RT.REV. ANTHONY POGGO TO VISIT ACoM

The Anglican Church of Melanesia (ACoM) is honored to welcome the Right Reverend Anthony Poggo, Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, on his official visit to the province from 13 to 17 February. Based in London, United Kingdom, Bishop Poggo will arrive in Honiara on Thursday afternoon as part of his first contact visit to all provinces of the Anglican Communion in the Oceania region since assuming office in 2022. He is being accompanied by two officials from the Anglican Communion office.

Brief about the Rt Rev. Anthoney Poggo as extracted from the Anglican Communion website; Bishop Poggo was born in 1964 in South Sudan. His early life was shaped by displacement due to the Sudanese Civil War, which forced his family to seek refuge in Uganda. Returning to South Sudan in 1973, he pursued higher education at the University of Juba, earning a degree in Management and Public Administration, later obtaining an MBA in Publishing from Oxford Brookes University. His journey in ministry includes significant leadership roles within the Scripture Union and Across, a Christian mission agency in Sudan, where he served as Executive Director. Ordained as a deacon in 1995 and a priest in 1996, he was consecrated as the Bishop of Kajo-Keji in 2007. In 2016, he joined Lambeth Palace as the Adviser on Anglican Communion Affairs to the Archbishop of Canterbury, before assuming his current role as Secretary General of the Anglican Communion on September 1, 2022. The Secretary General has responsibility for Primates’ Meetings and meetings of the Anglican Consultative Council and its Standing Committee. He is also secretary of the Lambeth Conference. Bishop Anthony Poggo succeeds Bishop Josiah Idowu-Fearon who also visited ACoM in 2018.

During his brief visit, Bishop Poggo will engage in key meetings with bishops and visits across some institutions of the Anglican Church of Melanesia, mainly in and around Honiara. On Friday, he will meet with the Archbishop of ACoM, the Most Reverend Leonard Dawea, along with members of the Council of Bishops at the ACoM Provincial Headquarters in Honiara. He will also interact with staff from the Provincial Headquarters, the Diocese of Central Melanesia, and the Diocese of Guadalcanal. Additionally, he will visit Saint Nicholas Anglican College, where he will engage with teachers and students before traveling to Tabalia, the headquarters of the Melanesian Brotherhood, and Bishop Patteson Theological College in West Guadalcanal.

On Saturday, Bishop Poggo will visit the Christian Care Centre (CCC) in North Guadalcanal, the only safe home in Solomon Islands for children, women, and young girls who are victims of domestic violence. He will then proceed further north to the proposed site of the John Coleridge Patteson University, a future educational institution of ACoM. The day will conclude with a visit to Tetete Ni Kolivuti (TNK), where he will meet with the Sisters of the Church community.

On Sunday, Bishop Poggo will attend a Church service as the guest preacher at the Saint Barnabas Provincial Cathedral, Diocese of Central Melanesia, in Honiara. His visit will conclude on Monday morning as he departs for the next leg of his regional tour in New Zealand .

Bishop Poggo’s visit underscores the Anglican Communion’s commitment to fostering unity and strengthening relationships among its provinces worldwide. The Anglican Church of Melanesia welcomes this historic visit, which serves to deepen ties and encourage mutual collaboration in the mission and ministry of the global Anglican family.