Bishop Anthony Poggo, the former Bishop of Kajo-Keji Diocese of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan and the new Secretary General of the Anglican Communion speaking to Anglican Communion News Service after his appointment. Photo Credit: ACNS

A UK-based South Sudanese Bishop has been named the next Secretary General of the global body of Anglican Communion.

Until his appointment, Bishop Anthony Poggo, was the former Bishop of Kajo-Keji Diocese of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan and the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Adviser on Anglican Communion Affairs.

He was selected for the new role by a sub-committee of the Anglican Communion’s Standing Committee following a competitive recruitment process led by external consultants.

The Secretary General of the Anglican Communion leads the staff team at the Anglican Communion Office, the international secretariat serving the four “Instruments of Communion.”

These are the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Primates’ Meeting, the Anglican Consultative Council and the Lambeth Conference.

In a statement seen by Eye Radio, Bishop Poggo will take up his new role in September, succeeding Dr. Josiah Idowu-Fearon, who steps down after next month’s Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops.

In his remarks, Bishop Anthony Poggo welcomed his appointment to lead the Anglican Communion Secretariat.

“Being the new Secretary General of the Anglican Communion means a lot to me. It is a huge privilege to serve God in this capacity and to make my contribution to the Anglican Communion family,” he said.

Speaking to the Anglican Communion News Service, Lambeth Palace in the United Kingdom on Tuesday, Bishop Poggo said he looks forward to serving the church in his capacity and experience.

“Having worked as the Archbishop of Canterbury Adviser on Anglican Communion Affairs where I built relationships across the Anglican Communion, I look forward to using this experience in this capacity as I lead the staff here at the Anglican Communion office.”

Born in South Sudan in 1964, Bishop Anthony and his siblings were taken by his father, an Anglican priest and his mother who fled to refugees camps in the neighboring Uganda at the onset of the first Sudanese Civil War.

In 1973, at the age of nine, he returned to South Sudan with his family.

He was ordained a Deacon in 1995 and a Priest in 1996 and continued working for Scripture Union before joining Across, a Christian mission agency which was working in the then Sudan from Nairobi.

In 2007 he was elected Bishop of Kajo-Keji, a position he held until 2016 when he moved to Lambeth Palace to support the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby as his Adviser on Anglican Communion Affairs.

The Anglican Communion is the world’s third largest Christian denomination.

It comprises 42 independent-yet-interdependent autonomous regional, national and pan-national provinces active in more than 165 countries.

Meanwhile, Sudan Tribune reports that President Salva Kiir and several religious leaders welcomed the appointment of South Sudanese Bishop Anthony Poggo as next Secretary-General of the Anglican Communion.