Charles Harold Wilfred de Soysa MA (1907-1971) was the first Ceylonese

Anglican Bishop of Colombo The Anglican Bishop of Colombo is the ecclesiastical head of the Anglican Diocese of Colombo, a diocese in the Church of Ceylon which is part of the Anglican Communion. The Anglican Diocese of Colombo was founded in 1845, as the diocese of the C ...

, Sri Lanka. Born to Sir Wilfred and Lady

Evelyn de Soysa Lady Evelyn Johanna Publina de Soysa OBE (née Fernando) (23 April 1893 – 28 July 1973) was the third female member of the Senate of Ceylon. Evelyn Johanna Publina Fernando was born 23 April 1893 in Moratuwa the daughter of Juan Fernando. She ...

, he was educated at

Royal College, Colombo Royal College, Colombo is a selective entry boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started as a private school by Rev Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academy by Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton in Janua ...

and graduated from

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, wh ...

obtaining Second Class Honours in Theology. Thereafter he was trained for the Priesthood at Cuddesdon College and was ordained in 1934 at

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

. After working in England for a short period, he returned to Ceylon to serve in Kandy and

Moratuwa Moratuwa ( si, මොරටුව, ta, மொறட்டுவை) is a large suburb of Colombo, on the southwestern coast of Sri Lanka, near Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia. It is situated on the Galle–Colombo (Galle road) main highway, south o ...

. He was the Principal of the Colombo Divinity School and was made the

Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...

of Colombo in 1955. In 1964 he became the first Ceylonese Bishop of Colombo and was one of only two Bishops of Colombo to be elected uncontested. He played a very important role in the Ecumenical Movement and

the Church Union The Church Union is an Anglo-Catholic advocacy group within the Church of England. The organisation was founded as the Church of England Protection Society on 12 May 1859 to challenge the authority of the English civil courts to determine questi ...

. In fact, his work in this area was so well recognised that he was one of three delegates appointed by the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

, Dr. Michael Ramsey in the Anglican-Roman Catholic conversations. He was instrumental in the construction of the Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour. He died before its completion in 1971 and was interred at the Cathedral. His younger brother, Ryle de Soysa, was a first-class cricketer.

References

External links

The Church of Ceylon (Anglican Communion)

Anglican Church of Ceylon News
*
The Church of Ceylon: Her Faith and Mission (A Centenary Book)
Edited by C. H. W. de Soysa. {{DEFAULTSORT:De Soysa, Harold Sri Lankan Anglican bishops Anglican bishops of Colombo Archdeacons of Colombo Catholic–Anglican ecumenism Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford Alumni of Ripon College Cuddesdon Sri Lankan expatriates in the United Kingdom Harold 1907 births 1971 deaths 20th-century Anglican bishops in Asia

See also

References

External links