wfn.org | Anglican Church of Melanesia elects new Archbishop David Vunagi

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

Anglican Church of Melanesia elects new Archbishop David Vunagi

Posted On : March 6, 2009 10:46 AM | Posted By : Webmaster
ACNS: http://www.aco.org/acns/news.cfm/2009/3/6/ACNS4587
Related Categories: Melanesia

The Anglican Church of Melanesia has a new Archbishop. He is the Rt Rev
David Vunagi who is currently the Bishop of the Diocese of Temotu in
Solomon Islands.

Bishop Vunagi was elected to the highest Episcopal position within the
Anglican Church by the Provincial electoral board on the afternoon of
March 4th at Tetete Ni Kolivuti; headquarters of the Sisters of the
Church east of Honiara.

The new archbishop will become the fifth in succession since Melanesia
was inaugurated in January 1975 as an independent ecclesiastical
province from New Zealand.

The archbishops since then were the late John Chisholm, the late Norman
Kitchener Palmer, Amos Waiaru, and Sir Ellison Pogo.

The Province of Melanesia covers three independent nations of Solomon
Islands, the Republic of Vanuatu and the French Trust Territory of New
Caledonia.

Its Provincial Headquarters is in Honiara with a Provincial
Administration Office at Luganville on Santo in Vanuatu. It has six
dioceses in Solomon Islands and two in Vanuatu.

Bishop Vunagi who has served in the Episcopal ministry in the last eight
years in the Diocese of Temotu will be enthroned as the fifth Archbishop
of Melanesia on May 31, 2009 in Honiara.

Prior to serving in the Church as a Clergy, and then as a Bishop, he was
a Teacher by profession teaching at the government school at KGVI and
the Anglican Church of Melanesia school Selwyn College.

Bishop Vunagi from Samasodu in Ysabel Province was educated at KG VI
Secondary School from 1968 to 1973. He obtained a Diploma of Education
in Science from the University of the South Pacific in Fiji in 1976, and
later a Bachelor of Education in Biology from the University of Papua
New Guinea in 1982.

In his theological training, the Archbishop-elect obtained Bachelor of
Theology from St. John's College in Auckland, New Zealand in 1990.

In 1992, he taught at the Bishop Patteson Theological College Kohimarama
in Solomon Islands.

> From 1996 to 1998, Bishop David Vunagi, served as Assistant Priest at
St. Anselm's Parish in the Diocese of New Westminster, British Columbia
in Canada. He obtained a Master of Theology from the Vancouver School of
Theology in 1998.

On his return to Solomon Islands he served in the Diocese of Ysabel as
Senior Priest and Parish Priest at Lawe region.

In 1999 he returned to teach at Selwyn College where he held the
position of a Principal before he became the Mission Secretary at the
Provincial headquarters of the Church in 2000. He was elected the same
year as Bishop of the Diocese of Temotu.

Bishop Vunagi is married to Mary, daughter of late Bishop Dudley Tuti of
Ysabel. They have three children, Duddley, Rusila and Douglas.

> Article from MELANESIAN MESSENGER

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