Most
Rev. Lakdasa Jacob De Mel (1902–1976),
MA was the first
Bishop of Kurunegala
The Diocese of Kurunegala is a diocese of the Church of Ceylon (which is part of the Anglican Communion). The See was erected in 1950 from that of the Diocese of Colombo, as one of two dioceses of the Church of England in Ceylon. On 17 Decemb ...
, Sri Lanka and the last
Metropolitan Archbishop
Metropolitan may refer to:
* Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories
* Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England
* Metropolitan county, a typ ...
of India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylo
Lakdasa De Mel was born on 24 March 1902 in
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 ...
, Sri Lanka, to a prominent Anglican family. He was the son of
Sir
''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...
Henry de Mel, former Member of the
Legislative Council and Elsie Jayawickrame.
De Mel was educated at the
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 went on to study at
Keble College
Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to th ...
at the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
, gaining an MA.
[Rev. Lakdasa de Mel: inspiring legend of Baddegama]
De Mel was ordained to a short curacy at
St John the Divine, Kennington before returning to Sri Lanka, where he was appointed as the parish priest at
St Michael and All Angels Church, Polwatte. For 10 years he was the authority of Missionary of South Sri Lanka’s
Baddegama
Baddegama is a main town in Galle District, Southern Province, Sri Lanka. Baddegama is accessible from the Southern Expressway, and is located from the Baddegama Expressway Inter Exchange and from Colombo.
The main livelihood for the town wa ...
Parish.
[ From 1940 he served as the priest at St. Paul's Church, Kandy. As a priest he became one of the pioneers of the indigenisation of the Anglican Church in Sri Lanka. He said his first Mass in Sinhala and sought to integrate local music styles into the service.
De Mel was consecrated as Assistant ]Bishop of Colombo Bishop of Colombo may refer to:
* 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 D ...
on 8 November 1945.
In January 1950 the Church of Ceylon resolved to create a new diocese
In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...
, the Diocese of Kurunegala. The diocese was formally inaugurated on 2 February 1950, on the Feast of the Presentation, with George Hubback
George Clay Hubback was an Anglican priest in the mid twentieth century.
Born on 7 April 1882 he was educated at Rossall School and Liverpool University and began his career as a Civil Engineer before being ordained for the priesthood in 1910. ...
, the then Metropolitan of India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon, appointing De Mel as the first Bishop of Kurunegala. The formation of this new Diocese was marked by the induction, installation and enthronement of De Mel as the founding Bishop, at Trinity College Chapel, Kandy
The Trinity College Chapel ("Holy Trinity Church") in Kandy, Sri Lanka is one of the more distinctive church buildings in Sri Lanka. It is situated below the Principal's bungalow at Trinity College, Kandy. The chapel is one of the first and fin ...
. He, along with other members of the De Mel family were largely responsible for the funding of the construction of the Cathedral of Christ the King.
In May 1962, De Mel was elected as Metropolitan of India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon and Bishop of Calcutta, the first Sri Lankan to become an Archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
of the Anglican Church
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
. He was enthroned on 21 August 1962, at St. Paul's Cathedral, Calcutta
St. Paul's Cathedral is a Church of North India (CNI) cathedral of Anglican background in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, noted for its Gothic architecture and dedicated to Paul the Apostle. It is the seat of the Diocese of Calcutta. The c ...
. It was a post that he held until his retirement in 1970.
In 1971 he married Joan Hamilton (1921–2009) and at the end of 1972 they moved to live in Kurunegala
Kurunegala ( si, කුරුණෑගල, ta, குருணாகல்) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of the North Western Province and the Kurunegala District. Kurunegala was an ancient royal capital for 50 years, fr ...
.
In March 1976 he was diagnosed with lung cancer
Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...
and he died on 23 October 1976, his ashes were interred in the Cathedral of Christ the King.Anglicanism: A Global Communion
edited by Andrew Wingate, p.340 (Church Publishing Inc)
See also
*
Church of Ceylon
The Church of Ceylon ( si, ලංකා සභාව) is the Anglican Church in Sri Lanka. It is an extra-provincial jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who serves as its Metropolitan. It was established in 1845 with the appointme ...
*
Bishop of Kurunegala
The Diocese of Kurunegala is a diocese of the Church of Ceylon (which is part of the Anglican Communion). The See was erected in 1950 from that of the Diocese of Colombo, as one of two dioceses of the Church of England in Ceylon. On 17 Decemb ...
*
Bishop of Calcutta
*
Theological College of Lanka
The Theological College of Lanka (TCL) is a college that was inaugurated in 1963 by the Anglican Church, the Methodist Church and the Baptist Church in Sri Lanka. Later the Presbyterian Church (Presbytery of Lanka) joined the federation, to educ ...
References
External links
The Church of Ceylon (Anglican Communion)Anglican Church of Ceylon News*
ttp://cnicalcutta.org/bishop_h_lakdasa_j_del_mel.html Bishop of Calcutta and Metropolitan of IndiaDiocese of Kuunegala
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Mel, Lakdasa
Sri Lankan Anglican bishops
Anglican bishops of Kurunegala
Anglican bishops of Calcutta
Anglican archbishops in Asia
Alumni of Keble College, Oxford
Alumni of Royal College, Colombo
People from Moratuwa
1902 births
1976 deaths
Lakdasa
Lakdasa
20th-century Anglican bishops in India