Rt Reverend Kuan Kim Seng, the former Assistant Bishop of the Singapore Anglican church, has been newly minted as the interim Area Bishop for the Horn of Africa. 

His new title will be Commissary Bishop for The Horn of Africa Episcopal Area, working under the Bishop of Egypt, Mouneer Anis. The Horn of Africa Church is under the administration of the Egyptian Diocese. 

In his latest appointment, the 67-year old will be in charge of training and equipping the church leaders in the region, which comprise the countries Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Eritrea. 

This will mainly entail theology classes, prayer meetings, providing spiritual counsel, and helping churches to develop their resources and foreign networks, Bishop Kuan said in a phone interview with Salt&Light. He was travelling in Israel at the time of the interview.  

The Bishop will still be based in Singapore. He will travel to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia – where the largest Anglican congregation within the Horn of Africa is – four times a year for about 10 days each to meet with the church leaders.

Technology, he says, will plug in the rest of the physical gap – for one, the leaders and Bishop Kuan already have a WhatsApp chat group going. 

Rapid church growth

According to the Diocese of Egypt’s website, most Anglicans within the Horn of Africa reside in the Gambela region of Ethiopia, where there are 70 congregations alone.

Bishop Kuan says that Ethiopia has the largest and fastest-growing Anglican congregation among the Horn of Africa countries, with about 100 Anglican churches in the entire country. 

He will be taking over from US Bishop Grant LeMarquand, who stepped down in October 2017 due to ill health, an Anglican News report stated.

The Bishop of Egypt, Mouneer Anis, called Bishop Kuan “a man of God, who is humble, and with a clear vision,” the Anglican News reported. 

“I have known Bishop Kuan since 2005,” he had said. “The Gospel mission is deeply-seated in his heart. I am very grateful that he accepted my invitation.”

Bishop Kuan Kim Seng speaking at a Singapore Centre for Global Missions (SCGM) dinner in 2016. He was previously the Diocesan Director of Missions. Photo from SCGM’s Facebook page.

Bishop Kuan, who recently retired from his role as the assistant bishop, admitted that he was initially reluctant to take up the role as he wanted to spend more time with his family. However, the Egyptian Diocese had reached out to its Singaporean counterpart for someone to fill the vacancy, and Bishop Kuan was asked to step in. 

“It was a matter of not my will, but thine, be done,” said Bishop Kuan. He will be making his first trip “very soon”, a mostly exploratory visit to meet the leaders and learn more about the needs of the area. 

Bishop Kuan has also previously held positions as the Dean of St Andrew’s Cathedral, the Diocesan Director of Missions and the Vicar of Chapel of the Resurrection.