Dr. Laurent Mbanda, Bishop of Shyira Diocese in the Anglican Church of Rwanda from Third Millennium Ministries on Vimeo.
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The Rt. Rev. Laurent Mbanda, Bishop of Shyira, has been elected as the next archbishop and primate of La Province de L’Eglise Anglicane Au Rwanda (the Province of the Anglican Church of Rwanda).
The election took place Jan. 17 during a meeting of the province’s House of Bishops at St. Etienne Cathedral in Kigali.
He will succeed Archbishop Onesphore Rwaje, who has served since December 2010 and will retire in June. Mbanda will be enthroned as archbishop June 10, and will become Bishop of Gasabo.
Mbanda, a former vice president of the child-development agency Compassion International, was enthroned as Bishop of Shyira in November 2010. He said at the time that his focus would be to train church people holistically and spiritually to lead transformation in society.
“It is very humbling to carry this responsibility, but one I strongly believe I have been prepared for,” he said in 2010. “I have been in evangelism before, I have traveled to over 65 countries around the world. God will use the experience. I have lived, learnt to serve the people.”
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.
