Bishop of West Malaysia

Last updated
Bishop of West Malaysia
Bishopric
Anglican
Incumbent:
Rt Rev Dr Stevan Abbarow
Location
Country Malaysia
Territory Peninsular Malaysia
Ecclesiastical province Church of the Province of South East Asia
Information
First holderFrancis Thomas McDougall
Established1814, current establishment in 1970
Diocese West Malaysia
Cathedral St. Mary's Cathedral
Website

The Bishop of West Malaysia is an Anglican prelate who oversees the Diocese of West Malaysia in the Church of the Province of South East Asia. The current bishop is the 5th Bishop of the Diocese since its creation in 1970. His seat is St. Mary's Cathedral, Kuala Lumpur. [1]

Contents

History

Anglicanism came to the Malay Peninsula following the establishment of the British East India Company's administered settlement on Penang island in 1786. The local magistrate, George Caunter, was appointed a Lay Clerk/Acting Chaplain to provide spiritual ministry to the settlers. Under his ministry the first entry into the Church Register was made in 1799. The Diocese of Calcutta provided episcopal supervision for the chaplaincy work on Penang island and the first Anglican Church building, the Church of St. George the Martyr, was built and consecrated in 1819.

In 1867, the administration of the Straits Settlements passed from the hands of the East India Company to the British Crown and in 1869, Anglican churches in the Straits Settlements was placed under the episcopal supervision of the Bishop of Labuan and her Dependencies with the diocese expanded and renamed as the Diocese of Labuan, Sarawak and Singapore. [2]

In 1909, the Straits Settlements was separated to form its own diocese, the Diocese of Singapore. With the Independence of Malaya in 1957 and by 1960, the diocese was renamed the Diocese of Singapore and Malaya. [3] After the Independence of Singapore in 1965, Singapore was separated from the diocese and in 1970, the Diocese of West Malaysia was established with the former Bishop of Sabah, Roland Koh, being appointed as the first Bishop of West Malaysia. [2]

In 2015, a decision was made by the Diocesan Synod to further divide the diocese into three separate dioceses [4] and in 2016, two area dioceses were created, the Area Diocese of the Northern Peninsula and the Area Diocese of the Southern Peninsula, in preparation and two suffragan bishops were licensed to oversee the area dioceses. [5] Provisional approval of the Provincial Synod for the creation of the new dioceses by 2020 has since been obtained. [6]

List of Bishops

Bishop of Calcutta
FromUntilIncumbentNotes
18141823 Thomas Middleton
18231827 Reginald Heber
18271829 Thomas James
18291832 John Turner
18321858 Daniel Wilson
18581867 George Cotton
Bishop of Labuan, Sarawak and Singapore
FromUntilIncumbentNotes
18691881 Walter Chambers Churches in the Straits Settlements separated from the Diocese of Calcutta and placed under the Diocese of Labuan and Sarawak. Diocese renamed Diocese of Labuan, Sarawak and Singapore on 8 August 1855.
18821908 George Hose
Bishop of Singapore
FromUntilIncumbentNotes
19091927 Charles Ferguson-Davie Churches in Malaya (including Singapore) were separated from the Diocese to form its own Diocese of Singapore on 24 August 1909.
19271940 Basil Roberts
19411949 Leonard Wilson
19491960 Henry Baines
Bishop of Singapore and Malaya
FromUntilIncumbentNotes
19601966 Kenneth Sansbury The diocese was renamed the Diocese of Singapore and Malaya on 6 February 1960.
19661970 Chiu Ban It First local to be consecrated Anglican Bishop.
Bishops of West Malaysia
FromUntilIncumbentNotes
19701972 Rt Rev Tan Sri Roland Koh Peck-ChiangThe diocese was separated into the Diocese of West Malaysia and the Diocese of Singapore; translated from Sabah
19721994 Rt Rev Tan Sri John Savarimuthu
19952006 Rt Rev Tan Sri Lim Cheng Ean
20072020 Rt Rev Datuk Ng Moon Hing Archbishop of South East Asia and Primate, 2016–2020
2021present Rt Rev Dr D Steven Abbarrow
Sources:

[7] [8] [9] [10] [11]

References

  1. ↑ Home
  2. 1 2 "History of the Diocese". Diocese of West Malaysia. Archived from the original on 12 March 2008. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  3. ↑ "Diocese of Singapore - History". Diocese of Singapore. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  4. ↑ Richards, Esther (December 2015). "Synod 2015" (PDF). Anglican Messenger. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Anglican Messenger. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  5. ↑ Murphy, Vincent (December 2016). "A Memorable Ordination Service" (PDF). Anglican Messenger. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Anglican Messenger. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 18, 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  6. ↑ Richards, Esther (December 2017). "Synod 2017" (PDF). Anglican Messenger. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Anglican Messenger. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 18, 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  7. ↑ "The See of Singapore". The Straits Times. Singapore. 26 April 1909. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  8. ↑ "It's Now Diocese of S'pore and Malaya". The Singapore Free Press. Singapore. 6 February 1960. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  9. ↑ "Past Bishops - Anglican Diocese of West Malaysia". Archived from the original on 2010-12-04. Retrieved 2019-04-15.
  10. ↑ "Singapore, West Malaysia to have separate dioceses". The Straits Times. Singapore. 8 January 1970. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  11. ↑ "Datuk Ng Moon Hing elected Primate of South East Asia". Anglican Communion News Service. London. 2 September 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
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