Church of the Province of Myanmar

The Anglican Church was established in today’s Myanmar by British army chaplains on the west coast around 1825. It was only in 1853 that the first missionaries arrived. The diocese of Calcutta had pastoral and administrative oversight over the church in Burma. In 1877 the diocese of Rangoon was inaugurated. After World War II, no foreign missions which were not already operating in the country before the war were allowed to enter. The last missionaries were asked to leave the country in 1966. The early emphasis on a trained leadership, lay and ordained, as well as on an educated laity in general has proved an invaluable asset to the church. The Province of Burma was formed in 1970 with four dioceses; there are now six.

The church is not involved in social work as this field of action is totally taken over by the government. In times of catastrophes affecting the country the church provides relief aid. The primary concerns of the church are evangelism, the training of clergy evangelists and the improvement of teaching programmes. The Church of the Province of Myanmar is actively involved with other member churches in the Myanmar Council of Churches.