Of Primates, and Presidents, and Provinces

Anglican Province of the Indian Ocean

Greetings! I apologize for not writing over the past couple of weeks; I have been traveling as a member of the House of Bishops of the Anglican Province of the Indian Ocean. Amongst the other responsibilities of Diocesan Bishops is the duty to represent the people of the diocese in the councils of the church. Over these past fifteen days, I have been fulfilling that responsibility.

I flew from Mahajanga to Antananarivo, then from there (through Ethiopia) to the Seychelles where I met with the other bishops of the Indian Ocean. The topic for our meeting was around the issues of keeping the church safe - most especially for vulnerable sector groups. The bishops had two days of facilitated discussion with Bishop Brian Marajh – a member of the Anglican Communion Safe Church Commission. These two days together were very helpful as we begin to address these issues in our own dioceses. While these conversations have been ongoing in North America for many years, they are only just beginning in the Indian Ocean.

The surprise of my visit to the Diocese of the Seychelles was a visit to State House to be greeted by Mr. Wavel Ramkalawan, the President of the Seychelles. When we were first ushered into the visit with the President, I was taken back by the very warm greeting (hugs and all) he gave to the bishops – only after did I learn that they are all old friends. Unbeknownst to me, he is an Anglican Priest and a classmate of several bishops of the Indian Ocean.

While in the Diocese of the Seychelles, I also had the privilege to attend the retirement celebration for Archbishop James Wong, Primate of the Anglican Province of the Indian Ocean. Archbishop James was the chief consecrator at my episcopal ordination and was instrumental in my being called to be a missionary bishop in Mahajanga. His leadership in the Indian Ocean and around the Anglican Communion has been marked by theological clarity and charity. We joked because I served under his leadership for only one day before his successor was elected. The Eucharist - giving thanks for Archbishop James and for his primatial ministry- was the highlight of my time in the Seychelles.

From the Seychelles, I flew back to Antananarivo and began a sixteen-hour drive to Fianarantsoa (the distance is about 320km, but the roads are in such poor shape that it to that long!!). Having celebrated the primatial leadership of Archbishop James, the bishops travelled to the Diocese of Fianarantsoa for the enthronement of the new Primate of the Indian Ocean - The Most Reverend Dr Gilbert Rateloson Rakotondravelo. I met Archbishop Gilbert in Cairo at the meeting of the GFSA last year – and, like Archbishop James, was instrumental in my election as a bishop.

In the context of the Holy Eucharist, Archbishop James surrendered his spiritual authority as Primate and symbolically passed it to Archbishop Gilbert - as he passed over the primatial staff. Each of the bishops of the Indian Ocean signed the document affirming Archbishop Gilbert as the duly elected Primate of the Anglican Province of the Indian Ocean. The liturgy of celebration began at 9am and ended shortly after 2pm! In many ways this enthronement was similar to the recent enthronement of Archbishop Steve in the Anglican Church in North America, but in other ways it was very different. The formality was similar, such as the presentation of the new Archbishop and his being seated. The marked differences were cultural. I am learning that gift giving is a very significant part of the Malagasy culture. There was an extended time when Christians, dioceses, and government officials all presented gifts to the new Archbishop. Amongst the gifts were a goat and a goose!

I was out of the diocese for fifteen days and was very grateful to arrive back to my Malagasy home safe and sound after the long days of travel.