Church of Pakistan


The Church of Pakistan is a united Protestant Church in Pakistan, which is part of the Anglican Communion and a member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches and the World Methodist Council.
Along with the Church of North India, the Church of Pakistan is a successor of the Church of India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon, which was earlier known as the Church of India, Burma and Ceylon.

Establishment of the church

It was established in 1970 with a union of Anglicans, Scottish Presbyterians, United Methodists, and Lutherans. It is the only united church in South Asia which involves Lutherans. Though united, it is mainly Anglican in theology and outlook, since Anglicans form the bulk of the 800,000 strong membership and most of the important episcopal sees.
The church has two theological seminaries: the Gujranwala Theological Seminary and St. Thomas' Theological College, Karachi.

List of dioceses

The Diocese of Sialkot is a member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches. Today, the whole Church of Pakistan is listed as a member on the WCRC website. The Sialkot Diocese has more than 40,400 members in 45 congregations and 28 house fellowships. It adheres to the Apostles Creed, Heidelberg Catechism, Westminster Shorter Catechism and Nicene Creed.
Moderators of the Synod have included Zahir-Ud-Din Mirza, Bishop of Faisalabad. Immediately after the 1970 union, the Church had four dioceses: Multan, Lahore, Sialkot; in 1980, four more were created: Hyderabad, Raiwind, Faisalabad, Peshawar. In 2013, there were eight diocesan bishops plus an area bishop for the Gulf ministries — an appointment in cooperation with the Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf, and the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East.

Diocese of Raiwind

Diocese of Raiwind is one of the 8 Dioceses of the Church of Pakistan and came into being in 1980, 10 years after the Church Union in which Anglicans, Scottish Presbyterian, Lutherans and the Methodist amalgamated to form the Church of Pakistan. Dor within its Episcopal jurisdiction comprises the former United Methodist Mission areas and is predominantly rural and semi-urban. The central diocesan office is in Lahore, based at 17-Warris Road. The Diocesan area stretches out from Warris Road, almost 65 miles South of Lahore. Diocese of Raiwind has more than 26000 members in 38 congregations and six departments and 11 Schools. The main ministries of the Diocese are Pastoral Care, Village Schools, Sunday School Ministry, Peace Building, Hostel for poor children, Youth Empowerment, Women Empowerment, Special Education.

Relation with the Anglican realignment

The Church of Pakistan is a member of the Global South. Moderator and Primate Humphrey Peters is a supporter of the Anglican realignment, and he attended the Anglican Church in North America meeting of the College of Bishops, in Orlando, Florida, at 6–10 January 2014. Bishop Azad Marshall, of Raiwind, attended G19, the additional conference for those who weren't able to attend GAFCON III the previous year, held in Dubai, on 25 February-1 March 2019.
Archbishop Foley Beach, of the Anglican Church in North America, visited Pakistan in November 2019, where he met Moderator Humphrey Peters and Bishop Azad Marshall, of the Church of Pakistan. He also met Muslim scholars during his staying.