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Pastoral Letters

The Most Reverend James Eugene Provence
Archbishop of the Anglican Province of Christ the King

Portrait of Archbishop Provence in front of Saint Thomas ChurchOn June 29, 2007, Abp. Provence was elected Archbishop of the Anglican Province of Christ the King, becoming the second Archbishop since the Province was formed in 1977.

Prior to his election as Archbishop, Abp. Provence served as Bishop of the Diocese of the Western States. He was consecrated Bishop Coadjutor for the Diocese of the Western States in 2003 and became Diocesan Ordinary in 2004. Ordained Deacon in 1983 and Priest in 1989, Abp. Provence served several California congregations and presently is rector of St. Thomas' Anglican Church in San Francisco.

Abp. Provence was born August 25, 1947, in San Francisco, California, to Eugene Provence and Beulah (Saum) Provence. Raised in the nearby suburb of San Mateo, he was baptized and confirmed at the Episcopal Church of St. Matthew.

Following an enlistment in the United States Marine Corps, Abp. Provence began a career as a broadcast engineer in radio and television before transferring his skills to the motion picture industry. It was during this time that changes in the Episcopal Church and its Book of Common Prayer caused him to leave St. Matthew's and join a new congregation of traditional Episcopalians. This parish was one of the original six that started the Anglican Province of Christ the King.

Called to the priestly vocation in 1980, Abp. Provence entered St. Joseph of Arimathea Anglican Theological College, graduating in 1983 with a Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree followed by post-graduate studies in canon law. He has been a member of the faculty of St. Joseph's since 1990 teaching courses in ecclesiology and canon law.

Archbishop Provence is married to the former Laurelle Louise Swan and has two daughters and three grandchildren.

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