The Anglican Province of Alexandria

The Episcopal/Anglican Province of Alexandria is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion and extends over eight countries: Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and Djibouti. 

This new Province was inaugurated in May 2020 - the former Diocese of Egypt with North Africa & the Horn of Africa, having grown significantly in recent years, becoming a Province in its own right 

The Province is huge geographically and diverse ethnically - it has over 170 congregations and supports some 30 institutions.  

Over a five-year transition period, it is envisaged that the new Province will come to comprise four dioceses: the Diocese of Egypt, the Diocese of North Africa, the Diocese of the Horn of Africa, and the Diocese of Gambella.  It is probable that the Province will be extended to include the Anglican churches in Chad and Mauritania. All Saint’s Cathedral in Cairo will serve as the spiritual centre of the Province.

The Diocese of Egypt  

The Anglican church in Egypt, centred on All Saint’s Cathedral in Cairo, continues to grow in lower Egypt - there are currently 20 churches situated in  Alexandria, Cairo, Menouf, Port Said, Sadat City and Suez.   

Cairo -  Zamalek  – All Saints Cathedral   (English, Egyptian, Sudanese).  Maadi – St John the Baptist   (English, Egyptian, Sudanese).       Old Cairo – Jesus Light of the World  (Egyptian, Deaf).        Heliopolis – St Michael & All Angels   (Egyptian, Deaf, Sudanese).    Giza – The Good Shepherd  (Egyptian) . Tawabek – (Egyptian) Ezbet El Nakhle – (Egyptian)   Ain Shams – St Athanasius (Egyptian) Salam City – Jesus the Prince of Peace (Egyptian)     

Alexandria- Mansheah – St Mark’s pro-Cathedral (Egyptian)   Stanley – All Saints (Egyptian, Sudanese)     Ras El-Soda – Christ the King, (Egyptian)

 Port Said – Epiphany  Suez – Saviour October City – Jesus the King  Menouf – St Mark’s  Sadat City – St Luke’s    

The Diocese supports numerous institutions including the Harpur Memorial Hospitals, a Nursing School in Menouf, REFUGE EGYPT  (www.refuge-egypt.org ) the Menara Centre - Menouf ( Special needs training for Children),  the Deaf Unit Cairo (www.deafunit.org ) and the Alexandria School of Theology which has campuses in Alexandria, Cairo and Minya.  Episcopare, the Diocesan NGO, serves in sustainable development - housing improvement, empowerment of women and vocational skills courses. 

Ministries of the Diocese (https://dioceseofegypt.org) include:

• Reaching the Unreached– Alpha Courses, prison ministry, discipleship.

• Working for Unity – interfaith dialogue, building bridges with music and art.

• Community Development - refugee, youth, children and women ministries, vocational training and special needs.  

The Diocese of North Africa

Anglican churches in North Africa date from the presence of European traders and diplomats, and then missionaries. They have remained faithful hubs for the celebration of Christian faith in Libya, Tunisia and Algeria after the dominant European presence in the region diminished and disappeared. Since 1976,  the emergence of Egyptian bishops as diocesans have helped give Anglicanism in North Africa a more locally grounded feeling: our diocesan bishop is an African and he is an Arabic-speaker!

Each of the Anglican churches in Tripoli (Libya), in Tunis (Tunisia) and in Algiers (Algeria) is situated in a strategic location and often provides the only Protestant services in English or other expatriate languages. We enjoy healthy ecumenical relations with Orthodox and Roman Catholic friends, on the one hand, and more independent, Protestant, (even Pentecostal or charismatic) friends on the other. We are small enough not to be a threat to anyone, but we are passionate about trusting God – and working towards – the development of indigenous, national congregations of Anglican Christians throughout the region.

Tunisia is a tiny country with a big reputation, at the moment. The Tunisian people threw off a long-established, tyrannical regime through a non-violent revolution and set an example for other nations in the region to follow.

Libya is a big country, with lots of a certain kind of wealth, where no one ever thought that the Colonel could be stood against. He was stood against, though with outside involvement and with lots of bloody fighting. The result was freedom, but freedom for what?

Algeria had its own brush with awful internecine bloodshed in the 1990s. The government has since spent lots of its vast petro-chemical wealth on security, has allowed a certain easing of restrictions on individuals, groups and peoples and is seeking to diversify the job market to provide employment, especially for the younger generation.

It is envisaged that natural links between North African nations and Mauretania and Chad may lead to the future Diocese of North Africa embracing churches in those countries.