The Diocese of Chile could become an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion by the end of the year.
An extraordinary diocesan synod will meet this month for a second reading of a resolution it ratified in 2015. Nearly 100 deputies from across Chile will gather in Santiago on May 12.
“This meeting is vital in our journey towards being an Anglican province, and this fact is undoubtedly important for the missionary growth that we long to experience as a church in future years,” said the Rt. Rev. Héctor Zavala, Bishop of Chile, who served as presiding bishop of the Anglican Church of South America from 2010 to 2016. “Being a province means in part that we will have an independent and autonomous church in direct relation with the Anglican Communion and its different Instruments of Communion.
“And this synod will be important, because in it the election of the four future diocesan bishops will be carried out that, together with a primate, will lead the four dioceses that will constitute our national church,” he said.
The synod will consider creating four new dioceses: Concepción, Santiago, Temuco, and Valparaíso.
Archbishop Paul Kwong, chairman of the Anglican Consultative Council, will lead a delegation to Chile later this year to assess whether the Chilean church has met the criteria for becoming a new province.
Adapted from ACNS
