The Anglican realignment is a movement among some
Anglican
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
s to align themselves under new or alternative oversight within or outside the
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...
. This movement is primarily active in parts of the
Episcopal Church in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and the
Anglican Church of Canada
The Anglican Church of Canada (ACC or ACoC) is the Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French-language name is ''l'Église anglicane du Canada''. In 2016, the Anglican Church of ...
. Two of the major events that contributed to the movement were the 2002 decision of the
Diocese of New Westminster in Canada to authorise a rite of blessing for
same-sex unions, and the nomination of two openly gay priests in 2003 to become bishops.
Jeffrey John, an openly gay priest with a long-time partner, was appointed to be the next
Bishop of Reading in the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
and the
General Convention of the Episcopal Church ratified the election of
Gene Robinson
Vicky Gene Robinson (born May 29, 1947) is a retired bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire. Robinson was elected Coadjutor bishop, bishop coadjutor in 2003 and succeeded as bishop diocesan in March 2004. Before becoming bishop, he se ...
, an openly gay non-celibate man, as
Bishop of New Hampshire. Jeffrey John ultimately declined the appointment due to pressure.
The current realignment movement differs from previous ones in that some Anglicans are seeking to establish different