The Relation of AMIA to SE Asia

This makes clear the relation of the AMiA to the Province of S E Asia --P.T.

From the Anglican Messenger of the Diocese of West Malaysia

Provincial Synod

The second meeting of the second session of the Synod of the Province of South East Asia was held from 6 to 8 March 2002 at Bayu Beach Resort, Port Dickson. The theme was "Grow Up Into Christ". This was followed by the third meeting of the second session of the Provincial Standing Committee from 8 to 9 March 2002.

Once the Provincial Synod meetings began, they were immediately overshadowed by the issue of Archbishop Datuk Yong Ping Chung's co-consecration of four bishops for the Anglican Mission in America (AMiA) in Denver, Colorado, U.S.A. on 24 June 2001 in the absence of any consensus between him and the Diocesan Bishops of Kuching, Singapore and West Malaysia. The AMiA brings together Anglican clergy and laity in the U.S. who are against, among other things, the ordination of practising homosexual priests and the celebration of same-sex unions, but exists outside the recognised Episocpal Church of the U.S.A (ECUSA). Because they are outside ECUSA, they are not considered by the Archbishop of Canterbury to be in communion with him.

Archibishop Yong used his opening address to the Provincial Synod to defend his actions against chrges that he had acted unconstitutionally. He insisted that the call to uphold biblical authority, orthodoxy and morality, which was obedience to God's laws, outweighed adherence to the consitution of the Province, which was man-made.

In reply, Bishop Lim Cheng Ean reminded delegates that the co-consecrations did no have the approval of the House of Bishops, and furthermore, went against the advice of the Archbishop of Canterbury, whose advice had been sought by the Diocesan Bishops of Kuching, Singapore and West Malaysia. It also went against accepted practice for an Archbishop to exercise his archiepiscopal authority in another province. While the events in the U.S. were important in the effect that it had on the world-wide Anglican Communion, so too did Archbishop Yong's disregard of convention.

While sympathetic to the issue of biblical authority, orthodoxy and morality, the Diocese of West Malaysia nonetheless felt it necessary to propose a motion to distance the Province from the co-consecrations and the AMiA, arguing that it was unconstitutional and against the concept of consensus practiced by the House of Bishops for Archbishop Yong to have proceeded. The Diocese of Sabah in turn proposed a motion affirming and supporting the actions of Archbishop Yong. After an extremely robust debat, the Provincial Synod endorsed and supported a compromise resolution from the House of Bishops proposed by the Dioceses of Kuching and Singapore which, while accepting the status quo of the consecrations, confirmed that all further consecrations of bishops must observe the due process of election, appointment and consecration contained in the constitution of the Province. The AMiA was placed under Archbishop Yong's own covering, and no longer involved the Province. However in order to address issues that are presently adversely affecting the biblical and apostolic faith, life and mission of the Anglican Communion, the Province would take a broad-based approach to mobilse and link up with like-minded Provinces and Dioceses, Primates and Bishops, through for example the South-South Encounter. The motion was carried by 24 votes for to none against, with 5 abstentions.

Once the issue of AMia was out of the way, Provincial Synod got down to a review of developments within the province itself. Each constituent diocese presented a report on activities and developments within their respective dioceses. The Diocese of Singapore reported on their project to upgrade their 9 diocesan schools and new construction over a period of 5-7 years, as wells as the S$68 million development of St. Andrew's Village, a 30-acre site that will house the relocated St. Andrew's Junior College, the new St. Andrew's Secondary, upgraded Junior Schools, the Ascension kindergarten and the new Diocesan Centre.

There were also reports on the Province of South East Asia Mission Services (PROSEAMS) and the various "joint ventures" between dioceses in outreach, for example to West Kalimantan, Indonesia (between Kuching and Singapore), to Phnom Penh, Cambodia and Tarakan in East Kalimantan, Indonesia (both between Sabah and Singapore), and in Medan in Sumatra, Indonesia (between Singapore and West Malaysia). Provincial Synod also received reports on the growth of the Anglican churches in Indonesia (which aims to establish 10 parished by 2005 and is working towards the goal of becoming a Diocese by 2008), Thailand (now an Archdeaconry, and working to become a Diocese by 2009), Laos, Cambodia and Nepal (which became part of the Diocese of Singapore in February 200) and Vietnam.

The Provincial Youth Network (PYNET) reported on their various activities of drawing together the youth of the Province, for example through the PYNET Conference in Sepang, Malaysia in August 2001, youth/young adult camps and through sports ministry. There were also opportunities for youth to participate in overseas activities, e.g. with the Dioceses of Oxford and Lichfield.

The Provincial Synod ended with a reminder that there were 400 million people who lived in the countries of Southeast Asia. As such, there were so many more people to reach out to.

Although the Provincial Synod meets once every 2 years, the next meeting will be held in Kota Kinabalu from 18 to 21 November 2003. The highlight of that meeting will be the election of the next Archbishop of the Province of South East Asia in succession to Archbishop Yong.

Andrew Khoo