Episcopal Divinity School (EDS) will convene a one-day symposium, “Living Postcolonial Anglicanism: Prospects for a Polycentric Anglican Communion” on Friday, November 7, 2025, from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Atlanta. The day of learning, which is open to the public, will bring together leaders from ten countries across the global Anglican Communion, and U.S.-based clergy and lay leaders to explore the changing dynamics of Anglicanism.
The symposium is being organized by two distinguished theologians and former professors at EDS, Dr. Kwok Pui Lan and the Rt. Rev. Ian T. Douglas, PhD. It will also celebrate the release of their new co-edited book, Living Postcolonial Anglicanism: Prospects for a Polycentric Anglican Communion (T & T Clark, 2025).
Anglicanism is undergoing a significant demographic shift, moving its center of gravity from Europe and North America to Africa, Asia, and Latin America. This shift is highlighted by the fact that the number of Anglicans in sub-Saharan Africa has grown dramatically in recent decades, from about 7.7 million in 1970 to nearly 57 million in 2015. Over the past decades, the Anglican population in the United States and Canada has decreased. The shift in demographics, the stronger voices of Anglican leaders from the Global South, and the tensions and debates within the Anglican Communion prompted discussions on the colonial legacy of Anglicanism, Anglican identity and mission, the structures of the Anglican Communion, and future relationships among member churches.
Register to attend the Symposium
Symposium Focus
The symposium will explore the implications of these changes, including the evolving cultural dynamics and power structures within the Anglican Communion. Leaders from around the world will lead presentations and group discussions on postcolonial Anglican theology, missiology, and pastoral practices.
Some of the topics to be discussed include:
- Women's leadership
- Indigenous peoples self-determination and ecojustice
- Human sexuality
- Liturgy and worship
- Reimagining Anglican Communion Structures
Dr. Kwok Pui Lan said of the event, “We live at a time when postcolonialism and a polycentric understanding of the Anglican Communion are becoming more widely embraced as well as articulated in some of the significant ecclesiological documents in Anglicanism. We hope the Symposium will catalyze discussion and shape our common dream for an embodied, pluralistic, and freeing postcolonial Anglicanism.”
Featured Speakers
The event will feature a range of international speakers, including:
- The Rt. Rev. Victor Atta-Baffoe '92, Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Cape Coast, Ghana
- Canon Salmoon Bashir, Canon for Liturgy and Ecumenism at the Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta, GA
- The Rev. Luiz Carlos Teixeira Coelho, Custodian of the Book of Common Prayer of the Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil
- Archdeacon Rosalyn Kantlaht’ant Elm, Archdeacon of Truth and Reconciliation and Indigenous Ministries in the Diocese of Huron in Ontario, Canada
- The Rev. Dr. Robert S. Heaney, Professor of Theology and Mission at Virginia Theological Seminary
- Dr. A. Katherine Grieb, Director of the Center for Anglican Communion Studies at Virginia Theological Seminary
- Dr. Esther Mombo, Professor at St. Paul’s University in Limuru, Kenya
- The Most Rev. Linda Nicholls, former Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada
- Dr. Jenny Te Paa Daniel, Professor Emeritus at St. Johns College in Auckland, New Zealand
- The Rev. Dr. Jesse Zink, Principal of Montreal Diocesan Theological College
For more information and to register for the symposium both in-person and virtually, visit EDS’s website.