In a service marked by pageantry, prayers and celebratory bagpipes, the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) received its new Archbishop and Primate this week. Hosted at the Mount Pleasant, South Carolina campus of Seacoast, a nondenominational megachurch, the gathering drew together clergy, bishops and laity from across the denomination as well as global Anglican and ecumenical visitors.

The Most Rev. Steve Wood, elected to a five-year term in office by the denomination’s College of Bishops on June 22, became archbishop at the conclusion of the ACNA Provincial Assembly later that week in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

Wood is the third Archbishop to lead the ACNA since it was formed in 2009 from several groups of former Episcopalians and other Anglican groups including the Reformed Episcopal Church. Wood is himself a former Episcopalian, who began his ministry in the Diocese of Ohio. The denomination in 2023 counted a membership of 128,114 and an attendance of 84,794 spread across 1,013 congregations. Wood will remain diocesan bishop for the South Carolina-based Anglican Diocese of the Carolinas.

The October 30 investiture functioned as a commissioning ceremony, with Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) Chairman and Primate of the Province of the Anglican Church of Rwanda Archbishop Laurent Mbanda anointing the new archbishop with oil.

Anglican Communion primates Archbishop Sammy Shehata of Alexandria, Egypt and Archbishop Hector “Tito” Zavala of Iglesia Anglicana de Chile, Church of Pakistan Moderator Bishop Azad Marshall, Anglican Church of Australia Archbishop Kanishka Raffel and Archbishop Muguel Uchoa of the GAFCON-initiated Anglican Church in Brazil prayed over him. Anglican bishops from Angola, Tanzania, Kenya, and Nigeria were also present, as was the Church of Nigeria’s former primate, Archbishop Peter Akinola.

“This is a global GAFCON family standing with you today,” Mbanda shared in welcoming comments. The Rwandan archbishop pointed to ACNA, whose formation was authorized by GAFCON in 2008, as “continuing the alignment of the movement to stand for the gospel and to stand firm.”

At nearly three hours in length, the service included a blend of solemn ritual, including a thurifer swinging incense and choral hymns “At the Name of Jesus” and “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent,” with contemporary praise songs like Elevation Worship’s “O Come To The Altar” and the modern hymn “In Christ Alone,” penned by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend. The combined choirs of St. Andrew’s Church, Mount Pleasant and St. Philip’s Church, Charleston led the music in a service that represented the ACNA’s diverse churchmanship and worship styles.

Ecumenical guests from the North American Lutheran Church (NALC), the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), the Charleston Baptist Association and the newly-launched Global Methodist Church (GMC) were also present.

“A ‘believe-anything-you-want’ faith is being rejected by many as trivial,” Wood preached in the service’s sermon, calling upon church members to hold fast to sound doctrine, commit themselves to prayer, and to pursue a holy life.

“We are sanctified for the benefit of others – mission,” Wood insisted, characterizing the Church as “meant to be a lifesaving station.”

The ACNA, which ministers in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Cuba, has a significant presence in and around Charleston, where the investiture was held. When Wood’s parish of St. Andrew’s departed the Episcopal Church in 2010, it reported the seventh largest average Sunday attendance in the denomination. The parish was one of four formerly Episcopal churches that began forming the Anglican Diocese of the Carolinas in 2012.

Today, Wood’s diocese lists 40 congregations, 36 of which were begun as church plants. The diocese in 2023 reported 10,049 members and 5,823 attendees, placing it among the larger dioceses within the ACNA. It is also among the fastest growing, adding 953 attendees in 2023, an increase of nearly 20 percent above the prior year.

In recent years, the ACNA has been embroiled in abuse scandals involving churches in Illinois, northern Virginia, and Washington D.C. In August, denominational leaders updated church bylaws about safeguarding members and reporting misconduct. 

Josh Shepherd contributed to this article, which originally appeared at The Living Church and has been reprinted with permission.

Jeffrey Walton is Communications Director and Anglican Program Director for the Institute on Religion & Democracy.