President Kiir, clerics welcome appointment of South Sudan Bishop
June 14, 2022 (JUBA) – South Sudan President Salva Kiir and several religious leaders have welcomed the appointment of South Sudanese Bishop Anthony Poggo as next Secretary-General of the Anglican Communion.
Poggo, a former Bishop of Episcopal Church in Kajo-Keji County, is currently the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Adviser on Anglican Communion Affairs.
Kiir, in a message delivered through the Presidential Affairs minister, congratulated the Bishop his appointment to the Anglican Communion.
The South Sudanese leader reportedly commended the commitment of the Anglican Church towards the unity, peace and progress in the country.
He specifically highlighted the church’s role in promoting reconciliation.
Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury expressed delight following the appointment of Bishop Poggo as Secretary-General of the Anglican Communion.
“Over the past six years, he has built up an immense knowledge of our global Communion and its people as my Adviser on Anglican Communion Affairs. And in that time many people in the Communion have got to know Anthony too – and I am sure that they will join me in welcoming his appointment,” he remarked.
The Archbishop of South Sudan, Rev. Justin Badi-Arama, said “We thank God that out of the suffering church in South Sudan, God has raised Bishop Anthony to this highest position”.
“He is coming at a time that the Anglican Communion is facing many challenges. But as Mordecai said to Esther; we trust God that ‘maybe it is for such a time like this that God brought up’ (Ester 4:14)”, he added.
The outgoing Secretary-General of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop Josiah Idowu-Fearon, remarked: “I give glory to the Lord for the appointment of Bishop Anthony Poggo as Secretary-General of Anglican Communion. He is endowed with many gifts and it is my prayer that he would bring it all to his ministry within and beyond the Anglican Communion”.
“I look forward to our working briefly together before handing over to him after the Lambeth Conference. May the Lord equip Bishop Anthony for a fruitful ministry as the Secretary-General of the Anglican Communion,” he added.
The Chair of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC), Archbishop Paul Kwong from the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui, said: “I warmly welcome Bishop Anthony Poggo as Secretary-General of the Anglican Communion. He will bring to the Communion many gifts in particular to the Anglican Consultative Council”.
South Sudanese journalist Ngor Arol Garang was equally elated following the appointment of Poggo as the Secretary-General of the Anglican Communion.
“People know his as a man of his worth. He rises wherever he is given opportunity to serve. He rose in Across [a Christian organisaiton] to top leadership,” he said.
The Anglican Communion is the world’s third-largest Christian denomination. It comprises 42 independent-yet-interdependent autonomous regional, national and pan-national Churches (provinces), active in more than 165 countries.
WHO IS ANTHONY POGGO?
Born in 1964 in the then Southern Sudan, Bishop Poggo and his siblings were taken by his father – an Anglican priest – and his mother into Uganda to flee the first Sudanese civil war. In 1973, he returned with his family to then Southern Sudan.
He holds a degree in Management and Public Administration from Juba University and a Masters in Biblical Studies from Nairobi International School of Theology.
In 1995, Poggo was ordained a Deacon and became a Priest in 1996. He later studied Masters in Business Administration from Oxford Brookes University, England.
In 2007, Poggo was elected Bishop of Kajo-Keji, a position he held until 2016 when he moved to Lambeth Palace to work as adviser on Anglican Communion Affairs.
(ST)