Anglican Communion News Service - Digest News

Mission: Brazilian Diocese of Recife begins new chapter, installs fourth bishop

The Diocese of Recife in Brazil celebrated the start of a new chapter in its complicated life with the installation on October 11 of its fourth bishop, the Rt. Rev. Sebastiao Armando Gameleira Soares. The newly elected primate of Brazil, the Most Rev. Mauricio Andrade, presided over the investiture, which was held in the auditorium of a university in the city and attended by 400 people, including ecumenical guests and leaders of the liberation theology movement in Brazil.

Soares, a theologian and professor of Biblical studies who has been bishop of the Diocese of Pelotas in southern Brazil since February 2000, was elected as bishop of Recife to replace Robinson Cavalcanti, who was deposed on June 10, 2005. The election took place at the General Synod of the Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil (IEAB) in July 2006, at which other significant actions were taken  including the election of a new primate, the nomination of a new provincial secretary, the approval of the Missionary District of the Amazon becoming a diocese, and the election of the Rev. Saulo Mauricio de Barros as Amazonia's first bishop.

The ordination and consecration of Barros, and the inauguration of the new diocese, took place in the city of Bel?m on October 14 with hundreds of participants. In five short years, the missionary district of the Amazon has moved to full diocesan status, thanks to the untiring efforts of seven clergy and the laity serving four parishes and three missionary points.

Among the participants in the Recife investiture was Bishop Mark Sisk of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, a member of the Bilateral Committee for the IEAB and the Episcopal Church. As he offered greetings on behalf of Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, Sisk alluded to the significance of the event in terms of the wider Anglican Communion.

'This is a historic moment in the life of the Anglican Communion, the Church of Brazil, and this diocese,' he said. 'This is a wonderful and hope-filled time of rebuilding, restoration and solidarity. This is a time for a new spirit. This is a time to renew the message of love and hope which is at the heart of the Gospel. This is a time when the Church in Brazil is giving to the world a witness of clarity, courage and faithfulness. This is a witness which we all need to hear. You are providing a model of leadership that we all need to follow. God bless you.'

Article by Margaret S. Larom - Episcopal News Service