The Most Rev. Greg Venables, Bishop of Argentina, has been elected presiding bishop of the Anglican Church in South America. He succeeds Bishop Tito Muñoz of Chile, the first presiding bishop of the province who was born in South America. Muñoz had served a maximum of two three-year terms.
Bishop Venables previously served as in this role from 2001 to 2010. He joined the South America Missionary Society and moved to Latin America in January 1978. He had planned to stay three years, but he has remained ever since and his three grown children all have locally born spouses.
Within the region, Roman Catholics are the largest Church and Pentecostal denominations are also strong. The Anglican Church, which is much smaller, maintains strong ecumenical links with its partners. Bishop Venables said he had a strong working relationship with Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who is now Pope Francis.
The province comprises Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Northern Argentina, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.
Archbishop Sapit Visits Lambeth: The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of Kenya discussed how Anglicans may serve the wider society when they met at Lambeth Palace on Nov. 16.
The Most Rev. Jackson Ole Sapit said he is focused “on a wholesome ministry for a wholesome nation, including spiritual, physical, mental and relationship health, combined with the health of our ecology.”
Archbishop Justin Welby called the meeting “a wonderful time of fellowship and prayer together. We spoke about unity and about the issues and challenges of the Communion, with a deep commitment to worship and witness and to holy living.”
Adapted from ACNS
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.
