Independent Anglican Church Canada Synod

The Independent Anglican Church (Canada Synod) (IACCS) is an Anglican jurisdiction that is not affiliated with the Anglican Communion headed by the Archbishop of Canterbury. It descends from a single parish that separated from the Anglican Church of Canada in 1934, later created additional parishes, and ultimately adopted the present name in the 1980s. The Most Rev. Peter Wayne Goodrich of Niagara Falls, Ontario, is its Primate. St. Matthew’s Cathedral (Cambridge, Ontario) is the headquarters of the Church. There are three suffragan bishops.

Under Archbishop Goodrich, a number of new parishes have been established in the USA and in a number of cities in Ontario. Some of these have ceased functioning while some others have since affiliated with other Anglican bodies. At present, the church has a parish in Oakville (St. Columba's); one in Stoney Creek (St. George's); one in Toronto (St. Clement of Rome); and one in Niagara Falls, Ontario, in addition to the Cathedral. Most are wholly owned properties of the IACCS. In 2006, the Anglican Independent Communion in the Americas, led by the Rt. Rev. John W. Gains of Georgetown, DE, was received into a newly-named Anglican Church, Province of North America, Inc. which incorporates both bodies and is headed by Archbishop Goodrich.

In September, 2003 the Order of the Oblates of St. John the Evangelist was formed within the church. The Order is open to both clergy and lay persons.

The Primate’s Initiative for Safe Harbour was established in 2005 as a means by which to provide Episcopal Oversight for women who have been ordained in the Anglican and Episcopal Churches but no longer can, in conscience, remain in Communion with those churches.

The Independent Anglican Church (Canada Synod) has published two service books for use by its congregations. The Book of Common Prayer, Canada, and The Psalter, Psalms and Canticles Pointed and Set to Anglican Chants, were both published in 1991. A companion Holy Week and Other Services book was published by the church in the Fall of 2000.

Located at St. Matthew’s Cathedral is the Diocesan Library which houses approximately four thousand volumes. This collection features books and information about virtually every religion, having been collected over the past forty years by Archbishop Goodrich. The library is reputed to be one of the finest small church libraries in Canada and is available for students of St. Matthew’s Cathedral College as well as other students of religion.

The discipline and public worship of the Church range from Anglo-Catholic to (Low) Evangelical. Most congregations are described as being in between the two.

The Independent Anglican Church (Canada Synod) considers itself to be conservative, having retained the use of the historic Book of Common Prayer, the Book of Common Praise 1938, and Anglican Chant for the Psalms and Canticles. This conservatism is also apparent in its requirement that all clergy subscribe to the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion and lead lives compatible with Scripture. The Church is committed to the male Priesthood and Episcopate. Women are admitted to the Diaconate.

The Church has its own educational facility, St. Matthew’s Cathedral College, which prepares students for the ministry. The minimum requirement for admission to the College is a Bachelor of Arts degree from a recognized University, although special consideration is given to mature students of suitable background to study for certification in the sacred ministry.

Unlike some other independent Anglican church jurisdictions, the policy of the Independent Anglican Church (Canada Synod) is not to encourage members, either clergy or lay, of the Anglican Church of Canada to desert the Anglican Communion. The intention of the Independent Anglican Church (Canada Synod) is to be available for those who, for whatever reasons, have already left the Anglican Church of Canada, or any other Church within the Anglican Communion.

The IACCS is not in formal communion with the Continuing Anglican Movement or with any other independent Anglicans, but it considers itself to be unilaterally in communion with any Anglican jurisdiction that has "a valid Apostolic Succession and maintains the Anglican Tradition of Common Prayer worship."