Diocese of West Malaysia
| Diocese of West Malaysia | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Ecclesiastical province | Province of South East Asia |
| Archdeaconries | Upper North Archdeaconry Lower North Archdeaconry Upper Central Archdeaconry Lower Central Archdeaconry Southern Archdeaconry Eastern Archdeaconry |
| Information | |
| Cathedral | St. Mary's Cathedral, Kuala Lumpur |
| Current leadership | |
| Bishop | Rt Rev Ng Moon Hing |
| Website | |
| web |
|
Diocese of West Malaysia is an Anglican diocese which covers the entire West Malaysia. The Diocese of West Malaysia (DWM) was founded on 8 April 1970, as DWM together with Diocese of Singapore split from Diocese of Singapore and Malaya. As a result, Diocese of Singapore and Malaya was dissolved.
Anglicanism came to the Malay Peninsula following the establishment of the British East India Company's administered settlement on Penang island in 1786. The local magistrate, a George Caunter, was appointed a Lay Clerk/Acting Chaplain to provide spiritual ministry to the settlers. Under his ministry the first entry into the Church Register was made in 1799.
The See of Calcutta provided episcopal supervision for the chaplaincy work on Penang island and the first Anglican Church building, the Church of St. George the Martyr, was built and consecrated by the Metropolitan, Thomas Fanshaw Middleton, in 1819.
The See of Calcutta extended from India to New Zealand and was thus practically unmanageable. As a result, in 1855, a Diocese of Singapore, Labuan and Sarawak was created by Letters Patent for the better administration of these outlying areas. The new diocese became a missionary diocese of the Archdiocese of Canterbury.
In 1867 the whole of Penang island came under direct British rule, precipitated by the foreclosure of the East India Company. Consequently, the chaplaincy of the Madras Presidency in Penang ceased. Meanwhile, a major shift in mission outlook took place with the Society for the Propagation of Gospel in Foreign Parts taking an active role in procuring ‘chaplains' for the Crown in its colonies. This led to a time of great missionary activity in the new Diocese and a period of Chinese and Indian immigration.
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