How Do African Anglican Churches Get Their Bishops?

"Africa is a nation that suffers from incredible disease." - George W. Bush

African churches of the Anglican Communion get their presiding bishops and archbishops the same way that other Anglican churches do: Episcopal church governance, varied by tradition. Because Africa is obviously not a nation, but a continent, the Anglican church divides itself differently in Africa than in the U.S. Each of these divisions maintains the same authority over itself as the Episcopal Church in America does.

The main difference between African Anglican polity and that in America is that Anglican churches in Africa can be either provincial or national. If the church is national, than the Archbishop of an Anglican Church is typically the primate or metropolitan of the largest or most important city of the country. If the church is provincial, the Archbishop is elected or appointed over the entire region- usually by a house of bishops.

The other crucial differences between Anglican churches in Africa and America is that most African churches do not organize a vestry or Bishop's committe of laypersons to elect or influence the appointment of rectors and other clergy.

The divisions of the Anglican Communion in Africa run as follows:

The Anglican Church of Burundi, like most Anglican churches, organizes its polity around a system of geographical parishes grouped into a diocese. There are six such dioceses in the country, and the bishops of each of these chose the Most Reverend Bernard Ntahoturi as their current archbishop. The Anglican Church of Burundi does not participate in the World Council of Churches.

The Church of the Province of Central Africa groups its parishes into 16 dioceses in the nations of Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, with the primate of the Church being the Archbishop over the dioceses. Since the retirement of Dr Bernard Amos Malango, the Bishop of Upper Shire in Malawi, the seat of the Archbishop has been vacant.

The Province de L'Eglise Anglicane Du Congo is a provincial church. The Most Revd Dr Dirokpa Balufuga Fidele is the current primate and archbishop of the Anglican Province of Congo.

The Anglican Church of Kenya includes 29 dioceses. The Primate of the Church is the Archbishop of Kenya, the Most Rev. Benjamin M. Nzimbi, chosen by the 29 bishopes. Each diocese is in turn divided into archdeaconies, each led by a senior priest, and each parish divided into subparishes, each led by a lay reader.

The Church of Nigeria claims 18 million members throughout 10 ecclesiastical provinces. Its Primate is Archbishop Peter Akinola.

The Church of the Province of Rwanda covers 9 sees, and the bishops have appointed Emmanuel Musaba Kolini as Archbishop.

The Anglican Church of Southern Africa covers 23 provinces in Angola, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Saint Helena, South Africa, and Swaziland. The primate is the Archbishop of Cape Town, most famously Desmund Tutu.

The Episcopal Church of the Sudan consists of twenty-four dioceses, each headed by a bishop. One of the diocesan bishops is elected to serve as Archbishop of the Sudan, and represent the province to the rest of the Communion as its primate.

The Anglican Church of Tanzania consists of 21 dioceses in Tanzania and Nanzibar, based out of Dodoma. Its current Archbishop is Vanetino Mokiwa, the Bishop of the Diocese of Dar es salaam.

The Church of the Province of Uganda contains 31 dioceses, each headed by a bishop. Its Archbishop is the Bishop of Kampala, Henry Luke Orombi. Its further divisions mirror those of the Anglican Church of Kenya.

The Church of the Province of West Africa covers 15 sees in Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Its elected Archbishop is currently Justice Akrofi.