[Anglican Communion News Service] The Church of the Province of Central Africa has concluded its provincial synod with approval of a motion that dioceses in the province that are ready to ordain women should be allowed to go ahead. It also approved a plan for new dioceses and potentially two more provinces, or member churches, of the Anglican Communion.

Under the theme “Growing the Church in the Broken World,” more than 100 clergy and lay representatives from across the existing 15 dioceses – Botswana, Lake Malawi, Northern Malawi, Upper Shire, Central Zambia, Eastern Zambia, Luapula, Lusaka, Northern Zambia, Central Zimbabwe, Harare, Manicaland, Masvingo and Matabeleland – gathered in Mount Soche, Blantyre in Southern Malawi, for the five-day meeting last week.

At the Synod’s concluding Eucharist, the primate of Central Africa, the Most Rev. Albert Chama of Lusaka, promulgated four motions that the Synod had approved after debate. The first was that those dioceses in the province that are ready to ordain women should be allowed to go ahead. The others were:

• the existing Diocese of Lake Malawi should be subdivided to make three new dioceses;
• the existing Diocese of Northern Malawi should be subdivided into two new dioceses; and
• the creation of national provinces for church growth.

The proposal for new provinces will be developed and submitted to the Anglican Communion Standing Committee, which will consider it as part of a process for the adoption of new Anglican Communion Member Churches.

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