Andrew Oliver Kumarage (16 January 1934 – 21 April 2012), ( BDiv, DipRE), was the third

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. Andrew Kumarage was born on 16 January 1934, the eldest child in a family of five. His father, Stephen, was a teacher and his mother, Mary, a nurse, who both worked as lay ministers for the

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 ...

. Kumarage was identified by the then Bishop of Kurunegala,

Lakdasa De Mel Most Rev. Lakdasa Jacob De Mel (1902–1976), MA was the first Bishop of Kurunegala, Sri Lanka and the last Metropolitan Archbishop of India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylo Lakdasa De Mel was born on 24 March 1902 in Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, to a prom ...

, as a prospective leader for the Church and an early candidate for ordination. In 1954 he went to study theology at

Bishop’s College, Calcutta Bishop's College, Calcutta is an Anglican educational establishment founded on 15th December 1820 at Sibpur by Thomas Fanshawe Middleton the first Diocese of Calcutta of the Church of North India, bishop of the Anglican diocese of Calcutta. The ...

in India and after four years of study he received a degree of

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD or BDiv; la, Baccalaureus Divinitatis) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology ...

. In 1958 Kumarage returned to

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 ...

and was subsequently made a

Deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

on 1 May that year. On 23 May 1959 he was ordained as a priest in the Diocese of Kurunagala. Kumarage was an inaugural faculty member at the

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 ...

. He was also selected as the Chairperson of the Board of Governors at

Trinity College, Kandy "Look to the End" , mottoes = , founder = John Ireland Jones , established = , type = Independent Private , affiliation = Church of Ceylon, Anglican , grade ...

and served on the Governing Body of the CMS Schools. Kumarage subsequently trained at the Westhill College of Education in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, England, where he completed a

Diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offici ...

Religious Education In secular usage, religious education is the teaching of a particular religion (although in the United Kingdom the term ''religious instruction'' would refer to the teaching of a particular religion, with ''religious education'' referring to te ...

. Upon his return to Sri Lanka he was made responsible for Religious Education in the Diocese of Kurungala. On 6 May 1984 he was consecrated as the third Bishop of Kurunegala, succeeding Bishop

Lakshman Wickremasinghe Lakshman Wickremasinghe (25 March 1927 – 23 October 1983) was one of the youngest bishops in the Anglican Communion and a human rights activist. Early life and education Born on 25 March 1927, he was the third son of Cyril Wickremesinghe of t ...

. After 16 years he retired from the position in 2000. In the years following his retirement he wrote and published a book on the Disciples of Jesus and later compiled a Personal Book of Prayers for Clergy. He was also appointed as the Chair of the Board of Management of the

Ecumenical Institute for Study and Dialogue The Ecumenical Institute for Study and Dialogue (EISD), formerly called ''Study Center for Religion and Society'', is an institute located in Colombo, Sri Lanka that is devoted to the study and interpretation of religious and social movements of p ...

and remained a member of the EISD Board until his death. Kumarage died on 21 April 2012 at the age of 78.

Bibliography

*A Priest's Book of Private Devotions (Kurunagala: Privately Published, 2005)

References

External links

The Church of Ceylon (Anglican Communion)

Anglican Church of Ceylon News

20th-century Anglican bishops in Asia Sri Lankan Anglican bishops Sri Lankan educational theorists Sinhalese priests Anglican bishops of Kurunegala 1934 births 2012 deaths {{SriLanka-bio-stub

See also

Bibliography

References

External links