COMMENTARY
By David W. Virtue, DD
February 10, 2025
The Anglican Church in North America started its journey in 2009, forming and separating itself from The Episcopal Church over its drift from historic and biblical teachings on theology and marriage.
Set within the Anglican tradition in the U.S. and Canada, ACNA also includes congregations in Mexico, and a missionary diocese in Cuba. It can therefore claim to be an international body, aligned with other global Anglican churches though not officially recognized by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Anglican Communion Office. The ACNA is a constituent member of GAFCON whose identity is based on the Jerusalem Declaration.
But the central issue facing the ACNA is ecclesiastical: what kind of “Anglican” will this body be? It seems that our Constitution and Canons (with reliance on the Jerusalem Declaration) states that we will be confessional, while the heart cry of our leaders seems to be for a conciliar definition (“let’s get as many in the boat as we can for maximum chance of success”).
Following a brief dip in congregations and attendance during COVID, ACNA has fully recovered and is moving forward albeit slowly into a new century.
Its first archbishop was the Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan; its second archbishop was the Rt. Rev. Foley Beach. Recently the orthodox denomination ordained its third archbishop in the person of the Rt. Rev. Steve Wood. He promises a reinvigorated church, post COVID, to reach the 130 million people across North America who do not recognize Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. A tall order indeed when one considers that 40 million Americans have stopped attending a place of worship over the past 25 years. However, it should be noted that fifty-one percent of people who have dechurched are willing to go back to church.
By contrast, The Episcopal Church has been sharply declining in attendance. Over 55% of Episcopal parishes are now in a state of long-term decline, dropping 10% or more across the past five reporting years. The church recorded an even sharper drop in average Sunday attendance in the past decade, down 43% to 373,000 in 2022, though that one-year total was up by 19% from the pandemic-driven low of 313,000 in 2021. With the average age at 69 and few young people filling pews, along with the decline in the number of ordained clergy, the long term looks bleak.
“The overall picture is dire. [It is] not one of decline as much as demise within the next generation unless trends change significantly. There will be no one in worship by around 2050 in the entire denomination,” said the Rev. Dwight Zscheile, an Episcopal priest and professor.
ACNA RISE, DECLINE AND RISE
Pre-COVID in 2019 ACNA had 972 congregations. In 2020, during COVID in 2020 ACNA maintained its 972 congregations, but in 2021 during COVID it jumped up adding two congregations to 974. By 2022 ACNA saw a rise to 977, but by 2023, post-COVID, ACNA saw a dramatic increase adding 36 new congregations to cross the 1,000-threshold landing at 1,013.
MEMBERSHIP was a different story. Pre-COVID 2019 membership stood at 127,624. During COVID 2020 the figure dropped slightly to 126,760 and during COVID 2021 it plunged to122,450. Post-COVID 2022 saw a rise to124,999 and post-COVID 2023 the figure rose to 128,114.
Unlike The Episcopal Church which is rapidly declining, ACNA seems destined to grow and maintain an Anglican presence in North America in the foreseeable future. At some point around 2040 there is every reason to believe that the two churches will cross each other if the present rate of TEC decline and ACNA growth continues.
The one issue that both churches face is birth dearth. A study released by the prestigious McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), “Dependency and depopulation? Confronting the consequences of a new demographic reality” revealed that falling fertility and increasing longevity is reshaping global populations. Fertility rates have fallen below the replacement rate required to maintain a stable population. Humanity is drifting into uncharted waters. We’ve endured population decline from war and disease but have never encountered a prolonged birth dearth. Merely a generation ago, the notion of population collapse was unfathomable to most. Now demographers deem it inevitable.
Unless churches get youth on board most churches will wither and die within a generation regardless of their beliefs. The study is a wake-up call for churches sleepwalking into unprecedented social upheaval. It is too late for the seven mainline denominations, they will all be gone by 2050 at the very latest. The issue will be if independent evangelical churches, including denominational ones with historic ties like ACNA and PCA can reach and convert generations X, Y and Z with the gospel and form them into a new generation of evangelists and disciplers.
What drives the ACNA? It has rejected the revisionism and progressivism of the Episcopal Church, but still the question remains, what defines ACNA? Although in the ACNA there is general agreement on the authority of Scripture, the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as the means to salvation, and traditional views of gender and marriage, there continues to be a lot of disunity over core Anglican identity: will the traditional Anglican formularies be acknowledged as is stated in the Jerusalem Declaration, or will something else provide our confessional grounding as a church.
Early on Archbishop Robert Duncan promoted the idea of “three streams” which became something of a motto for the new Anglican movement in North America. This idea that the streams of catholic, protestant (evangelical), and charismatic are equally important to our modern understanding of Anglican identity is not found in Anglicanism before modern times, and nowhere is it hinted at in our traditional formularies. Even though three-streams constitutes a sharp departure from historic Anglican’s insistence on Scripture as the supreme God-inspired authority, many Anglicans glommed on to it for hope of justifying their own personal preferences in worship and practice.
The Anglo-Catholic stream from bishops like Keith Ackerman and William Wantland articulated high church theology and worship promulgated by Forward in Faith, an organization that is committed to promoting a new Oxford movement. The 1830s Oxford Movement attempted to bend the church away from traditional Anglican values and formularies towards understandings taught by Archbishop William Laud and the Caroline Divines. Like the original Oxford Movement, modern-day Anglo-Catholics tend to favor the altar over the pulpit, ecclesiastical titles and ceremonial over servant leadership, and Arminianism over the moderate Lutheranism and Calvinism of Anglican’s formularies.
A third movement in the ACNA is Reformation Anglicanism, or (as defined by Bishop FitzSimons Allison) “mere Anglicanism.” This group affirms the Bible as its supreme authority, the norm for all other authorities, including tradition, reason and experience. They see the Edwardian and Elizabethan settlement as a settlement, based on the authority of Holy Scripture as it is upheld and understood by Anglican’s formularies: the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, the Thirty-nine Articles, and the two books of homilies. They understand the Bible to be perspicuous: clear for everyone to understand in all essential matters as Scripture interprets Scripture, with the more obscure passages understood by plainer passages. Reformation Anglicans view the power of the preached word as always encompassing the good news of God in Christ for our full salvation.
It remains to be seen in which direction Archbishop Steve Wood will lead the ACNA. Even though this church was formed by bishops and people on both sides of the women’s ordination debate, this single issue has interrupted the adolescent development of mission and ministry, and may even derail this church from its relevance along with other mainline churches.
The following statistics and figures reveal the true state of each diocese in ACNA.
THE ANGLICAN CHURCH IN NORTH AMERICA
Founded: 2009
PRESENT PRIMATE: Archbishop Steve Wood
ACNA III — Since 2024
Principal location: Non geographical
See City: Ambridge, Pennsylvania
Percent of Congregations reporting: 93%
ACNA 2019-2023 STATISTICS
CONGREGATIONS
Pre-COVID 2019: 972
COVID 2020: 972
COVID 2021: 974
Post-COVID 2022: 977
Post-COVID 2023: 1,013
Pre-COVID/COVID increase:
2019-2021: +2 (+0.2%)
Post-COVID Recovery:
2021-2023: +3 (+0.3%)
Five-year pre/post COVID difference:
2019-2023: +36 (+4.2%)
Pre-COVID/COVID drop:
2019-2021: -5,174 (-4.1%)
Post-COVID Recovery:
2021-2023: +2,459 (+2.1%)
Five-year pre/post COVID difference:
2019-2023: +490 (+0.3%)
ACNA APSA: (Average Principal Service Attendance) is the true bellwether of church health. Attendance not membership defines a church.
Pre-COVID 2019: 84,310
COVID 2020: 83,119
COVID 2021: 58,225
Post-COVID 2022: 75,583
Post-COVID 2023: 84,794
Pre-COVID/COVID drop:
2019-2021: -26,185 (-30.9%)
Post-COVID Recovery:
2021-2023: +17,328 (+29.8%)
Five-year pre/post COVID difference:
2019-2023: +484 (+0.5%)
PERCENTAGE OF WORSHIP ATTENDANCE
Pre-COVID 2019: 66.1%
COVID 2020: 65.6%
COVID 2021: 47.5%
Post-COVID 2022: 60.5%
Post-COVID 2023: 66.4%
Pre-COVID/COVID drop:
2019-2021: -18.6%
Post-COVID Recovery:
2021-2023: +13%
Five-year pre/post COVID difference:
2019-2023: +0.3%
The following is a breakdown of diocesan attendance:
DIOCESE: All Nations
BISHOP: Felix Orji
All Nations I — Since 2013
Founded: 2011 (CANA West)
Joined ACNA: 2023*
Principal location: West Central United States
See City: El Paso, Texas
Percent of Congregations reporting: 97%
*No earlier All Nations diocesan stats available
CONGREGATIONS
2023: 32
MEMBERSHIP
2023: 2,251
APSA (Average Principal Service Attendance)
2023: 1,791
PERCENT WORSHIP ATTENDANCE
2023: 79.5%
DIOCESE: ALL SAINTS
BISHOP: Richard Lipka
II All Saints — Since 2021
Founded: 2011
Principal location: Non geographical
See City: Berlin, Maryland
Percent of Congregations reporting: 100%
CONGREGATIONS
Pre-COVID 2019: 31
COVID 2020: 26
COVID 2021: 27
Post-COVID 2022: 25
Post-COVID 2023: 25
Pre-COVID/COVID drop:
2019-2021: -4 (-12.9%)
Post-COVID Recovery:
2019-2023: -2 (-7.4%)
Five-year pre/post COVID difference:
2019-2023: -6 (-19.4%)
MEMBERSHIP
Pre-COVID 2019: 1,290
COVID 2020: 988
COVID 2021: 929
Post-COVID 2022: 983
Post-COVID 2023: 971
Pre-COVID/COVID drop:
2019-2021: -361 (-27.9%)
Post-COVID Recovery:
2019-2023: +54 (+5.8%)
Five-year pre/post COVID difference:
2019-2023: -319 (-24.7%)
APSA (Average Principal Service Attendance)
Pre-COVID 2019: 778
COVID 2020: 581
COVID 2021: 499
Post-COVID 2022: 561
Post-COVID 2023: 544
Pre-COVID/COVID drop:
2019-2021: -279 (-35.8%)
Post-COVID Recovery:
2021-2023: +62 (+12.4%)
Five-year pre/post COVID difference:
2019-2023: -234 (-30.1%)
PERCENT WORSHIP ATTENDANCE
Pre-COVID 2019: 60.3%
COVID 2020: 58.8%
COVID 2021: 53.7%
Post-COVID 2022: 57.1%
Post-COVID 2023: 56.0%
Pre-COVID/COVID drop:
2019-2021: -6.6%
Post-COVID Recovery:
2021-2023: +3.4%
Five-year pre/post COVID difference:
2019-2023: -4.3%
DIOCESE: ANGLICAN NETWORK IN CANADA (ANIC)
BISHOP: Dan Gifford
ANiC III — Since 2022
Founded: 2007
Joined ACNA: 2009
Principal location: Canada
See City: Burlington, Ontario, Canada
Percent of Congregations reporting: 97%
CONGREGATIONS
Pre-COVID 2019: 76
COVID 2020: 71
COVID 2021: 73
Post-COVID 2022: 72
Post-COVID 2023: 76
Pre-COVID/COVID drop:
2019-2021: -5 (-6.6%)
Post-COVID Recovery:
2021-2023: +5 (+7.1%)
Five-year pre/post COVID difference:
2019-2023: ±0 (0%)
MEMBERSHIP
Pre-COVID 2019: 7,563
COVID 2020: 7,030
COVID 2021: 5,543
Post-COVID 2022: 6,492
Post-COVID 2023: 5,847
Pre-COVID/COVID drop:
2019-2021: -2,020 (-26.7%)
Post-COVID Recovery:
2021-2023: +949 (+17.1%)
Five-year pre/post COVID difference:
2019-2023: -2,316 (-22.6%)
APSA: (Average Principal Service Attendance)
Pre-COVID 2019: 4,640
COVID 2020: 4,001
COVID 2021: 2,415
Post-COVID 2022: 3,433
Post-COVID 2023: 4,252
Pre-COVID/COVID drop:
2019-2021: -2,225 (47.9-%)
Post-COVID Recovery:
2021-2023: +1,018 (+42.2%)
Five-year pre/post COVID difference:
2019-2023: -388 (-8.3%)
PERCENT WORSHIP ATTENDANCE
Pre-COVID 2019: 61.3%
COVID 2020: 56.9%
COVID 2021: 43.5%
Post-COVID 2022: 52.8%
Post-COVID 2023: 72.7%
Pre-COVID/COVID drop:
2019-2021: -17.6%
Post-COVID Recovery:
2021-2023: +9.3%
Five-year pre/post COVID difference:
2019-2023: +11.4%
JURISDICTION: Armed Forces Chaplaincy
BISHOP: Derek Jones
Armed Forces I — Since 2007
Founded: 2007 CANA
Joined ACNA: 2014
Principal location: Non geographical
See City: Montevallo, Alabama
Percent of Congregations reporting: 100%
CONGREGATIONS
Pre-COVID 2019: 8
COVID 2020: 17
COVID 2021: 15
Post-COVID 2022: 10
Post-COVID 2023: 9
Pre-COVID/COVID increase:
2019-2021: +7 (+87.5%)
Post-COVID Recovery:
2021-2023: -5 (-33.3%)
Five-year pre/post COVID difference:
2019-2023: +2 (+25%)
MEMBERSHIP
Pre-COVID 2019: No Report
COVID 2020: 456
COVID 2021: 420
Post-COVID 2022: 222
Post-COVID 2023: 251
COVID drop:
2020-2021: -36 (-7.9%)
Post-COVID Recovery:
2021-2023: -198 (-47.1%)
Three-year COVID/post COVID difference:
2020-2022: -234 (-51.3%)
APSA (Average Principal Service Attendance)
Pre-COVID 2019: 338
COVID 2020: 231
COVID 2021: 388
Post-COVID 2022: 231
Post-COVID 2023: 257
Pre-COVID/COVID increase:
2019-2021: +50 (+14.8%)
Post-COVID Recovery:
2021-2023: -157 (-40.4%)
Five-year pre/post COVID difference:
2019-2023: -107 (-31.6%)
PERCENT WORSHIP ATTENDANCE:
Pre-COVID 2019: No Report
COVID 2020: 50.6%
COVID 2021: 92.3%
Post-COVID 2022: 96.1%
Post-COVID 2023: 102.4%
COVID increase:
2020-2021: +40.7%
Post-COVID Recovery:
2021-2023: +3.8%
Three-year COVID/post COVID difference:
2020-2022: +51.8%
DIOCESE: Carolinas
BISHOP: ++Steve Wood
Carolinas I — Since 2012
Founded: 2012
Principal location: North & South Carolina
See City: Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Percent of Congregations reporting: 100%
CONGREGATIONS
Pre-COVID 2019: 29
COVID 2020: 30
COVID 2021: 32
Post-COVID 2022: 34
Post-COVID 2023: 37
Pre-COVID/COVID increase:
2019-2021: +3 (+10.3%)
Post-COVID Recovery:
2021-2023: +2 (+6.2%)
Five-year pre/post COVID difference:
2019-2023: +5 (+17.2%)
MEMBERSHIP
Pre-COVID 2019: 8,207
COVID 2020: 8,275
COVID 2021: 8,639
Post-COVID 2022: 9,769
Post-COVID 2023: 10,049
Pre-COVID/COVID increase:
2019-2021: +432 (+5.2%)
Post-COVID Recovery:
2021-2023: +1,130 (+13.1%)
Five-year pre/post COVID difference:
2019-2023: +1,562 (+19%)
APSA (Average Principal Service Attendance)
Pre-COVID 2019: 5,150
COVID 2020: 5,285
COVID 2021: 3,982
Post-COVID 2022: 4,872
Post-COVID 2023: 5,823
Pre-COVID/COVID drop:
2019-2021: -1,278 (-22.6%)
Post-COVID Recovery:
2021-2023: +890 (+22.4%)
Five-year pre/post COVID difference:
2019-2023: -278 (-5.4%)
PERCENT WORSHIP ATTENDANCE
Pre-COVID 2019: 62.7%
COVID 2020: 63.8%
COVID 2021: 46.1%
Post-COVID 2022: 49.8%
Post-COVID 2023: 57.9%
Pre-COVID/COVID drop:
2019-2021: -16.6%
Post-COVID Recovery:
2021-2023: +3.7%
Five-year pre/post COVID difference:
ACNA’S HOUSE OF BISHOPS
There are 86 living bishops in ACNA's College of Bishops – 49 are active with 37 retired. Another 4 Bishops-elect are slated to join them.
Another 15 ACNA bishops are deceased.
There are 7 former bishops who left ACNA -- 5 are living and 2 are deceased.
Working ACNA bishops by all 28 dioceses
LEGEND JURISDICTIONS
ACNA – Anglican Church in North America
GAFCON – Global Anglican Future Conference
JAFC – Jurisdiction of the Armed Forces &
Chaplaincy (ACNA)
OSB: Order of St. Benedict
REC – Reformed Episcopal Church
DIOCESE: ALL NATIONS
JURISDICTION: ACNA
BISHOP ORDINARY: Felix Orji, OSB
(I All Nations)
BISHOP SUFFRAGAN: Scott Seely
NOTES: Bishop Orij is Bishop Protector of the Order of Saint Benedict for the Diocese of Westminster in the Anglican Church of Canada.
DIOCESE: ALL SAINTS
JURISDICTION: ACNA
BISHOP ORDINARY: Richard Lipka
(II All Saints)
COADJUTOR: Darryl Fitzwater
DIOCESE: ARMED FORCES
JURISDICTION: JAFC
BISHOP ORDINARY: Darek Jones
(I Armed Forces)
BISHOP SUFFRAGAN: Michael Williams
(Bishop for Education, Training & Formation)
BISHOP SUFFRAGAN: Mark Nordstrom
(Bishop of Pastoral Care for Clergy and Families)
SUFFRAGAN BISHOP-ELECT: Jay Cayangyang
SUFFRAGAN BISHOP-ELECT: Marshall MacClellan
DIOCESE: CANADA
JURISDICTION: ACNA
BISHOP ORDINARY: Dan Gifford
(III Canada & Area Bishop for the East)
BISHOP SUFFRAGAN: Mike Stewart
(Area Bishop for the West)
BISHOP SUFFRAGAN: Stephen Leung
(Bishop for Asian and Multicultural Ministries)
DIOCESE: THE CAROLINAS
JURISDICTION: ACNA
BISHOP ORDINARY: Archbishop Steve Wood
(I The Carolinas)
BISHOP SUFFRAGAN: David Bryan
(Area Bishop for South Carolina)
BISHOP SUFFRAGAN: Terrell Glenn
(Area Bishop for North Carolina)
ASSISTING BISHOP: Thad Barnum
NOTES: Archbishop Wood is the current III ACNA.
DIOCESE: CASCADIA
JURISDICTION: ACNA
BISHOP ORDINARY: Jacob Worley
(II Cascadia)
DIOCESE: CENTRAL STATES
JURISDICTION: REC
BISHOP ORDINARY: Peter Manto
BISHOP-ELECT: Jason Grote
BISHOP EMERITUS: Daniel Morse
NOTE: Jason Grote is son to former REC Presiding Bishop Royal Grote. His consecration date is June 2025.
DIOCESE: CHRIST OUR HOPE
JURISDICTION: ACNA
BISHOP ORDINARY: Alan Hawkins
(II Christ Our Hope)
COADJUTOR:
BISHOP SUFFRAGAN: Quigg Lawrence
ASSISTING BISHOP: Paul Donison
BISHOP EMERITUS: Steve Breedlove
NOTES: Bishop Donison is also Assistant Bishop for the Diocese of Gasobo, Rwanda.
DIOCESE: C4SO
(Church for the Sake of Others)
JURISDICTION: ACNA
BISHOP ORDINARY: Todd Hunter
(I C4SO)
BISHOP SUFFRAGAN: Brian Wallace
DIOCESE: Fort Worth
JURISDICTION: ACNA
BISHOP ORDINARY: Ryan Reed
(IV Fort Worth)
ASSISTING BISHOP: Keith Ackerman
DIOCESE: Great Lakes
JURISDICTION: ACNA
BISHOP ORDINARY: Mark Engel
(III Great Lakes)
BISHOP SUFFRAGAN: Allen Kannapell
DIOCESE: GULF ATLANTIC
JURISDICTION: ACNA
BISHOP ORDINARY: Alex Farmer
(II Gulf Atlantic)
DIOCESE: Living Word
JURISDICTION: ACNA
BISHOP ORDINARY: Julian Dobbs
(I Living Word)
ASSISTING BISHOP: Willian Love
ASSISTING BISHOP: David Bena
DIOCESE: MID-AMERICA
JURISDICTION: REC
BISHOP ORDINARY: Ray Sutton
(VI Mid-America)
BISHOP SUFFRAGAN: Walter Banek
NOTES: Bishop Sutton is also REC's current Presiding Bishop. The REC diocese also encompasses west and western Canada.
DIOCESE: MID-ATLANTIC
JURISDICTION: ACNA
BISHOP ORDINARY: Christopher Warner
(II Mid-Atlantic)
DIOCESE: NEW ENGLAND
JURISDICTION: ACNA
BISHOP ORDINARY: Andrew Williams
(II New England)
DIOCESE: NORTHEAST & MID-ATLANTIC
JURISDICTION: REC
BISHOP ORDINARY: William Jenkins
(XIII Northeast & Mid-Atlantic)
NOTES: The REC diocese also encompasses central and eastern Canada.
DIOCESE: PITTSBURGH
JURISDICTION: ACNA
BISHOP ORDINARY: Alex Cameron
(IX Pittsburgh)
DIOCESE: QUINCY
JURISDICTION: ACNA
BISHOP ORDINARY: Alberto Morales, OSB
(IX Quincy)
BISHOP EMERITUS: Keith Ackerman
DIOCESE: ROCKY MOUNTAINS
JURISDICTION: ACNA
BISHOP ORDINARY: Ken Ross
(I Rocky Mountains)
BISHOP SUFFRAGAN: Ben Fisher
ASSISTING BISHOP: Thad Barnum
(Assisting Bishop for Clergy Care)
DIOCESE: SAN JOAQUIN
JURISDICTION: ACNA
BISHOP ORDINARY: Eric Meneese
(V San Joaquin)
DIOCESE: SOUTH CAROLINA
JURISDICTION: ACNA
BISHOP ORDINARY: Chip Edgar
(XV South Carolina)
DIOCESE: SOUTH
JURISDICTION: ACNA
BISHOP ORDINARY: Archbishop Foley Beach
(I South)
ASSISTING BISHOP: Frank Lyons
(Assisting Bishop for Episcopal Pastoral Care and Leadership)
NOTES: Archbishop Beach was II ACNA (2014-2024) and III GAFCON Chairman (2018-2023).
DIOCESE: SOUTHEAST
JURISDICTION: REC
BISHOP ORDINARY: Willie Hill
(IX Southeast)
DIOCESE: SOUTHWEST
JURISDICTION: ACNA
BISHOP ORDINARY: Steven Tighe
(II Southwest)
DIOCESE: UPPER MIDWEST
JURISDICTION: ACNA
BISHOP ORDINARY: Stewart Ruch
(I Upper Midwest)
NOTES: Bishop Ruch had been on a leave of absence since July 2021 for mishandling a clerical sex abuse case. He has not resigned his bishopric. In November 2024 the ACNA Board of Inquiry signed a Presentment against Bishop Ruch to bring him to Ecclesiastical Court for the Trial of a Bishop for violating ACNA Canons IV.2.4 & IV.2.10. A July 14, 2025 trial date has been sent. Bishop Ruch is still considered the sitting Bishop of the Upper Midwest although diocesan administrative duties are being handled by the Standing Committee.
DIOCESE: WESTERN ANGLICANS
JURISDICTION: ACNA
BISHOP ORDINARY: Keith Andrews
(I Western Anglicans)
BISHOP SUFFRAGAN: Mark Zimmerman
(Special Mission bishop)
BISHOP-ELECT: Phil Ashey
NOTES: Bishop-elect Ashey's consecration date is in March.
DIOCESE: WEST GULF COAST
JURISDICTION: ACNA
BISHOP ORDINARY: Clark Lowenfield
(I West Gulf Coast)