Newest Province Joins Communion
Episcopal News Service. May 19, 1983 [83092]
Onell Soto
BUENOS AIRES (DPS, May 19) -- The newest province of the Anglican Communion was officially inaugurated here with a solemn eucharist at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist on April 30th. The Province of the Southern Cone of America is the 27th member in the world-wide Anglican Communion, and is the only one that is predominantly Spanish-speaking.
The lessons from the Scriptures were read, and prayers were said in the main languages of the Province: Spanish, English, and the Indian languages Mataco, Guarani, Mapundungo, Lengua and Toba-Pilaga.
The Province includes the dioceses of Argentina and Eastern South America, Northern Argentina, Paraguay, Peru, and Chile and Bolivia.
It is estimated that there are 60,000 Anglicans in the province. The work began here more than 150 years ago and has been as varied as the province itself. While in some places the pastoral work has concentrated on English-speaking foreigners, in others it has been geared to the native Indian communities. Evangelistic, medical, and educational efforts have been the core of the missionary work in the area for years.
During the inaugural sermon, the Rt. Rev. Omar Ortiz, assistant bishop of Paraguay, remembered Captain Allen Gardiner, a British Navy officer who perished in 1851 of starvation and exposure while trying to convert the Aborigines of Tierra del Fuego. He was the founder of what was later known as the South America Missionary Society (SAMS).
"Martyrs and pioneers like Gardiner and his companions are a challenge and an inspiration to all of us today," said Ortiz.
The president of the Province is the Rt. Rev. David Leake, Bishop of the Diocese of Northern Argentina. Leake, the son of missionary parents, was born in Argentina. "My first language was Toba, the language spoken by the people among whom I grew up," he recalls with pride.
He sees the formation of the Province as a missionary necessity: "We are here by the grace of God and we must unite our efforts in order to be more effective." Jurisdiction over the dioceses was held by the See of Canterbury until 1974, when it was delegated to CASA, the South American Anglican Council.
The ecumenical leaders included Cardinal Juan Carlos Aramburu of the Roman Catholic Church; Federico Pagura, Bishop of the Argentine Methodist Church and president of the Latin American Council of Churches; and several Orthodox, Lutheran, and Protestant clergy.
The Archbishop of Canterbury was represented by the Rt. Rev. David Sheppard, Bishop of Liverpool.
In the days preceding the inauguration there was fear that British citizens would not be able to attend due to lack of visas, but a few days before the scheduled travel all the visas were granted. The inauguration was supposed to have taken place a year ago, but was postponed due to the war between England and Argentina in the Falkland Islands.
The inauguration took place during a five-day conference which gathered 93 participants from the five dioceses and the overseas partners. The conference was designed to officially constitute the new province according to the constitution and canons already agreed upon, and to study the role of Anglicanism in this part of the world.
The group recognized the need to study more Anglican history and to be more aware of the cultural manifestations in each area, so that a new blend would be possible. "That is the genius of Anglicanism: to be faithful to the Scripture, to be enlightened by tradition and reason, and always to be open to the Holy Spirit in whatever cultural situation we are," said the Rev. Canon James Robertson, secretary of the United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel.
Leake summarized this way: "We hope and pray that this historic event will mark the beginning of a new day for us and many others who are seeking a better knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that this new province will be an instrument of love, cooperation, fellowship and service. We have just started."
The Episcopal Church's representatives included Bishop Adrian Caceres of Ecuador, Bishop Lemuel B. Shirley of Panama; and the Rev. Onell Soto of the Episcopal Church Center in New York.