Anglican Communion Elects New Primate in Hong Kong

The Anglican Communion has announced that the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui has elected the Rt Rev Paul Kwong, Diocesan Bishop of Hong Kong Island, to be their next Archbishop, following the retirement of Archbishop Peter Kwong on 31 December 2006.

|PIC1|The result of the election was endorsed in a special session of the Third General Synod later the same day.

Archbishop Paul was brought up in an Anglican family, his great grandfather being one of the first Chinese Anglican priests in the 19th Century. Archbishop Paul Kwong was ordained deacon and priest in 1982 and 1983 respectively.

He served as curate in Holy Trinity Church for four years and became vicar of St Matthias's Church for more than ten years. He was founder of two mission churches: St Philip's Church and The Church of the Ascension. His ministry has involved various roles, including chairman of different social service units and a supervisor of church schools.

Archbishop Paul was consecrated bishop on the Feast of Annunciation 25 March 2006 and was enthroned as Diocesan Bishop on 15 January 2007.

Archbishop Paul pursued his undergraduate studies in the Lingnan College, Hong Kong and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature. His theological training was at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific and he was awarded a MDiv degree in 1982. He is currently a candidate for PhD at the University of Birmingham, England and candidate for DD (Hon) at Wycliffe College, University of Toronto.

In the last 25 years, Archbishop Paul has served the Church in various positions in the diocese and province. He was chairman of the Diocesan Youth Committee, lecturer at Minghua Theological College, Assistant to the Archbishop, and Provincial General Secretary.

He has also been actively involved in the Anglican Communion as a member of the Anglican Commission's Mission Commission and Asia Region Conference - Anglican Encounter in the South.

The Anglican Communion has described Archbishop Paul as a "man of both holiness and ability", and have commented that Hong Kong Anglicans believe that he will make a great contribution to the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui and to the Anglican Communion.