Church of the Province of Rwanda
Encyclopedia
The Church of the Province of Rwanda is a province of the Anglican Communion
, covering 9 sees
in East Africa
. The current primate
of the province is Archbishop
Onesphore Rwaje, consecrated Dec. 12, 2010.
during the first two years of World War I
. In 1926, Halord Guillebaud baptised the first converts at Gahini.
In 1992, the Province of the Episcopal church of Rwanda (PEER) was formed consisting of four dioceses, Kigali, Butare, Shyira and Byumba with the first Archbishop being Augustin Nshamihigo. In 1998, Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini was enthroned.
At start of the Rwandan Genocide
in 1994, Archbishop Nshamihigo and Bishop Jonathan Ruhumuliza acted as spokespersons for the government in a news conference, blaming the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front
for the genocide. The war left the church and the nation in ruins. Since peace has returned, the Church has embarked on a program of spiritual healing for thousands of traumatised people. Kigali Anglican Theological College (KATC) was started in February 2006 as a response to the training needs of the Anglican Church of Rwanda in post Genocide Rwanda and is staffed by pastors from several dioceses in Rwanda, local staff, one CMS Britain Mission Partner and a number of visiting lecturers from partners from the UK and the USA. The college states that it strives to provide quality Christian training to the next generation of Christian leaders for Rwanda and, in turn, to assist in the development of the whole country. The School of Theology was the first to open in the custom-built buildings situated in an area of new development not far from the capital city, Kigali. A Language School was opened in 2006 to meet the language needs of Francophone students needing to study in English. In 2008, there were around 40 students studying in both the School of Theology and the Language School.
es organized into diocese
s. There are 9 of these, each headed by a bishop.
is used.
, includes:
The threefold sources of authority in Anglicanism are scripture, tradition, and reason. These three sources uphold and critique each other in a dynamic way. This balance of scripture, tradition and reason is traced to the work of Richard Hooker
, a sixteenth century apologist. In Hooker's model, scripture is the primary means of arriving at doctrine and things stated plainly in scripture are accepted as true. Issues that are ambiguous are determined by tradition, which is checked by reason.
. In disregard for the Windsor Report
, it also maintains a missionary organization, the Anglican Mission in the Americas, within the jurisdiction of fellow members of the Anglican Communion.
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
, covering 9 sees
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
in East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
. The current primate
Primate (religion)
Primate is a title or rank bestowed on some bishops in certain Christian churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority or ceremonial precedence ....
of the province is Archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
Onesphore Rwaje, consecrated Dec. 12, 2010.
Official names
Church of the Province of Rwanda is also known as Province de L'Eglise Anglicane au Rwanda. The former name of the province, L'Eglise Episcopal au Rwanda was changed by action of an extraordinary meeting of the Provincial Synod at St Etienne Biryogo on 27 November 2007.http://www.anglicancommunion.org/provincialnews/rwanda/client/news/client_news_detail.cfm?naid=1286History
The Church of the Province of Rwanda traces its roots to two missionary doctors of the British Church Missionary Society. Arthur Stanely Smith and Leonard Sharp began a mission movement in RwandaRwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
during the first two years of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. In 1926, Halord Guillebaud baptised the first converts at Gahini.
In 1992, the Province of the Episcopal church of Rwanda (PEER) was formed consisting of four dioceses, Kigali, Butare, Shyira and Byumba with the first Archbishop being Augustin Nshamihigo. In 1998, Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini was enthroned.
At start of the Rwandan Genocide
Rwandan Genocide
The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days through mid-July, over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate...
in 1994, Archbishop Nshamihigo and Bishop Jonathan Ruhumuliza acted as spokespersons for the government in a news conference, blaming the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front
Rwandan Patriotic Front
The Rwandan Patriotic Front abbreviated as RPF is the current ruling political party of Rwanda, led by President Paul Kagame. It governs in a coalition with other parties...
for the genocide. The war left the church and the nation in ruins. Since peace has returned, the Church has embarked on a program of spiritual healing for thousands of traumatised people. Kigali Anglican Theological College (KATC) was started in February 2006 as a response to the training needs of the Anglican Church of Rwanda in post Genocide Rwanda and is staffed by pastors from several dioceses in Rwanda, local staff, one CMS Britain Mission Partner and a number of visiting lecturers from partners from the UK and the USA. The college states that it strives to provide quality Christian training to the next generation of Christian leaders for Rwanda and, in turn, to assist in the development of the whole country. The School of Theology was the first to open in the custom-built buildings situated in an area of new development not far from the capital city, Kigali. A Language School was opened in 2006 to meet the language needs of Francophone students needing to study in English. In 2008, there were around 40 students studying in both the School of Theology and the Language School.
Membership
Today, there are over one million Anglicans out of an estimated population of 8.7 million.Structure
The polity of the Church of the Province of Rwanda is Episcopal church governance, which is the same as other Anglican churches. The church maintains a system of geographical parishParish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
es organized into diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
s. There are 9 of these, each headed by a bishop.
Worship and liturgy
The Church of the Province of Rwanda embraces three orders of ministry: deacon, priest, and bishop. A local variant of the Book of Common PrayerBook of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...
is used.
Doctrine and practice
The center of the Church of the Province of Rwanda's teaching is the life and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The basic teachings of the church, or catechismCatechism
A catechism , i.e. to indoctrinate) is a summary or exposition of doctrine, traditionally used in Christian religious teaching from New Testament times to the present...
, includes:
- Jesus Christ is fully human and fully God. He died and was resurrected from the dead.
- Jesus provides the way of eternal life for those who believe.
- The Old and New Testaments of the Bible were written by people "under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit". The Apocrypha are additional books that are used in Christian worship, but not for the formation of doctrine.
- The two great and necessary sacramentsAnglican sacramentsIn keeping with its prevailing self-identity as a via media or "middle path" of Western Christianity, Anglican sacramental theology expresses elements in keeping with its status as a church in the Catholic tradition and a church of the Reformation...
are Holy BaptismBaptismIn Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
and Holy EucharistEucharistThe Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance... - Other sacramental ritesAnglican sacramentsIn keeping with its prevailing self-identity as a via media or "middle path" of Western Christianity, Anglican sacramental theology expresses elements in keeping with its status as a church in the Catholic tradition and a church of the Reformation...
are confirmation, ordinationOrdinationIn general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
, marriageMarriageMarriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
, reconciliation of a penitentConfessionThis article is for the religious practice of confessing one's sins.Confession is the acknowledgment of sin or wrongs...
, and unction. - Belief in heavenHeavenHeaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
, hellHellIn many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
, and Jesus's return in glorySecond ComingIn Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...
.
The threefold sources of authority in Anglicanism are scripture, tradition, and reason. These three sources uphold and critique each other in a dynamic way. This balance of scripture, tradition and reason is traced to the work of Richard Hooker
Richard Hooker
Richard Hooker was an Anglican priest and an influential theologian. Hooker's emphases on reason, tolerance and the value of tradition came to exert a lasting influence on the development of the Church of England...
, a sixteenth century apologist. In Hooker's model, scripture is the primary means of arriving at doctrine and things stated plainly in scripture are accepted as true. Issues that are ambiguous are determined by tradition, which is checked by reason.
Ecumenical relations
Unlike many other Anglican churches, the Church of the Province of Rwanda is not a member of the ecumenical World Council of ChurchesWorld Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches is a worldwide fellowship of 349 global, regional and sub-regional, national and local churches seeking unity, a common witness and Christian service. It is a Christian ecumenical organization that is based in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland...
. In disregard for the Windsor Report
Windsor Report
In 2003, the Lambeth Commission on Communion was appointed by the Anglican Communion to study problems stemming from the consecration of Gene Robinson, the first openly gay, noncelibate priest to be ordained as an Anglican bishop, in the Episcopal Church in the United States and the blessing of...
, it also maintains a missionary organization, the Anglican Mission in the Americas, within the jurisdiction of fellow members of the Anglican Communion.