The Orthodox Anglican Communion (OAC) is a communion of churches established in the United States, in 1964 or 1967, by

James Parker Dees James Parker Dees was an American bishop. He was the founder and first bishop of the Orthodox Anglican Church and the Orthodox Anglican Communion. He was ordained as a deacon in the Episcopal Church on June 29, 1949; and as a priest by Thoma ...

. It was formed outside of the

See of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop was Augustine of C ...

and is not part of 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, ...

. The OAC adheres to the doctrine, discipline and worship contained in the 1662 ''Book of Common Prayer'' and the 1562 '' Articles of Religion''. The OAC was created as a conservative alternative to the mainstream Anglican Communion. Its presiding bishop also serves as its

metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

. It claims to have "over one million lay members".

Orthodox Anglican Church

The Orthodox Anglican Church is a member of the Orthodox Anglican Communion. It was founded as the Anglican Orthodox Church in 1963 or 1964 by James Parker Dees, in

Statesville, North Carolina Statesville is a city in Iredell County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. The population was 28,419 at the time of the 2020 census. Statesville was established in 1789 by an act of the North Carolina Legislature. It is part ...

. Dees died in 1990 and was succeeded as leader by George Schneller. Schneller resigned soon after due to illnesses, and the leader became Robert J. Godfrey. In 2000, Godfrey resigned; Scott McLaughlin succeeded him as leader, followed by Thomas Gordon. As of July 27, 2024, former ACNA clergyman Joshua Arena-Gilliam serves as the presiding bishop. In 1999, the group changed its name to ''Episcopal Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of America''. It then changed to ''Orthodox Anglican Church'' in 2005. The organization "champions the 1928 ''Book of Common Prayer'', emphasizes Christian

orthodoxy Orthodoxy () is adherence to a purported "correct" or otherwise mainstream- or classically-accepted creed, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical co ...

, and insists on high moral standards". Godfrey and McLaughlin were signatories to the

Bartonville Agreement The Bartonville Agreement came from a meeting held in May 1999 by bishops representing both the Anglican Communion's American province (The Episcopal Church) and a number of Continuing Anglican jurisdictions in North America. As such, it was an ea ...

in 1999. In 2007, McLaughlin signed a Covenant of

Intercommunion Full communion is a communion or relationship of full agreement among different Christian denominations or Christian individuals that share certain essential principles of Christian theology. Views vary among denominations on exactly what constit ...

between the Orthodox Anglican Church and the , represented by Archbishop .A Covenant Between The Old Catholic Church In Slovakia and the Orthodox Anglican Church
April 25, 2007.

References

External links

Official website
Continuing Anglican denominations Christian organizations established in 1967 Christian denominations founded in the United States {{Anglicanism-stub

Orthodox Anglican Church

See also

References

External links