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In a ceremony steeped in tradition, the Rev. Canon Dr. Titus Chung was installed as the new bishop of the Anglican Church in Singapore last night.
The two-and-a-half hour service at the Cathedral of San Andrés was a quiet affair, due to Covid-19 restrictions. Only about 100 people, the maximum allowed under current social distancing rules, attended the ceremony, compared to thousands who showed up on previous occasions.
However, more than 2,000 people followed the procedures, which were streamed live on YouTube. Politicians and leaders of other Christian denominations were present at the ceremony.
President Halimah Yacob and her husband Mohamed Abdullah Alhabshee attended, as did former President Tony Tan Keng Yam and his wife Mary, both Anglicans.
Also present were the Minister of Home Affairs and Law, K. Shanmugam, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan, the Minister of Culture, Community and Youth, Edwin Tong, and the Catholic Archbishop William Goh.
Bishop Chung, married with two children, is the 10th Bishop of Singapore.
The 55-year-old was previously priest in charge of the Mandarin congregation at St. Andrew’s Cathedral and assumes the post of bishop from the Rev. Rennis Ponniah, 65, who retired last month.
Although yesterday’s ceremony was shortened, it was no less impressive, opening with a procession of members of the Anglican clergy from Singapore entering the nave in their resplendent robes.
The Rev. Dr. John Chew, who was the eighth Anglican Bishop of Singapore, led the consecration proceedings, praying for Bishop Chung with other bishops before passing him the symbols of his office: a Bible to guide him, a ring signifying faith and a Miter, the bishop’s headdress.
Subsequently, the installation portion of the service began with Bishop Chung leaving the shrine and other church leaders closing the entrance doors.
The bishop then had to knock on the door three times with his staff and wait for the Church to grant him permission to enter, indicating the acceptance of the Church.
When the doors were opened, the bishop was led to the cathedra, or bishop’s throne, behind the altar, where Bishop Chew presented him with the diocesan staff, or bishop’s staff, symbol of the transfer of leadership.
Anglican clergy in the region, including Malaysia, who were unable to travel to Singapore for the service, relayed their congratulatory messages through videos, which were shown during the service.
The newly installed bishop, who has a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Edinburgh, was ordained a priest in 1997 after graduating from Trinity Theological College. He served as a priest and then vicar at the Chapel of the Holy Spirit from 1997 to 2005, before joining the Cathedral of Saint Andrew in 2009.
He told The Straits Times after the service that he felt “the great weight of responsibility” for his new role amid the Covid-19 crisis. The diocese, he said, would seek to support the social, mental and psychological needs of both its flock and the community at large.
“The Christian faith is not just about serving Christians and serving the church, but also about serving the nation. We want to extend that love and care to each other, especially to those who need help,” he added.
There are about 22,000 Anglicans in Singapore.
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