Church of the Province of Myanmar
| The Anglican Church of the Province of Myanmar | |
|---|---|
| Primate | Stephen Than Myint Oo, Archbishop of Myanmar and Bishop of Yangon |
| Headquarters | Yangon |
| Territory | Myanmar (Burma) |
| Members | c. 70,000 |
The Church of the Province of Myanmar in Asia is a member church of the Anglican Communion. The province comprises the entire country of Myanmar. The current Archbishop of Myanmar and Bishop of Yangon is Stephen Than Myint Oo.
The Church of the Province of Burma was created as an independent province of the Anglican Communion in 1970, and changed its name to the Church of the Province of Myanmar when the new country's name was adopted in 1989.
Throughout the colonial period the Church of England had a strong presence in the country because the majority of the British belonged to that church. The great majority of the Anglo-Burmese and Anglo-Indian communities in the country were also Anglicans and the number of schools run by the Church of England to educate British and Eurasian children increased. Notable schools include St Mary's and St Michael's in Maymyo and Mandalay. Until 1930 the church was part of the Church of England in India but it was then freed from state control and renamed the Church of India, Burma and Ceylon. With independence the number of Anglicans in the country decreased with the departure of the British and the subsequent exodus of the Anglo-Burmese and Anglo-Indians.
In 1966 all foreign missionaries were forced to leave the country. Today there are at least 70,000 Anglicans in an estimated population of 50 million in Myanmar.
The polity of the Church of the Province of Myanmar is episcopacy (church governance with the three-fold ministry), the same as other Anglican churches. The church maintains a system of geographical parishes organized into dioceses (there are six of these, each headed by a bishop and assistant bishop).
There are mainly four departments for ministry and mission under the province,diocese and parish administration.
The Church of the Province of Myanmar embraces three orders of ordained ministry: deacon, priest and bishop. A local version of the Book of Common Prayer is used.
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