The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is a Christian denomination in the Anglican tradition.
The ACNA was formed on June 22, 2009, at St. Vincent's Cathedral in Bedford, Texas. It emerged from the merger of conservative groups that had seceded from the Episcopal Church in the United States and the Anglican Church of Canada, united over concerns about doctrinal and moral issues in their former provinces.
Prior to its official constitution, several American congregations withdrew from the Episcopal Church and placed themselves under the jurisdiction of Anglican provinces in Africa and other developing countries, sometimes known as the "Global South." In 2007, some of these congregations formed the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA) under the oversight of the Church of Nigeria, laying the groundwork for the establishment of the ACNA.
In June 2004, six conservative Anglican bodies, including the Anglican Communion Network, the Reformed Episcopal Church, and Forward in Faith North America, formed the Common Cause Partnership to "make common cause for a united, missionary and orthodox Anglicanism in North America."
A constitutional convention in December 2008 approved a provisional constitution and canons, to be ratified by the ACNA's inaugural Provincial Assembly in June 2009.
Robert W. Duncan, formerly Episcopal bishop of Pittsburgh, was elected ACNA's first archbishop at that founding assembly, which was attended by delegates from nine Anglican provinces and by ecumenical observers including the Orthodox Church in America and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
Since 2009, ACNA has grown to over 1,000 congregations and more than 130,000 members across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, and Cuba.
ACNA is governed the size of each dioces a conciliar system with shared leadership among bishops, clergy, and laity. The Provincial Assembly meets every three to five years to ratify amendments to the Constitution and Canons. Delegates are apportioned based on the size of their diocese. A Provincial Council convenes annually to review ministry reports, approve the budget, and elect members of the Executive Committee. It is comprised of each diocese's bishop, two lay delegates, and one clergy delegate.
The College of Bishops is made up of all ACNA bishops, who meet regularly to oversee doctrine, worship, and disciplinary matters of the Province.
Consisting of the archbishop plus twelve elected members (six clergy and six laity), the Executive Committee functions as the Province's board of directors. It meets monthly to conduct ongoing business.
ACNA comprises 30 dioceses and missionary jurisdictions, each led by a diocesan bishop, organized into parishes governed by a vestry or mission council.
While the ACNA is not recognized as a province of the Anglican Communion, it enjoys full communion with several Global South primates, and is a member of the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (GAFCON). Formal dialogue with the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) began in 2012, culminating in an official ecumenical partnership in 2016 that fosters closer theological exchange and mutual prayer initiatives. Additionally, the ACNA maintains cooperative ties with a broad network of mission agencies, relief organizations, and theological partners, including the American Anglican Council and the Anglican Relief and Development Fund.
The ACNA's doctrinal standards reflect historic Anglican formularies and the Jerusalem Declaration. The seven elements that shape ACNA's identity as a "Confessing Anglican" church are as follows: 1) The Bible (Old and New Testaments) is the inspired Word of God and the final authority for faith and life; 2) Two dominical sacraments (Baptism and the Lord's Supper) must be administered using Christ's words of institution and the appointed elements; 3) The historic episcopate (threefold order of bishops, priests, and deacons) is integral to apostolic continuity; 4) The three ecumenical creeds (Apostles, Nicene, and Athanasian) express the faith of the undivided Church; 5) The first four ecumenical councils, plus later Christological clarifications of the fifth through seventh, are accepted insofar as they align with Scripture; 6) The 1662 Book of Common Prayer, and its predecessors, provides the standard for Anglican worship and doctrinal expression; and 7) The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (1571), taken literally and grammatically, articulate foundational Anglican doctrines.
In the ACNA, women may be ordained to the diaconate and priesthood in some dioceses, but all provinces currently restrict the episcopate to men. Marriage is defined exclusively as a lifelong union between one man and one woman. The ACNA opposes abortion and euthanasia, affirming the dignity of human life from conception to natural death.
Recommended Resources
Anglican Church in North America
The official website for the ACNA features an introduction to the denomination, its organizational structure, leadership, global missions, ecumenical partnerships, and initiatives, along with a calendar of events and a list of member churches. The ACNA is a member of the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, and it identifies with the "One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, upholding the authority of Scripture, historic faith, and structured prayer."
https://anglicanchurch.net/
Anglican Church in North America Documents
This is a DNS alias maintained by the Anglican Network in Canada that redirects to the full text of the 2019 Book of Common Prayer site of the Anglican Church in North America, including Sunday liturgies, Holy Days, and occasional offices. It also hosts the full text of the new Prayer Book, localized for Canadian usage, alongside lectionaries and downloadable liturgies available as Word documents. The Cycle of Prayer and Daily Office lectionary are integrated into the site interface.
https://bcp2019.anglicanchurch.net/
Anglican Church in North America Portal
An official web platform for the Anglican Church in North America, the site primarily serves dioceses and congregations in completing their annual reports, while also providing a year-round resource hub for visitors seeking information on ACNA's congregational network and leadership contacts. Through the site, congregational administrators manage and submit annual reports and update parish data, clergy lay leaders share professional contacts, and diocesan administrators update rosters.
https://www.acna.org/
Formerly known as the Anglican Network in Canada, the diocese is part of the Anglican Church in North America. Established in 2005, before becoming a founding diocese of the ACNA, it originated as a group of congregations and clergy that had left the Anglican Church of Canada to affiliate temporarily with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, adopting its current name in 2024. Churches within the diocese are listed, along with their contact details, on the site.
https://dioceseofcanada.ca/
A diocese of the Anglican Church in North America, the Anglican Diocese of the South encompasses 50 parishes in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia, as well as Christ Church Plano, the provincial pro-cathedral. Its ministry team, a directory of churches within the diocese, a calendar of events, the office address, contacts, and open positions within the diocese are featured, and readers may subscribe to its monthly newsletter.
https://adots.org/
Anglican Diocese of the Southwest
With parishes in the U.S. states of New Mexico, West Texas, and Colorado, as well as Mexico, the Anglican Diocese of the Southwest is a diocese of the Anglican Church in North America. The diocese was established in 2012 and granted full diocesan status in 2013. Member churches, leadership contacts, a diocesan calendar, and an overview of its initiatives and job opportunities are set forth, along with its ordination and governance policies. The site is available in English and Spanish.
https://www.anglicansw.org/
Diocese of Churches for the Sake of Others, The
The official website for C4SO, a non-geographical diocese within the Anglican Church in North America, presents the history, vision, and identity of the diocese, along with diocesan-wide initiatives, church planting efforts, and the Anglican Foundations Program for clergy and laity, along with podcasts, blog posts, videos, and clergy-only materials consolidated for easy reference. Congregations within the diocese are listed, along with their contacts and other relevant details.
https://c4so.org/
The official website of the Diocese of the Carolinas, a regional body within the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), outlines its core beliefs and identity, a directory of member congregations, including local parishes and church plants, leadership profiles, downloadable ACNA liturgies, calendars, lectionaries, and resources for pastors and spouses. Other resources include the quarterly newsletter, "Carolinas Currently," and opportunities to support or join church-planting teams.
https://adoc.church/
Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic, The
Initially organized in 2006 as the Anglican District of Virginia, following the withdrawal of a group of congregations from the Episcopal Church in Virginia, the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic is affiliated with the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), encompassing Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and North Carolina. Its bishop, staff, committees, and delegates are introduced, along with its global missions, event schedules, and church planting programs.
https://www.anglicandoma.org/
Diocese of Western Anglicans, The
A founding diocese of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), the Diocese of Western Anglicans provides resources for clergy, laity, church planters, and others interested in Anglicanism across the western United States. It encompasses congregations in Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming, with its headquarters at All Saints Anglican Cathedral in Long Beach, California. Member churches and deaneries, leadership contacts, and various documents are available.
https://www.westernanglicans.com/
Gulf Atlantic Diocese of the Anglican Church in North America
The Gulf Atlantic Diocese is a diocese of the Anglican Church in North America, comprising 40 congregations in the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Originally divided into five deaneries (Gainesville, Jacksonville, Savannah, Tallahassee, and Western), the diocese later changed the division into four deaneries (Central, Northeastern, Southern, and Western). Its origins go back to the founding of the Anglican Alliance. Contact details are provided.
https://www.gulfatlanticdiocese.org/
