Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean
province of the Anglican Communion
The Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean is a province of the Anglican Communion. It covers the islands of Madagascar, Mauritius and the Seychelles. The current Archbishop and Primate is Gilbert Rateloson Rakotondravelo, Bishop of Fianarantsoa. According to the Church of England Yearbook, the province has more than 600,000 members.
The Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean is a member of the Global South and the Global Anglican Future Conference, and has been involved in the Anglican realignment. Archbishop James Wong attended GAFCON III, in Jerusalem, on 17–22 June 2018, and GAFCON IV in Kigali, on 17-21 April 2023. The province was represented at the event by a ten-member delegation, six from Madagascar and four from the Seychelles. The church has ordained women to the diaconate since 2002 and to the priesthood since 2006.
Dioceses
Madagascan dioceses
Diocese of Antananarivo
The Bishop of Antananarivo has been the Ordinary of the Anglican Church in Antananarivo in the Indian Ocean since the diocese's erection in 1969. The current bishop is Samoela Jaona Ranarivelo.
The public source identifies “Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean” as province of the Anglican Communion. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Church, Province and Indian.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean”, the useful work is to connect “province of the Anglican Communion” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1089839. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2018, 2023, 2002 and 2006.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean primary sources, Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean archive and Church research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.