Singaporean named new Anglican Archbishop for South-east Asia
In a hallowed ceremony steeped in tradition, the Anglican Bishop of Singapore, Dr Titus Chung, was installed as the new Archbishop of the Province of the Anglican Church in South East Asia on Jan 23 at St Andrew’s Cathedral.
He succeeds Datuk Melter Jiki Tais, who is Bishop of Sabah and assumed the post of archbishop in 2020.
Dr Chung, 59, now leads about 30,000 Anglicans in the diocese of Singapore, as well as 16,600 Anglicans through mission works in other Asian countries. He also oversees the dioceses of West Malaysia, Kuching and Sabah. He is the third Singaporean to have taken on the role since the province was formed in 1996.
A province is an autonomous group of Anglican churches, created when churches in a region are established enough to look after their own affairs.
Dr Chung was appointed Bishop of Singapore in 2020 and saw the diocese through the Covid-19 pandemic.
Several Cabinet ministers and leaders of the Anglican Communion were at the cathedral to witness the ceremony. They included Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam, National Development Minister Desmond Lee and Manpower Minister Tan See Leng. Former president Tony Tan, Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh and Workers’ Party chairwoman Sylvia Lim were also present.
The ceremony was followed by a thanksgiving dinner held at Fairmont Singapore, which President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli and Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Culture, Community and Youth Alvin Tan attended.
Speaking at the dinner, President Tharman described Dr Chung’s installation as coming “at a time of growing fragility around the world”, with political and religious schisms threatening human well-being and security in some countries.
“All the more in these times, that we should uphold universal humanitarian values, including respect for each other as individuals, an interest in each other’s cultures and creeds and faith in our common humanity,” Mr Tharman said.
“This has particular importance for us as Singaporeans, whose very identity rests on multiracial and multi-religious harmony,” he added. “Our religious leaders play a key role in this regard, as they both guide their flock in understanding their own religious beliefs and responsibilities, and foster positive and shared civic norms and values.”
The new archbishop, who holds a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Edinburgh, was ordained as a priest in 1997 after graduating from Trinity Theological College in Singapore.
He served as a priest and subsequently as vicar at the Chapel of the Holy Spirit from 1997 to 2005, before joining St Andrew’s Cathedral in 2009.
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