Archbishop of Canterbury to open Sudan’s Anglican Church on Sunday
July 24, 2017 (KHARTOUM) – The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby will visit Khartoum next Sunday to open the Anglican Church of Sudan, dividing the province of South Sudan and Sudan into two communions.
With this inauguration, Sudan will be the 39th Province of the Anglican Communion.
According to a statement released by the official news agency SUNA, the government of Khartoum State announced that the Archbishop Welby would visit the Sudanese capital on 30 June to inaugurate the Anglican Church in Al-Amarat neighbourhood.
The Governor of Khartoum State Abdel Rahim Mohamed Hussein Monday discussed the ongoing preparations for the visit with Jaber Idriss Awishah, the Chairman of the Supreme Council for Endowment in the state.
In press statements following the meeting, Awishah said the religious event will promote the spirit of tolerance and religious cooperation in the state.
After South Sudan independence in 2011, the Anglican Church of Sudan has been renamed the Anglican Church of South Sudan and Sudan (ACoSS&S). The Anglicans of Sudan until now are administrated from Juba by the primate of the church the Most Revd Daniel Deng.
The creation of a separate communion in Sudan was decided after a visit of the Secretary General of the Anglican Church to Khartoum last year to assess the possibility of an autonomous province there.
The decision was also taken because the Primate of the Church in Juba found it was difficult for him to administrate the Sudanese Anglicans for several reasons including the strained relations between the two Sudans since the secession in July 2011.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is expected to visit Khartoum with a group of bishops from South Africa, India and China to participate in the inauguration.
The Sudanese Anglicans welcome the event saying the establishment of an independent province in Sudan will make their case more visible and can deal directly with the worldwide Anglican family.
(ST)