Paul Shinji Sasaki
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Paul Shinji Sasaki (パウロ 佐々木 鎮次)、(March 11, 1885 – December 21, 1946) was an
Anglican 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 th ...
bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
of the Diocese of Mid-Japan and later of Tokyo, in the
Nippon Sei Ko Kai The ''Nippon Sei Ko Kai'' ( ja, 日本聖公会, translit=Nippon Seikōkai, lit=Japanese Holy Catholic Church), abbreviated as NSKK, sometimes referred to in English as the Anglican Episcopal Church in Japan, is the national Christian church repr ...
, the
Province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
of the
Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
in Japan.


Early life and education

Sasaki studied at
Kelham Hall Kelham is a small village and civil parish in Nottinghamshire about northwest of Newark on a bend in the A617 road near its crossing of the River Trent. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 207. Historical Kelham ...
of the
Society of the Sacred Mission The Society of the Sacred Mission (SSM), with the associated Company of the Sacred Mission, is an Anglican religious order founded in 1893 by Father Herbert Kelly, envisaged such that "members of the Society share a common life of prayer and fell ...
and at
Westcott House, Cambridge Westcott House is an Anglican theological college based on Jesus Lane in the centre of the university city of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.Westcott House website, Home pag Retrieved on August 27, 2006. Its main activity is training people for ...
, England. He was ordained deacon on December 21, 1912 and priest on April 25, 1917, by the Right Reverend Cecil Henry Boutflower, Bishop of South Tokyo. Sasaki worked as Professor of Liturgics and Applied Theology at
Central Theological College, Tokyo The Central Theological College (Japanese: 聖公会神学院 ''Seikōkai Shingakuin'') is the Anglican theological college of the Nippon Sei Ko Kai in Yōga, Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1908 from the amalgamation of three older Japanes ...
and on July 25, 1935 was consecrated in
Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...
as the first Japanese diocesan bishop of Mid-Japan, a region stretching from Nagoya to Niigata, formerly served by the missionary work of the
Anglican Church of Canada The Anglican Church of Canada (ACC or ACoC) is the Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French-language name is ''l'Église anglicane du Canada''. In 2017, the Anglican Church co ...
. As bishop he succeeded Canadian Heber J. Hamilton.


Leadership During the Second World War

Sasaki served as the
Primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...
of the
Nippon Sei Ko Kai The ''Nippon Sei Ko Kai'' ( ja, 日本聖公会, translit=Nippon Seikōkai, lit=Japanese Holy Catholic Church), abbreviated as NSKK, sometimes referred to in English as the Anglican Episcopal Church in Japan, is the national Christian church repr ...
throughout much of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. During this period the majority of
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
churches in Japan were forcibly brought together by the Japanese wartime government to form the
United Church of Christ in Japan The United Church of Christ in Japan (UCCJ; ja, 日本基督教団 ''Nihon Kirisuto Kyōdan'', or ''Kyōdan'' for short) is the largest Protestant denomination in Japan. It is a union of thirty-three diverse Protestant denominations forcibly me ...
, or Kyodan. Reflecting the distinctive doctrinal character of the
Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
, and a fear of state intervention in religion, many individual Nippon Sei Ko Kai congregations refused to join. Sasaki, in a written statement issued in October 1942 and signed by the majority of the Japanese bishops, was adamant in rejecting the proposed union with Kyodan. The statement upheld the authority of the
Anglican 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 th ...
church's episcopacy and
Apostolic succession Apostolic succession is the method whereby the ministry of the Christian Church is held to be derived from the apostles by a continuous succession, which has usually been associated with a claim that the succession is through a series of bish ...
and highlighted, among other reasons for rejecting the government proposal, the failure of Kyodan to adopt the
Apostles Creed The Apostles' Creed (Latin: ''Symbolum Apostolorum'' or ''Symbolum Apostolicum''), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith". The creed most likely originated in 5th-century ...
as one of its main theological tenets. The cost of resistance to and non-cooperation with the government's religious policies was public criticism by prominent lay and ordained members of the
Nippon Sei Ko Kai The ''Nippon Sei Ko Kai'' ( ja, 日本聖公会, translit=Nippon Seikōkai, lit=Japanese Holy Catholic Church), abbreviated as NSKK, sometimes referred to in English as the Anglican Episcopal Church in Japan, is the national Christian church repr ...
, harassment by the military police and periods of imprisonment for church leaders such as Sasaki, as well as Bishops
Samuel Heaslett Samuel Heaslett (1875–1947) was an Anglican bishop. He was born in Belfast in 1875 and educated at Durham University, where he obtained a First Class degree in theology. Ordained in 1900 he began his overseas mission career in the service of th ...
and Todomu Sugai. On January 25, 1944, Sasaki was installed at St. Andrew's Cathedral, Tokyo as Bishop of Tokyo to replace Bishop Peter Yonetaro Matsui During late 1944, government prosecutors examined Sasaki and Bishop of South Tokyo Todomu Sugai (須貝 止), on numerous occasions; military police detaining them for extended periods at
Sugamo Prison Sugamo Prison (''Sugamo Kōchi-sho'', Kyūjitai: , Shinjitai: ) was a prison in Tokyo, Japan. It was located in the district of Ikebukuro, which is now part of the Toshima ward of Tokyo, Japan. History Sugamo Prison was originally built in 1 ...
. Reports of torture at the hands of the military police at Sugamo Prison are also recorded. On their release on the 16th June 1945, both men were found malnourished and in poor health from their confinement, neither being able to walk without assistance. Sasaki had remained in Tokyo throughout the Allied incendiary bombing of the city. At considerable personal risk, he held fast to the principle that religion should not be unduly interfered with by the state. Sasaki died less than a year after his release from prison at the end of the war.


Legacy

For his courage and leadership of the Japanese Anglican community during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
Sasaki is commemorated (along with Bishop of Honan Lindel Tsen) on February 24 on the
Calendar of saints (Anglican Church of Canada) Prior to the revision of the Anglican Church of Canada's (ACC) Book of Common Prayer#Canada, Book of Common Prayer (BCP) in 1962, the national church followed the liturgical year, liturgical calendar of the 1918 Canadian Book of Common Prayer. Throu ...
. The Nippon Sei Ko Kai, reflecting on the legacy of Bishop Sasaki, the Japanese occupation of China and Korea, actions during wartime and the challenge of maintaining authentic Christian witness in the face of nationalist government policy, adopted a formal Statement of War Responsibility at its General Synod in 1996. A presentation of this statement and homily by the Rev. Canon Susan Cole-King, daughter of
Leonard Wilson John Leonard Wilson (23 November 189722 July 1970) was an Anglican bishop. He was Bishop of Singapore from 1941 to 1949 during the time of Japanese occupation and subsequently Dean of Manchester and Bishop of Birmingham. Education Wilson was b ...
, the Bishop of Singapore during the Japanese occupation, was made at a liturgy led by Nippon Sei Ko Kai bishops celebrating the
Feast of the Transfiguration The Feast of the Transfiguration is celebrated by various Christian communities in honor of the transfiguration of Jesus. The origins of the feast are less than certain and may have derived from the dedication of three basilicas on Mount Tabor.'' ...
at the 1998
Lambeth Conference The Lambeth Conference is a decennial assembly of bishops of the Anglican Communion convened by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The first such conference took place at Lambeth in 1867. As the Anglican Communion is an international association ...
. The NSKK remains active in multi-year projects promoting peace, reconciliation and youth exchange programs between East Asian nations. In 2013 the NSKK co-hosted with the
Anglican Church of Korea The Anglican Church of Korea (or Episcopal Church of Korea) is the province of the Anglican Communion in North and South Korea. Founded in 1889, it has over 120 parish and mission churches with a total membership of roughly 65,000 people. Hist ...
, the 2nd Worldwide Anglican Peace Conference in
Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...
.


See also

*
Anglican Church in Japan The ''Nippon Sei Ko Kai'' ( ja, 日本聖公会, translit=Nippon Seikōkai, lit=Japanese Holy Catholic Church), abbreviated as NSKK, sometimes referred to in English as the Anglican Episcopal Church in Japan, is the national Christian church rep ...
*
Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...


References

*"Mid-Japan Bishop Elected by Synod," in
The Living Church ''The Living Church'' is a magazine based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, providing commentary and news on the Episcopal Church and the wider Anglican Communion. In continuous publication since 1878, it has generally been identified with the Anglo-Catho ...
, June 8, 1935, p. 731.


External links


Liturgical commemoration and brief biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sasaki, Paul Shinji Japanese Anglican bishops 1885 births 1946 deaths Anglican Primates of the Nippon Sei Ko Kai Anglican Church in Japan Alumni of Westcott House, Cambridge Anglican bishops of Tokyo