Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the
Middle East
Diocese of Jerusalem
Diocese of
Cyprus and the Gulf
Diocese of Egypt
Diocese of Iran
The Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and
the Middle East is a province of the Anglic-
an Communion stretching from Iran in the
east to Algeria in the west, and Cyprus in the
north to Somalia in the south. It is the largest
and the most diverse Anglican province. The
church is headed by a President Bishop, cur-
rently
the Most Reverend Dr. Mouneer
Hanna Anis, who ranks as a representative
primate in the Anglican Communion. The
Central Synod of the church is its deliberat-
ive and legislative organ. The province is di-
vided into four dioceses:
• The Diocese of Jerusalem — covering
Israel, Palestinian territories, Jordan,
Syria and Lebanon,
• The Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf —
covering Cyprus, the Persian Gulf states,
Arabia and Iraq,
• The Diocese of Egypt with North Africa,
Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and Djibouti —
also covering Algeria, Tunisia and Libya,
• The Diocese of Iran.
Each diocese is headed by a bishop. The
President Bishop is chosen from among the
diocesan bishops, and retains diocesan re-
sponsibility. The current President Bishop
also serves as Bishop of Egypt and North
Africa. The province estimates that it has
around 35,000 baptized members in 55 con-
gregations. The province has around 40
educational or medical establishments and
90 clergy.
History
The Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the
Middle East began as a number of missionary
posts of the Church Mission Society in
Cyprus, the Middle East and the Persian
Gulf. CMS continues to provide the province
with lay mission partners and ordained chap-
lains, but now the majority of its ministry is
grown from the local congregations. During
the 1820s, CMS began to prepare for per-
manent missionary stations in the region. In
1833, such a post was established in Jerus-
alem with the support of the London Jewish
Society (a Jewish Christian missionary soci-
ety). In 1839, the building of the Church of
Saint Mark in Alexand