The leader of Anglican churches in eight Southeast Asian countries has started another four-year term of office.
Archbishop John Chew embarked on his second term as the Primate of South East Asia following a thanksgiving service conducted by the Province during a Provincial Synod Meeting held from February 2 to 4. No public ceremony was held to mark the event because the Most Rev. Dr John Chew is continuing in his present role.
Archbishop Chew, 62, was re-elected the Primate of South East Asia on 29 July 2009 at the Extra-ordinary Provincial Synod Meeting held at Terranganu, West Malaysia.
Installed on February 2006, Archbishop Chew has figured prominently in the worldwide Anglican Communion and the Global South Anglican grouping of ecclesiastical provinces.
As the General Secretary of the Global South Primates Steering Committee, he has overseen the role of his diocese in some 20 major Anglican conferences and events.
Significantly the diocese was involved in the preparation of the Global South draft of the new and historic Anglican Communion Covenant. The diocese also hosted ‘The Anglican Way’, a meeting of the worldwide body on theological education and visits of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Furthermore the diocese facilitated the first visit of ten Anglican Global South Primates to China at the invitation of the country’s Director-General for State Administration of Religious Affairs. The diocese also facilitated the first visit of the Director-General and senior staff of his department to Africa.
Those visits highlighted the “the shift of gravity in global and Anglican Christianity,” according to ‘Crossing A Century’, a commemorative publication of the Diocese of Singapore.
The diocese served as the honorary secretariat for Global South Anglican initiatives in April 2009.
From April 19 through 23 this year, it will host the fourth Global South ‘Encounter’. Twenty provinces are expected to affirm the Anglican Covenant at the event.
For his efforts in bringing Western Anglican provinces closer to those in the Global South, Archbishop Chew has been ranked the 26th most influential figure in the Anglican Communion by British newspaper The Daily Telegraph.
Archbishop Chew has been commended for building ‘deep’ friendship with key Chinese political and religious leaders, according to the centenary publication.
A bishop had said: “His good relationship with politicians and church leaders in China has been cultivated through the years. Consistently, he has come across as an intellectual with deep, mature insights and long-term vision for the Church and society. And as a person, he is warm, sincere, humble, trustworthy and committed to the Christian faith.”
During Archbishop Chew’s first term, the Diocese of Singapore has seen comprehensive development.
In 2006 it initiated a major ‘health’ review “to address concerns about the changing and shifting grounds of biblical literacy and worship which define and shape intentional discipleship in the parishes,” according to the publication.
The diocese also opened the St Andrew’s Village and launched the restructured Singapore Anglican Community Services. SACS has embarked on building a St Andrew’s Autism Centre.
Recently the diocese developed a three-staged programme to raise youth leaders and pastors and plans to set up a youth centre.
Archbishop Chew’s term also saw the first Thai Anglican priest Pairoj Phiamattawat ordained as a deacon on 1 November 2009. The Council for the Deanery of Laos was inaugurated on November 5 “due to expansion in the work,” the book added.
On the international scene, the Diocese of Singapore entered into a Memorandum of Companion Relationship with the Diocese of Lichfield in 2008. This was “to enhance partnerships in the mission deaneries,” according to the publication.
The Diocese of Singapore formed a twinning relationship with the Diocese of Egypt on February 2009, linking the St Andrew’s Cathedral with All Saints’ Cairo and St Mark’s Pro-Cathedral in Alexandria as sister cathedrals.
This was “to allow for closer strategic relationships,” according to the same source. A moratorium of understanding was drawn up between the two dioceses in September for community services.
In his role as Archbishop of the Province of South East Asia, the Most Rev. Chew acts as superintendent of the bishops of four Anglican dioceses covering Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and the northern part of Indonesian Borneo.
In this capacity he is authorised to make visitations to the dioceses under his jurisdiction. He is also authorised to appoint bishops.
The Province of South East Asia was formed on February 1996. Archbishop Chew is the third Primate of South East Asia.
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