Companions in a Journey

Last updated Jul 30, 2019

The Dioceses of Singapore and Egypt

Companions in a Journey

Celebrating 10 Years of Partnership

By Bishop Mouneer Anis

With additiona l texts by (retired) Bishop John Chew and Archdeacon Wong Tak Meng

The journey of partnership between the dioceses of Singapore and Egypt goes back to the mid -1990s, when Archbishop Moses

Tay and Bisho p Ghais Malek came togethe r to

plan for the second Globa l So ut h Gathering held in Kuala Lumpur 1997. This gathering had a great impact on th e bishops who subseq uently att ended the 1998 Lam be th Conference, because it led to the great resolution of Lambeth 1.1 0 on Human Sexua lity.

In 2000, Bishop John Chew and Bishop Mouneer Anis were consecr ated as the bishops of Sing apore and Egypt respectively. They worked toget her with the Archbishop of Nigeria to revive the Global South fellowship, which resulted in a historic gathering for a South-to-South Encounter on a provincial basis, with represent ations by primates, bishops, clergy and laity . This gathe ring met at Ain EI-Sukhna by the Red Sea in Egypt in 2005.

This was an important point along the journey between the two dioceses. At this time, the relationship between the two diocesesexpanded beyond just the bishops, to include the clergy, who began forming beautiful friendsh ip s with one another. This led to an exchange of visits between the two dioceses and the deepening of fraternal bonds.

This partnership culminated in the signing of a companionship agreement in 2009, between St Andrew’s Cathedral, Singa po re, and All Saints’ Cathedr al, Cai ro, and St M ark’s Pro-Cathedra l, Alexand ria. Thi s companionship was announced officially during the Primates Meeting held that same year in Alexan dri a, Egypt, during which St. M ark’s in Alexandria was transformed into a Pro-CathedraI.

The two dioceses also jointly facilitated exposu re visits and lin ks between the Chinese religious auth orities and Chinese churches with the Christian churches in Egypt and Africa, a h isto rical and current centre of gravity of Christianity and Christians.

In addition to the exchange of visits, the two dioceses collaborated in the area of clergy

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Bishop Kuan Ki

mmissary Bishop of the Horn of Africa Episcopal Area with graduating students and faculty of St Frumentius College, Gambelam Seng as Co

We cannot forget the great contrib ution and financial support from the Diocese of Singapore for the building of Harpur Memorial Hospital, Sadat City, Egypt. In addition, St Andrew’s Cathedral in Singapore donated a mobile clinic for the hospital in Sadat .

When Bishop Renni s Ponniah became the Diocesan Bishop of Singapore in 2012, he was keen to continue the companionship with Egypt. Bishop Rennis p layed an important role in the Global South gathering in Egypt in 2016. It is really uplifting to pray over the phone with Bishop Rennis every now and then. Bishop Rennis also sent Revd Wil liam Mok who currently serves in the Diocese of Egyp t.

The most recent develop ment is the appointment of Bishop Kuan Kim Seng, the former Dean of the St Andrew’s Cathedral and former Assistant Bishop of Singapore, as the Commissary Bishop for the Horn of Africa Episcopal Area. From November 2018, Bishop Kuan will work on behalf of our Diocese of Egypt with North Africa and the Horn of Afr ica. We, at the Diocese of Egypt, can go on and on about this beautiful partnership in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I dare say that the companionship between the Dioceses of Singapore and Egypt is the strongest and the best in the whole of the Anglican Communion! Above all, wethank God for arranging

MILESTONES
in the 10-year partnership between
the Dioceses of Sing apore and Egyp tNovember 2018 – Appointment of Bishop Kuan Kim Seng as Commissary Bishop for the Horn of Africa Episcopal Area (Diocese of Egypt with North Africa and the Horn of Africa)Bishop Kuan Kim Seng as Commissary Bishop of the Horn of Africa Episcopal Area with graduating students and faculty of St Frumentius College, Gambela

training; Archdeacon Wong Tak Meng and Revd Foo Chee Meng visited Egypt several times to train a group of Egyptian clergy as Supe rvisors to provide Clinical Pastora l Education (CPE) for Egyptian clergy, lay ministers and seminarians in the Arabic languag e. These CPE superv isors also visited Singapore to observe how CPE is integrat ed with theolog ical education, parish life and community services.
We cannot forget the great contrib ution and financial support from the Diocese of Singapore for the building of Harpur Memorial Hospital, Sadat City, Egypt. In addition, St Andrew’s Cathedral in Singapore donated a mobile clinic for the hospital in Sadat .
When Bishop Renni s Ponniah became the Diocesan Bishop of Singapore in 2012, he was keen to continue the companionship with Egypt. Bishop Rennis p layed an important role in the Global South gathering in Egypt in 2016. It is really uplifting to pray over the phone with Bishop Rennis every now and then. Bishop Rennis also sent Revd Wil liam Mok who currently serves in the Diocese of Egyp t.
The most recent develop ment is the appointment of Bishop Kuan Kim Seng, the former Dean of the St Andrew’s Cathedral and former Assistant Bishop of Singapore, as the Commissary Bishop for the Horn of Africa Episcopal Area. From November 2018, Bishop Kuan will work on behalf of our Diocese of Egypt with North Africa and the Horn of Afr ica. We, at the Diocese of Egypt, can go on and on about this beautiful partnership in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I dare say that the companionship between the Dioceses of Singapore and Egypt is the strongest and the best in the whole of the Anglican Communion! Above all, wethank God for arranging
and sustaining th is very fruitful companionship. :F.

¾’s Hall, St Mark’s Building, Alexandr ia
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2018 – The Op ening of the Garden Conference Centre in Cairo, a fully equipped mission centre with 40 reside ntial rooms, train ing rooms and conference facilities. There is potentia l for it to be a centre for youth development projects. It is made possible with donations from Singapore. Singapore also helped to conceptualise this centre.

2018 – Dedication of Alexandria School of Theology (AST). When completed, this school will provide training for missions engagement. Because St Andrew’s Cathedral provided funding, the school’s lecture hall was named St Andrew’s Hall.

2017 – Consecration of Bishop Samy Shehata as the new Area Bishop for North Africa (Algeria, Tunisia) in February.

2011-2014 Clinical Pasto ral Education Training. Archdeacon Wong Tak Meng and Revd Foo Chee Meng trained and certified Egyptian Clinical Pastoral Education supervisors during this four year period.

2009-2019 – Exchanges. Throughout the decade, there have been multi level symbiotic cooperation between the two dioceses, for instance, when Revd Canon Terry Wong and Archdeacon Wong Tak Meng played signi ficant roles in the Joint Secretariat for the 3rd Global South Encounter that was held in Egypt; when Bishop Samy Shehata participated in the Diocese of Singapore’s Missions Roundtable in 2017; when the Diocese of Singapore seconded Revd William Mok as a missionary priest to Egypt in December 2016.