The Primate of the Anglican Church of South America, the Most Revd Héctor (Tito) Zavala Muñoz, and Bishop of the Diocese of Chile, has consecrated three indigenous priests to be missionary bishops in Peru. Three missionary areas have been carved from the Diocese of Peru, with the intention they will shortly be dioceses in their own right with a new Diocese of Lima. These are the first steps in Peru’s future as an autonomous Anglican province.
The new bishops are the Rt Revds Alejandro Mesco, Juan Carlos Revilla, and Jorge Luis Aguilar. They will serve missionary areas in Arequipa, in the south of Peru; Chiclayo, in the north of Peru; Huancayo, in the central highland. They will minister with the current Bishop of Peru, the Rt Revd William Godfrey.
An Anglican mission was approved in 1846 and was the first non-Roman Catholic church in Peru. The first chaplain arrived in 1849. The mission primarily ministered to the English and North Americans in Peru. It later was the foundation of the English-speaking parish for the Anglican cathedral in Lima, the Church of the Good Shepherd. Today there are 50 Spanish-speaking mission churches scattered around Peru.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd Justin Welby, sent greetings to the newly consecrated bishops. The Anglican Communion was represented by Secretary General, the Rt Revd Dr Josiah Idowu-Fearon.
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Photo from the Anglican Communion News Service.