Samuel Hall Speers (born October 1946[1]) is an Irish-born Anglican bishop. He served from 2019 to 2024 as the second diocesan bishop of Mahajanga, Madagascar, in the Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean.

Biography

Speers is a native of Urney, Northern Ireland.[2] He attended Selwyn College, Cambridge[3] and is married with three children.[4] Speers became a priest in the Church of England; from 1996 to 2002, he was rural dean of Lafford.[5]

Following his retirement from parish ministry, Speers was elected the second bishop of Mahajanga, a missionary diocese in Madagascar with at the time just 12 non-stipendiary priests serving 30 congregations.[6][7] He was consecrated at by Archbishop James Wong in April 2019 at the cathedral in Mahajanga. Senate President Rivo Rakotovao was in attendance representing the Madagascar government.[4]

During his episcopacy, Speers built partnerships with congregations in the Church of Ireland Diocese of Derry and Raphoe to raise funds for the missionary work in Mahajanga.[8] He retired in March of 2024 after five years as bishop.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Samuel Hall SPEERS". GOV.UK. Companies House. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  2. ^ McCreary, Alf (28 August 2021). "'It's a mystery to me why so many bicker while claiming to be followers of Jesus'". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  3. ^ "List of Selwyn Freshmen who matriculated that year". Selwyn College. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  4. ^ a b Vonjy, A (2 April 2019). "Mahajanga: nahazo eveka vaovao ny katedraly anglikanina". News Mada (in Malagasy). Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  5. ^ "Speers, Canon Samuel Hall" Crockford's Clerical Directory July 2014 (Church House Publishing)
  6. ^ Wong, James (July 2021). "The Vocation of the Laity". Koinonia. USPG. p. 12. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  7. ^ Michael, Mark (10 September 2024). "ACNA Priest Elected Bishop in Madagascar". The Living Church. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  8. ^ Duffy, Connie (22 July 2021). "Donegal clergyman finishes his marathon charity cycle". Donegal Live. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  9. ^ Andrianarisoa, Vero (18 March 2024). "ÉGLISE ANGLICANE - Départ en retraite de l'évêque Samuel Hall Speers". L'Express de Madagascar (in French). Retrieved 13 September 2024.
Anglican Communion titles
Preceded by
Jean-Claude Andrianjafimanana
Bishop of Mahajanga
2019–2024
Succeeded by
No tags for this post.