The Iglesia Anglicana de Mexico was formed in the mid nineteenth century, partly in reaction to the Roman Catholic Church in Mexico at the time. It has always been broad and inclusive, and gravitated towards episcopal Anglicanism as it recognised the Anglican tradition of openness and welcome. It works largely among the poor of Mexico. The Archbishop of Mexico, alongside the Archbishops of Brazil and El Salvador, was instrumental in bringing together the "Global Center", a grouping of Latin American bishops. The "Global Center" issued the "Costa Rica declaration" in May 2007

The Costa Rica Declaration (May 2007)

We, the undersigned, Anglican Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean...renew and ratify our proposal of the position known as the Global Centre, which exhorts our Communion to preserve its communal, diverse, wide and inclusive nature. We consider these marks to be of the essence of Anglicanism, and they also constitute our particular contribution to the Christian tradition.

From the time of our last meeting, we have experienced a growing concern with respect to the polarisation of the biblical and theological positions currently held within the Anglican Communion. These positions, now known as the Global South and North, seem to have an irreconcilable character, and they challenge and jeopardise the unity of our Communion.

In the midst of this painful controversy, we do not feel identified with either position, and we consider that neither of them fully represents our thought and spirit.

During our time together, we have been able to confirm that we represent the wide plurality and diversity that are universal attributes of Anglicanism, and also, that we hold different positions concerning the issues that are being discussed in our Communion today. However, we have experienced our plurality and diversity as sources of enrichment and growth, and not as reasons for controversy and division.

We express our unanimous determination to remain together as members of one family and to continue coming to the Lord's table together.

We invite all our brothers and sisters in the episcopate and all members of the clergy and laity, who identify themselves with this vision, to join with us in order to work for reconciliation, interdependence and unity in diversity within our family of faith, so that we can preserve the priceless legacy that has been entrusted to us.

 

On the consecration of Bishop Gene Robinson

Our unanimous consensus is that, apart from the personal position of each one of us concerning the appropriateness of an election under such circumstances, above all we need to respect the right of an autonomous Diocese to elect as Bishop someone whom they consider to be suitable, and also to respect the majority decision of an autonomous Province of the Anglican Communion in ratifying such an election and in approving the Episcopal consecration of such a person. (2003)

On visiting Bishops from other Provinces

All canonical Bishops of the Anglican Communion, regardless of gender, lifestyle or theological position, are welcome to visit and to minister in our Province, provided they do so in accordance with our Constitution and Canons. (2004)

Canon Pablo Oden Marichal is Professor at the Ecumenical Theological Seminary, Matanzas, Cuba.

"We could say that the poor—either heterosexual or homosexual—do not have the time to discuss, nor are they interested in discussing, the sexual conduct of people, nor are they concerned about what others do with their sex, because they are completely engrossed in their fight for survival: what to eat, where to live, where to find work, how to clothe themselves, how to educate their children, how to keep their family healthy. Do we stop on our path to ask whoever struggles to feed the hungry, or to give water to the thirsty, or to clothe the naked, if he or she is homosexual or heterosexual?"

Humberto Maiztegui, a Uruguayan priest exiled in Brazil:

"The problem is that the hierarchy of the Anglican Church in the Southern Cone has had a theological formation without an understanding of and sharing in the sensibilities about the culture, the reality and the priorities of the Latin American people."

"Latin America has its own theological identity built by the Theology of Liberation, both as religious inculturation and political engagement. The Anglicans in Latin America participated remarkably well in this regional theological process of liberation...But the Anglicans of (the Southern Cone) did not participate in this ecumenical theological activity and, indeed, often opposed it.

"In Latin America the Consejo Latinoamericano de Iglesias (CLAI) (Latin American Council of Churches) cannot group together all the Latin American Anglicans...Why not? Because the Province of the Southern Cone does not like the social and political engagement of this ecumenical organisation. The issue is not a problem of sexuality or worship, but a broader question of hermeneutics and a fundamental disagreement about the role of Scripture and the Church of Christ in Latin America in transforming society and politics.

"There seems to be a direct relationship within Latin American Anglicanism between whether theology, leadership formation and the episcopate are foreign or national and whether the Church is more exclusive or inclusive in its ecclesiastical perspective."

 

ANGLICANISM IN LATIN AMERICA: A CHRONOLOGY

1819 Christ Church, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

1825 Church of St. John the Baptist, Buenos Aires, Argentina

1844 South American Missionary Society (S.A.M.S.), founded by Allen Gardiner

1853 Christ Church, Colon, Panama

1859 Beginning of local reform movement in Mexico

1865 Church of the Good Shepherd, San Jose, Costa Rica

1869 First Church of England diocese in Latin America (Falkland Islands and

South America)

1871 Mexican Church of Jesus

Anglican services in Cuba

Christ Church, Mexico City

1872 Church of the Holy Trinity, Ponce, Puerto Rico

1883 Iglesia de Fieles a Jesus, Matanzas, Cuba (Cuban lay readers Alberto Diaz

and Pedro Duarte)

1887 Anglican services in the Dominican Republic

1889 Portuguese services in Brazil (missionaries from Virginia Theological

Seminary)

1894 St. Andrew's Seminary in Mexico City

1901 Missionary Districts of Cuba and Puerto Rico (ECUS A)

1904 Missionary District of Mexico (ECUS A)

1906 Mexican Church joins District

Missionary District of Panama

1907 Missionary District of Brazil

 

1923 Puerto Rican Church of Jesus j oins District

1924 Manuel Ferrando, Suffragan Bishop of Puerto Rico. First Hispanic Bishop

in the Anglican Communion

1939 Alexander Blankingship, third Bishop of Cuba. First Episcopal consecration

in Latin America

1947 Anglican congregations in Central America transferred to ECUS A by CP WI

and become part of Missionary District of Panama

 

1957 Missionary District of Central America (ECUSA)

1960s Beginning of missionary work with Latin Americans

1964 Province IX (ECUSA)

1965 Brazilian Church becomes autonomous

1967 Each Central American country becomes a diocese

1983 Tamara L. Newell ordained to priesthood in Mexico

Nilda Anaya ordained to priesthood in Puerto Rico

1993 Gregory Venables, Bishop of Bolivia (was only Latin American country

without a resident Anglican Bishop)

1995 Mexican Church becomes autonomous

1998 Central American Church becomes autonomous

2005 Panama Anglican Congress/Global Centre

2007 Consecration of Nerva Cot Aguilera in Cuba (first female Bishop in Latin

America)

Carlos Touche Porter 2007