The Jerusalem bishopric was founded in 1841 and became an archbishopric in 1957. Reorganization in January 1976 ended the archbishopric and combined the Diocese of Jordan, Lebanon and Syria with the Jerusalem bishopric after a nineteen-year separation. Around the same time, the new Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf was formed and the Diocese of Egypt was revived.
The Episcopal Anglican Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East today includes three dioceses;
- Jerusalem: Archbishop Hosam Naoum
- Cyprus and the Gulf: Vacant
- Iran: Vacant
The Episcopal Anglican Province of Alexandria includes four dioceses;
- Egypt: Archbishop Samy Fawzy
- North Africa: Archbishop Samy Fawzy
- Gambella: Bishop Kuan Kim Seng
- Horn of Africa: vacant
Key Dates
1841 - Michael Alexander became the first Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem under the auspices of the Anglican Church and the united Evangelical Church in Prussia:
1849 - Christ Church, Jerusalem became the first Anglican church in the city
1871 - Christ Church in Nazareth was consecrated
1887 - Bishop George Blythe appointed as fourth Bishop in Jerusalem, and the first solely under the auspices of the Anglican Church
1888 - Bishop established the Jerusalem and the East Mission to hold and raise funds for the diocesan projects
1898 - Saint George's Cathedral was built
1920 - The Diocese of Egypt and the Sudan was formed
1920 - St. George's College, Jerusalem was opened as a theological school for Palestinian seminarians, broadening to offer courses to clergy and laity from the worldwide Anglican Communion and throughout the ecumenical Church in the 1960s
1945 - Sudan became a separate diocese from Egypt
1950s - Political unrest in Egypt left the diocese without a bishop of its own and came under the oversight of Jerusalem
1957 - The Diocese of Jordan, Lebanon and Syria was separated out from the Diocese of Jerusalem
1957 - Jerusalem became an archbishopric and its bishop therefore became an archbishop under the authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury, with oversight over the five dioceses of the then province.
1976 - Faik Haddad became the first Palestinian Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem
1976 - The Diocese of Jordan, Lebanon and Syria became part of the Diocese of Jerusalem again and The Province of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East was formed by combining four dioceses, each with equal standing. The head of the Presiding Bishop of the Province was elected to be elected from the four diocesan bishops on a rotating basis.
1976 - Faik Haddad became the first Palestinian Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem
The Diocese of Egypt was expanded to take in the chaplaincies of Ethiopia, Somalia, Libya, Tunisia and Algeria.
2007 - Andrew Proud became the first “Area Bishop for the Horn of Africa” covering Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and Dijibouti
2009 - Dr Bill Musk became the first “Area Bishop for North Africa” covering Algeria, Tunisia and Libya
2012 - Bishop Mouneer consecrated Dr Grant LeMarquand as the second “Area Bishop for the Horn of Africa”
2014 - The primate of the province’s title changed from president bishop to archbishop.
2017 - Bishop Mouneer consecrated Bishop Samy Fawzy as the first Arab “Area Bishop of Horn of Africa”
2019 - September: Bishop Rajan Vincent Jacob was consecrated as Area Bishop for Gambella
2019 - December: The Diocese of Egypt with North Africa and the Horn of Africa given the green light to leave the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East and form as a separate province, to be known as the Province of Alexandria, consisting of four dioceses; Egypt, North Africa, the Horn of Africa and Gambella. The Dioceses of Jerusalem, Cyprus and the Gulf and Iran will remain as the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East.
2020 - May: The inauguration of the Province of Alexandria