Southern Cone Consecrates First Anglican Asian Bishop in Latin America

Archdeacon Raphael Samuel was formally consecrated as the Diocesan Bishop of Bolivia at a Sunday morning service of the eucharist at Cristo Luz Del Mundo (Light of the World). The Presiding Bishop of the Southern Cone of the Americas, the Rt Rev Hector “Tito” together with the Bishops from Peru, Uruguay and Paraguay led in the consecration of the new Bishop of Bolivia. Bishop Raphael succeeds Bishop Frank Lyons who left the diocese of Bolivia last year to serve in the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

The election of Archdeacon Raphael Samuel as the Bishop of Bolivia represents a landmark in church missions in that he is the first Asian missionary to be consecrated Bishop in the Spanish speaking Anglican world.

Bishop Raphael Samuel, is a Singapore clergyman sent by the Diocese of Singapore to serve in Bolivia. He and his wife, Michelle, are the longest-serving missionaries in the Bolivian Anglican Church. Read more