Rwandan bishops. Clergy were not sent from Rwanda but were drawn from North America and were often former TEC or ACC priests.
The Anglican Mission includes three organizations within its umbrella: the Anglican Mission in America, the Anglican Coalition of Canada and the Anglican Coalition in America. The division into three groups allows the AM to operate in both Canada and the U.S., and it accommodates two different positions on the ordination of women. The AMiA only ordains women as deacons while both the ACiC and the ACiA open the priesthood to women.
The structure of the Anglican Mission is defined in its charter. The Anglican Mission has been led by a Primatial Vicar who is the presiding ecclesiastical authority. The vicar was a member of the Provincial Council's executive committee and sat in the Rwandan House of Bishops. In Bishop Murphy's withdrawal letter, he noted that the formal connection between the Anglican Mission and the Province of Rwanda was confined to his own standing as the Primatial Vicar.
The Council of Missionary Bishops assisted the vicar in ecclesiastical leadership. When episcopal vacancies occurred, the House of Bishops of the Province of Rwanda appointed replacements from among candidates nominated by the council. Unlike most other Anglican bodies, the AM does not have dioceses. The Board of Directors, with the Primatial Vicar as chairman, is charged with conducting the Mission's secular business. The Executive Director manages daily administrative affairs and heads the staff of the Mission Center.
Read more about this topic: Anglican Mission In The Americas
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