Member Church of the Anglican Communion
The Church of the Province of Myanmar in Asia is a member church of the Anglican Communion. The province comprises the entire country of Myanmar. The current archbishop of Myanmar and bishop of Yangon is Stephen Than Myint Oo.
Name.
The Church of the Province of Burma was created as an independent province of the Anglican Communion on 22 February 1970, and changed its name to the Church of the Province of Myanmar when the new country's name was adopted in 1989.
History.
Throughout the colonial period the Church of England had a strong presence in the country because the majority of the British belonged to that church. The great majority of the Anglo-Burmese and Anglo-Indian communities in the country were also Anglicans and the number of schools run by the Church of England to educate British and Eurasian children increased. Notable schools include St Mary's and St Michael's in Maymyo and Mandalay. Until 1930 the church was part of the Church of England in India but it was then made an autonomous ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion and renamed the Church of India, Burma and Ceylon. With independence the number of Anglicans in the country decreased with the departure of the British and the subsequent exodus of the Anglo-Burmese and Anglo-Indians.
Membership.
In 1966 all foreign missionaries were forced to leave the country. Today there are at least 70,000 Anglicans in an estimated population of 50 to 55 million in Myanmar.
Structure.
The polity of the Church of the Province of Myanmar is episcopacy (church governance with the three-fold ministry), the same as other Anglican churches. The church maintains a system of geographical parishes organized into dioceses (there are six of these, each headed by a bishop and assistant bishop).
Yangon and the Archbishops.
The current Bishop of Yangon and Archbishop of Myanmar is Stephen Than Myint Oo.
Diocese of Hpa-an.
Erected from Rangoon diocese in 1978; St Peter's Cathedral, Hpa-an.
Bishops of Hpa-an
Diocese of Mandalay.
Erected 1970 October (18) from Yangon diocese; Christ Church Cathedral, Mandalay.
Bishops of Mandalay
Diocese of Myitkyina.
Missionary district, from Mandalay diocese, created 1987; erected a diocese 1990; Christ the King Cathedral, Myitkyina.
Bishops of Myitkyina
Diocese of Sittwe.
Erected 1990 from Yangon diocese; St Mark's Cathedral, Sittwe.
Bishops of Sittwe
Diocese of Toungoo.
Missionary district created from Pann diocese, 1992; erected a diocese 1994; St Paul's Cathedral, Toungoo.
Bishops of Toungoo
Departments for ministry and mission.
There are mainly four departments for ministry and mission under the province, diocese and parish administration.
Worship and liturgy.
The Church of the Province of Myanmar embraces three orders of ordained ministry: deacon, priest and bishop. A local version of the Book of Common Prayer, stemming from the 1960 Church of India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon version, is used.
Doctrine and practice.
The centre of the Church of the Province of Myanmar's teaching is the life and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The basic teachings of the church, or catechism, 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 of Richard 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.
Ecumenical relations.
Like many other Anglican churches, the Church of the Province of Myanmar is a member of many ecumenical bodies, including the World Council of Churches.
Anglican realignment.
The Church of the Province of Myanmar is a member of the Global South and the Global Anglican Future Conference, and has been involved in the Anglican realignment. Archbishop Stephen Than Myint Oo was one of the seven Anglican archbishops that took place in the enthronement of Foley Beach as the second archbishop and Primate of the Anglican Church in North America on 9 October 2014.
References.
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