# Primates in the Anglican Communion

Primates in the Anglican Communion are the most senior bishop or archbishop of one of the 42 churches of the Anglican Communion. The Church of England, however, has two primates, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of York.

## Variations

Some of these churches are stand-alone ecclesiastical provinces (such as the Church of the Province of West Africa), while others are national churches comprising several ecclesiastical provinces (such as the Church of England). Since 1978, the Anglican primates have met annually for an Anglican Communion Primates' Meeting at the invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who is regarded as the symbolic leader (though primus-inter-pares) of the Anglican primates. While the gathering has no legal jurisdiction, it acts as one of the informal instruments of unity among the autonomous provinces of the communion.
In stand-alone ecclesiastical provinces, the primate is the metropolitan archbishop of the province. In national churches composed of several ecclesiastical provinces, the primate will be senior to the metropolitan archbishops of the various provinces, and may also be a metropolitan archbishop. In those churches which do not have a tradition of archiepiscopacy, the primate is a bishop styled "primus" (in the case of the Scottish Episcopal Church), "presiding bishop", "president bishop", "prime bishop" or simply "primate". In the case of the Episcopal Church in the United States, which is composed of several ecclesiastical provinces, there is a presiding bishop who is its primate, but the individual provinces are not led by metropolitans.
Anglican primates may be attached to a fixed see (e.g., the Archbishop of Canterbury is invariably the Primate of All England), who may be chosen from among sitting metropolitans or diocesan bishops and retain the see (as with, for example, the Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia), or who may have no see (as in the Anglican Church of Canada). Primates are generally chosen by election (either by a synod consisting of laity, clergy, and bishops, or by a House of Bishops). In some instances, the primacy is awarded based on seniority among the episcopal college. In the Church of England, the primate, like all bishops, is appointed by the British sovereign, in the capacity of Supreme Governor of the established church, on the advice of the Crown Appointments Commission.
The United Churches of South India, of North India, of Pakistan and of Bangladesh have neither metropolitan (arch)bishops nor national primates. Instead, each has a Moderator of the Synod (and a Vice-Moderator), elected from among the bishops for a fixed term, who is ranked among the Anglican primates.

## Dual primates

In the Church of England and the Church of Ireland, the metropolitan of the second province has since medieval times also been accorded the title of primate. In England, the Archbishop of Canterbury is known as the "Primate of All England" while the Archbishop of York as "Primate of England" (see also Primacy of Canterbury). In Ireland both the Anglican and Roman Catholic Archbishops of Armagh are titled "Primate of All Ireland"; while both the Anglican and Roman Catholic Archbishops of Dublin are titled "Primate of Ireland". As both of these positions pre-date the 1921 partition, they relate to the whole of Ireland. The junior primates of these churches do not normally participate in the Primates' Meeting.

## List of current primates

Key :
| Active primate | | Male primate |
| Inactive primate | | Female primate |
| Position vacant or acting primate | Position vacant or acting primate | Position vacant or acting primate |
This is a list of the 42 current primates (including four moderators of united churches) in the worldwide Anglican Communion. The list is given according to the Anglican order of precedence, with the Archbishop of Canterbury as primus inter pares first and the others in order of seniority by their first installation to a primacy.
| Province | Primate | Person | Date of birth & age | Consecration | Took office |
| Church of England | The Archbishop of Canterbury & Primate of All England | ZzVacant since 7 January 2025 | (2000-01-17) 17 January 2000 (age 25) | 17 January 2038 | 17 January 2038 |
| Anglican Church of Southern Africa | The Archbishop of Cape Town & Primate of Southern Africa | Thabo Makgoba | (1960-12-15) 15 December 1960 (age 64) | 25 May 2002 | 31 December 2007 |
| Church of the Province of Myanmar (Burma) | The Archbishop of Myanmar & Bishop of Yangon | Stephen Than Myint Oo | 1958 (age 66–67) | 2005 | 17 February 2008 |
| Church of the Province of Central Africa | The Archbishop of Central Africa & Bishop of Lusaka | Albert Chama | unknown | 2003 | 20 March 2011 |
| Anglican Church of Kenya | The Primate and Archbishop of All Kenya & Bishop of All Saints' Cathedral | Jackson Ole Sapit | (1964-06-12) 12 June 1964 (age 60) | 2005 | 3 July 2016 |
| Anglican Church of Korea | The Presiding Bishop of the Anglican Church of Korea & Bishop of Busan | Onesimus Park | (1963-05-16) May 16, 1963 (age 61) | 2012 | 11 May 2017–2018 (first term) 12 July 2024 – present (second term) |
| Scottish Episcopal Church | The Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church & Bishop of Moray, Ross and Caithness | Mark Strange | (1961-11-02) 2 November 1961 (age 63) | 23 October 2007 | 27 June 2017 |
| Province of the Episcopal Church of Sudan | The Archbishop of Khartoum & Primate of Sudan | Ezekiel Kondo | 1957 (age 67–68) | 2003 | 30 July 2017 |
| Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia | Te Pīhopa o Aotearoa, Primate of New Zealand & Te Pīhopa o Te Tairāwhiti | Don Tamihere | 1972 (age 52–53) | 11 March 2017 | 8 April 2018 |
| Province of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan | The Archbishop of Juba & Primate of South Sudan | Justin Badi Arama | 1964 (age 60–61) | 2001 | 22 April 2018 |
| Anglican Church of Tanzania | The Archbishop of Tanzania & Bishop of Tanga | Maimbo Mndolwa | 1968 (age 56–57) | 4 September 2012 | 20 May 2018 |
| Church of the Province of Rwanda | The Archbishop of Rwanda & Bishop of Gasabo | Laurent Mbanda | 1954 (age 70–71) | May 2010 | 10 June 2018 |
| Church of Bangladesh | The Moderator of the Church of Bangladesh & Bishop of Dhaka | Samuel Sunil Mankhin | unknown | 8 November 2009 | 5 December 2018 |
| Church of the Province of Melanesia | The Archbishop of Melanesia & Bishop of Central Melanesia | Leonard Dawea | 1971 or 1972 (age 52–53) | August 2016 | 15 September 2019 |
| Church of Uganda | The Archbishop of Uganda & Bishop of Kampala | Stephen Kaziimba | (1962-08-15) 15 August 1962 (age 62) | 26 October 2008 | 1 March 2020 |
| Church of Nigeria | The Archbishop of Abuja & Primate of All Nigeria | Henry Ndukuba | (1961-07-18) 18 July 1961 (age 63) | September 1999 | 25 March 2020 |
| Anglican Church of Australia | The Primate of Australia & Archbishop of Adelaide | Geoffrey Smith | 1958 or 1959 (age 65–66) | 25 July 2007 | 7 April 2020 |
| Church of Ireland | The Archbishop of Armagh & Primate of All Ireland | John McDowell | 1956 (age 68–69) | 23 September 2011 | 28 April 2020 |
| Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui | The Archbishop of Hong Kong & Bishop of Western Kowloon | Andrew Chan | 1962 (age 62–63) | 25 March 2012 | 3 January 2021 |
| Church of Pakistan | The Moderator of the Church of Pakistan & Bishop in Raiwind | Azad Marshall | unknown | 1994 | 14 May 2021 |
| Episcopal/Anglican Province of Alexandria | The Archbishop of Alexandria & Bishop of Egypt | Samy Fawzy | 1963 (age 61–62) | 27 February 2017 | 8 June 2021 |
| Province of the Anglican Church of Burundi | The Archbishop of Burundi & Bishop of Buye | Sixbert Macumi | 1968 (age 56–57) | 2005 | 21 August 2021 |
| Church in Wales | The Archbishop of Wales & Bishop of Bangor | Andy John | (1964-01-09) 9 January 1964 (age 61) | 29 November 2008 | 6 December 2021 |
| Province of the Anglican Church of the Congo | The Archbishop of the Congo & Bishop of Aru | Georges Titre Ande | unknown | unknown | 23 January 2022 |
| Church of the Province of West Africa | The Primate of West Africa, Metropolitan Archbishop of Ghana & Bishop of Asante Mampong | Cyril Kobina Ben-Smith | (1964-02-21) 21 February 1964 (age 61) | May 2011 | 3 June 2022 |
| Anglican Church of Mexico | Archbishop of Mexico & Bishop of Cuernavaca | Enrique Treviño Cruz | 1959 (age 65–66) | 23 February 2013 | 11 June 2022 |
| Anglican Church in Central America | The Primate of Central America & Bishop of El Salvador | Juan David Alvarado | 1961 or 1962 (age 62–63) | 24 January 2015 | 24 August 2022 |
| Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil | The Primate of Brazil & Bishop of Amazon | Marinez Rosa dos Santos Bassotto | 1971 or 1972 (age 53–54) | 2018 | 23 November 2022 |
| Church of North India | The Moderator of the Church of North India & Bishop of Agra | Bijay Kumar Nayak | unknown | 8 May 2005 | 9 December 2022 |
| Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia | The Bishop of Polynesia & Primate of New Zealand | Sione Uluʻilakepa | 1965 (age 59–60) | 11 March 2023 | 11 March 2023 |
| Anglican Church of South America | The Presiding Bishop of South America & Bishop of Argentina | Brian Williams | unknown | 8 November 2020 | 7 May 2023 |
| Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East | The President Bishop and Primate of the Church in Jerusalem & Archbishop in Jerusalem | Hosam Naoum | 1974 (age 50–51) | 14 June 2020 | 12 May 2023 |
| Church of the Province of South East Asia | The Archbishop of South East Asia & Bishop of Singapore | Titus Chung | 1964 or 1965 (age 59–60) | 18 October 2020 | 23 January 2024 |
| Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia | The Senior Bishop of the New Zealand Dioceses, Primate of New Zealand & Bishop of Wellington | Justin Duckworth | 1968 (age 56–57) | 30 June 2012 | 22 May 2024 |
| Anglican Church in Japan | The Primate of Japan & Bishop of Okinawa | David Eisho Uehara | unknown | 7 September 2013 | 30 May 2024 |
| The Episcopal Church in the USA | The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church | Sean W. Rowe | (1975-02-06) 6 February 1975 (age 50) | 8 September 2007 | 1 November 2024 |
| Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean | The Archbishop of the Indian Ocean & Bishop of Fianarantsoa | Gilbert Rateloson Rakotondravelo | unknown | 2003 | 14 December 2024 |
| Anglican Church of Chile | The Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Chile & Bishop of the South of Chile | Enrique Lago | unknown | 15 July 2018 | 12 January 2025 |
| Anglican Church of Mozambique and Angola | The Presiding Bishop of IAMA & Bishop of Zambezia | Vicente Msosa | (1981-02-18) 18 February 1981 (age 44) | 25 February 2017 | 26 January 2025 |
| Episcopal Church in the Philippines | The Prime Bishop of the Philippines | Nestor Poltic | (1967-10-27) October 27, 1967 (age 57) | 1 May 2018 | 12 March 2025 |
| Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea | The Senior Bishop of Papua New Guinea & Bishop of Aipo Rongo | Nathan Ingen | unknown | unknown | 11 May 2020 (Acting) |
| Church of South India | The Deputy Moderator of the Church of South India & Bishop of Karimnagar | K. Reuben Mark | (1961-03-29) 29 March 1961 (age 63) | 4 May 2015 | 5 September 2023 (Acting) |
| Anglican Church of Canada | The Acting Primate of Canada & Archbishop of Algoma and Moosonee | Anne Germond | 1960 (age 64–65) | 11 February 2017 | 15 September 2024 (Acting) |
| Church in the Province of the West Indies | The Senior Bishop of the Province of the West Indies & Bishop of Belize | Philip S. Wright | (1967-02-10) 10 February 1967 (age 58) | 17 November 2005 | 1 January 2025 (Acting) |