Paul Kwong

CStJ The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of c ...

(; born 28 February 1950) is a retired

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 t ...

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 ...

from Hong Kong, who served as

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 archdio ...

and

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 includin ...

Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui The Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui (abbreviated SKH), also known as the Hong Kong Anglican Church (Episcopal), is the Anglican church in Hong Kong and Macao. It is the 38th Province of the Anglican Communion. It is also one of the major denomination ...

Bishop of Hong Kong Island The Diocese of Hong Kong Island is one of the three dioceses under the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui, a province of the Anglican Communion. Its territory covers Hong Kong Island and the outlying islands. The cathedral of the diocese, St. John's Cath ...

, and

Bishop of Macau Portuguese Jesuit priest Melchior Miguel Carniero Leitão was appointed Titular Bishop of Nicaea on January 23, 1555. A year later (on January 26, 1576), Pope Gregory XIII issued an edict for the establishment of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mac ...

from 2007 to 2021. Kwong is also the current chair of the

Anglican Consultative Council The Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) is one of the four "Instruments of Communion" of the Anglican Communion. It was created by a resolution of the 1968 Lambeth Conference. The council, which includes Anglican bishops, other clergy, and lait ...

, as the first sitting primate to lead an ACC meeting. Kwong is also a member of the

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC, zh, 中国人民政治协商会议), also known as the People's PCC (, ) or simply the PCC (), is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of ...

(CPPCC) taking a pro-Beijing stance.

Early life and education

Kwong was born to a local Christian family in 1950. His father was a teacher and his great-grandfather, Kwong Yat-sau, was the first Chinese priest in the Diocese of Victoria. Kwong is a fourth-generation

. Kwong was first graduated from Lingnan College with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in English Language degree in 1977. After graduation, he was admitted to

Church Divinity School of the Pacific Church Divinity School of the Pacific (CDSP) is an Episcopal seminary in Berkeley, California. It one of nine seminaries U.S. Episcopal Church and a member of the Graduate Theological Union. The only Episcopal seminary located in the Far West, C ...

in 1979 to pursue studies in a

Master of Theology Master of Theology ( la, Theologiae Magister, abbreviated MTh, ThM, or MTheol) is a post-graduate degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. It can serve as a transition degree for entrance into a PhD program or as a sta ...

degree, then graduated in 1982. Kwong was admitted to

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

to study a degree of

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in 1996, then graduated in 2008.

Ministry and public services

Kwong was ordained

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 Chur ...

in 1982 and

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

in 1983. Upon the

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

, he was appointed

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy ...

of Holy Trinity Church in 1983. Three years later, Kwong was appointed

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

of St. Matthias' Church, leading the parish until 1996. He was chaplain to St. John's Cathedral with responsibility for the Mandarin speaking congregation, and also served as assistant to the Archbishop, and Provincial General Secretary. Kwong was first elected Bishop on 30 December 2005 and consecrated on 25 March 2006 at St John's Cathedral. Following his

consecration Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

, Kwong became

Coadjutor Bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co- ...

until his predecessor, Peter Kwong, left office on 31 December 2006. He was later enthroned diocesan bishop on 15 January 2007. After being elected by the

General Synod The General Synod is the title of the governing body of some church organizations. Anglican Communion The General Synod of the Church of England, which was established in 1970 replacing the Church Assembly, is the legislative body of the Church of ...

on 3 February 2007, Kwong was installed Archbishop on 26 September 2007 at

St John's Cathedral (Hong Kong) The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Evangelist is the cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Hong Kong Island, and mother church to the Province of Hong Kong and Macao. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Hong Kong and the Bishop of Hong Kon ...

. He was reelected Archbishop by the General Synod on 1 June 2013. His advisor for theological and historical studies is Rev Dr Philip L. Wickeri, Professor of Church History at HKSKH

Ming Hua Theological College The Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui (abbreviated SKH), also known as the Hong Kong Anglican Church (Episcopal), is the Anglican church in Hong Kong and Macao. It is the 38th Ecclesiastical province, Province of the Anglican Communion. It is also one of ...

. Kwong was conferred an

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad h ...

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor ...

by Lingnan University, his alma mater, on 16 October 2007. Kwong was designated member of

, political advisory body of

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

, in February 2013. Kwong was elected chairperson of the

on 15 April 2016 during the

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 ...

, succeeding James Tengatenga, then Bishop of Southern Malawi. Prior to this appointment, he has served as the ACC Standing Committee since 2012. He was also awarded Dean's Cross for Servant Leadership in Church and Society Award by

Virginia Theological Seminary Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), formally called the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia, located at 3737 Seminary Road in Alexandria, Virginia is the largest and second oldest accredited Episcopal seminary in the Unit ...

on 13 November 2016, making him the first non-American to receive the honor. In 2017, he was enthroned as Episcopal Canon of St. George's Cathedral, Jerusalem. Kwong retired in January 2021, succeeded by

Matthias Der Matthias Clement Tze-Wo Der (; born 14 August 1964) is an Anglican bishop from Hong Kong. He has served as Bishop of Hong Kong Island since January 2021. Prior to his episcopacy, he served as the dean of St John's Cathedral, Hong Kong from July ...

, Dean of St John's Cathedral, as the bishop of Hong Kong Island and by

Andrew Chan Andrew Chan (; 12 January 1984 – 29 April 2015) was an Australian man who was convicted and executed in Indonesia for drug trafficking as a member of the Bali Nine. In 2005, Chan was arrested at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar. ...

Bishop of Western Kowloon The Diocese of Western Kowloon is one of the three dioceses under the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui. Its territory covers most of western Kowloon and the western New Territories (excluding the outlying islands of Hong Kong). All Saints' Church, then c ...

, as Archbishop of Hong Kong. He was invited by Archbishop Chan to be Archbishop Emeritus of Hong Kong.

Political views

Paul Kwong has been known for his staunch pro-Beijing stance in Hong Kong. During an interview with the reporters of ''Echo'', official newspaper published by the

Province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

, Kwong stated that a

universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political sta ...

would not be "

panacea In Greek mythology, Panacea (Greek ''Πανάκεια'', Panakeia), a goddess of universal remedy, was the daughter of Asclepius and Epione. Panacea and her four sisters each performed a facet of Apollo's art: * Panacea (the goddess of univers ...

", numerous social issues in Hong Kong would still exist even after its implementation. He also voiced objection to

civil disobedience Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be called "civil". H ...

as a means to strive for democracy in Hong Kong and expressed his reservations about the Occupy Central movement in the same interview.

Controversy

Pro-Beijing homily

In a homily he gave to the faithful in St. Paul's Church on 6 July 2014, Paul Kwong ridiculed the 511 protesters who were arrested during a sit-in

protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooper ...

following the annual 1 July rally, suggesting they should "bring along their Filipino maids to the march". He also criticized their lack of

critical thinking Critical thinking is the analysis of available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments to form a judgement. The subject is complex; several different definitions exist, which generally include the rational, skeptical, and unbiased ana ...

ability and expressed his perplexity over why some Hong Kong people "have to speak up so much" in that homily. Kwong then quoted several verses in

Book of Isaiah The Book of Isaiah ( he, ספר ישעיהו, ) is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible and the first of the Major Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. It is identified by a superscription as the words of the 8th-century B ...

to support his claim that

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

remained silent in the face of

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagi ...

, saying, "Jesus remained silent in the face of

Pilate Pontius Pilate (; grc-gre, Πόντιος Πιλᾶτος, ) was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official who presided over the trial of J ...

. He was like a lamb awaiting slaughter." He further added, " metimes we don't have to say anything. Silence is better than saying anything." Kwong also condemned some

lawmakers A legislator (also known as a deputy or lawmaker) is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people of the state. Legislatures may be supra-national (for ex ...

for being "irrational and violent" when expressing opinion in meetings of the Legislative Council, saying, "I don't think he would act like a few councilors we have now, throwing everything around. I don't think that if Jesus was in the streets today, he would use such humiliating words to scold government officials and other people. I don't think that Jesus would express himself with such irrational violence." Kwong later mentioned a church member's opposition to the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...

's proposed developments in northeastern New Territories, quoting the church member's assertion that Hong Kong is losing its

autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one' ...

. He rebutted the idea, expressing his disbelief that mainlanders would be "given all new

flats Flat or flats may refer to: Architecture * Flat (housing), an apartment in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and other Commonwealth countries Arts and entertainment * Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch * Flat (soldier), ...

". Kwong further added, "Hong Kong's autonomy is just partial autonomy, not full autonomy." Kwong's comments soon sparked controversy among

pan-democrats The pro-democracy camp, also known as the pan-democracy camp, is a political alignment in Hong Kong that supports increased democracy, namely the universal suffrage of the Chief Executive and the Legislative Council as given by the Basic L ...

as well as church members. Wu Chi-wai, pastor from

Christian and Missionary Alliance The Alliance World Fellowship is the international governing body of the Christian and Missionary Alliance (The Alliance, also C&MA and CMA). The Alliance is an evangelical Protestant denomination within the Higher Life movement of Christiani ...

, responded that it would be "unfair to use Jesus to fit some personal values and orientation". He also challenged Kwong's claim that Jesus remained silent in contempt of crucifixion. Emily Lau, then-chairwoman of the Democratic Party, criticized him for being too cynical, expressing her disappointment that Kwong "had lashed out at the students".

Chan Kin-man Chan Kin-man (, born 9 March 1959) is a former associate professor of Sociology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is one of the founders of the Occupy Central with Love and Peace campaign that strove for universal suffrage for the Hong ...

, co-organizer of Occupy Central movement, queried Kwong's attitude, saying, " lievers and society expected religious leaders to speak up to manifest the value of their belief."

Bibliography

* * Kwong, Paul (2013). "The Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui." In
The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to the Anglican Communion
', edited by Ian S. Markham, J. Barney Hawkins IV, Justyn Terry et al., 253–62. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell. . *Kwong, Paul and Philip Wickeri (2015). "Sheng Kung Hui: The Contextualization of Anglicanism in Hong Kong." In ''The Oxford Handbook of Anglican Studies'', edited by Sathianathan Clarke Mark Chapman and Martyn Percy, 256–70. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kwong, Paul Living people Anglican archbishops of Hong Kong 1950 births Alumni of Lingnan University (Hong Kong) Alumni of the University of Birmingham Church Divinity School of the Pacific alumni Anglican bishops in Hong Kong Anglican bishops of Hong Kong Island Members of the 13th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference