Church in the Province of the West Indies

Anglican Christian denomination

Church in the Province of the West Indies

Classification| Protestant
Orientation| Anglican
Scripture| Holy Bible
Theology| Anglican doctrine
Polity| Episcopal
Primate| Philip S. Wright (acting)
Territory| Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas, the North-Eastern Caribbean and Aruba, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Windward Islands
Members| 770,000
Official website| https://cpwianglicans.org/

The Church in the Province of the West Indies is one of 40 member provinces in the worldwide Anglican Communion.[1] The church comprises eight dioceses spread out over much of the West Indies area.[2] The primate of the province is the Archbishop of the West Indies. The church has approximately 770,000 members.[3]

## History

[edit]

The West Indies became a self-governing province in 1883 because of the Church of England missions in territories that became British colonies.[clarification needed] It is made up of two mainland dioceses and six island dioceses, including Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, the Bahamas, the North-Eastern Caribbean and Aruba, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Windward Islands. Great emphasis is being placed on training personnel for an indigenous ministry. The island locations and scattered settlements make pastoral care difficult and costly.

## Ordination of Women

[edit]

The Church in the Province of the West Indies has ordained women as deacons since 1994 and as priests since 1996.[4] In 2019, the Synod of the church approved the ordination of women as bishops.[5]

## Mission organisations

[edit]

The Jamaica Church Missionary Society is the recognised missionary agency of the Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands in the Province of the West Indies. The society focuses on evangelisation with special relevance to daily human needs.

The society was established in 1861 as a subsidiary of the church, intended to target those sections of Jamaica's "hard to reach" population. For many years the mission stations established and maintained by the society provided the only means of reaching the masses of the population with Christianity and basic education.

## Theological college

[edit]

Codrington College, an Anglican preparatory in Saint John, Barbados, opened in 1745.

## Dioceses

[edit]

* The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands
* Barbados
* Belize
* Guyana
* Jamaica and the Cayman Islands
* North East Caribbean and Aruba
* Trinidad and Tobago
* Windward Islands

## See also

[edit]

* Christianity portal
* Caribbean portal

* Anglican churches in the Americas
* Archbishop of the West Indies
* Caribbean Conference of Churches

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Staff writer (2 August 2013). "Archbishop of Canterbury to visit Barbados". CBC. Retrieved 3 August 2013. "One of his primary commitments as Archbishop is to visit each of the Archbishops of the thirty-eight Provinces of the Anglican Communion within his first two years as Archbishop of Canterbury. His visit to Archbishop of the West Indies and Bishop of Barbados, John Holder, is in keeping with this promise. He is expected to discuss matters relating to the Church in the Province of the West Indies."
2. ^ "Province of the Church of the West Indies (Anglican) 2021". Retrieved 2021-11-06.
3. ^ "Church in the Province of the West Indies | World Council of Churches". www.oikoumene.org. 1948-01-01. Retrieved 2025-04-27.
4. ^ "Women in Ordained Ministry – History – Diocese of Jamaica & The Cayman Islands". Retrieved 2025-04-27.
5. ^ Conger, George (2019-06-06). "West Indies approves women bishops". Anglican Ink © 2025. Retrieved 2025-04-27.

## External links

[edit]

* Anglican Communion provincial website
* Church of England history in the West Indies Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine
* Anglicanism in the West Indies and Caribbean from Project Canterbury
* Anglican Diocese of Belize Web site
* About St. Kitts Anglican Church — part of the Diocese of North East Caribbean and Aruba

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