:''Both the subject and his father sometimes used ''Warrington Strong'' as a surname.'' Sir Philip Nigel Warrington Strong (11 July 18996 July 1983) served as the fourth Bishop of New Guinea from 1936 to 1962 and the fifth Anglican

Archbishop of Brisbane 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 archdioc ...

from 1962 to 1970, also serving as primate of the Church of England in Australia (now called the

Anglican Church of Australia The Anglican Church of Australia, formerly known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania, is a Christian church in Australia and an autonomous church of the Anglican Communion. It is the second largest church in Australia after the R ...

) from 1966. Strong was born in Sutton on the Hill in Derbyshire, the son of the Rev Warrington Strong and Rosamond Wingfield Digby (who was the sister of

John Wingfield Digby John Kenelm Digby Wingfield Digby (2 September 1859 – 25 December 1904) was an English landowner and Conservative member of parliament. His name is often given as Wingfield-Digby, but the family does not use the hyphen. Life Wingfield Digby wa ...

MP). He was educated at the

King's School, Worcester The King's School, Worcester is an English independent day school refounded by Henry VIII in 1541. It occupies a site adjacent to Worcester Cathedral on the banks of the River Severn in the centre of the city of Worcester. It offers mixed-sex m ...

(where he was apparently nicknamed "The Bishop") and at

Selwyn College, Cambridge Selwyn College, Cambridge (formally Selwyn College in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1882 by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of George Augustus Selwyn (18 ...

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he served in France with the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

. Ordained in 1923, he initially served as a vicar in impoverished industrial parishes in Leeds and Saint Ignatious Hendon, Sunderland.

Bishop of New Guinea

He was consecrated a bishop on the Feast of St Simon and St Jude 1936 (28 October), at St Paul's Cathedral (London, UK) by

Cosmo Lang William Cosmo Gordon Lang, 1st Baron Lang of Lambeth, (31 October 1864 – 5 December 1945) was a Scottish Anglican prelate who served as Archbishop of York (1908–1928) and Archbishop of Canterbury (1928–1942). His elevation to Archbishop ...

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 ...

. Following his move to

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...

, Strong served as Bishop of New Guinea between 1936 and 1962, remaining in that post throughout

World War II 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 ...

and gaining much respect for his steadfastness during the Japanese invasion of that area. It was Strong who issued the call to Anglican clergy and staff to remain in post during the War. A number of them were killed during the War by the Japanese and, in some cases, Papuans; 12 of them were later honoured as the New Guinea Martyrs. Strong announced in 1947, following a synod of the New Guinea church, that 2 September would be kept as New Guinea Martyrs' Day each year. A statue of one of the 12,

Lucian Tapiedi Lucian Tapiedi ( – 1942) was a Papuan Anglican teacher who was one of the "New Guinea Martyrs." The Martyrs were eight Anglican clergy, teachers, and medical missionaries killed by the Japanese in 1942 (a total of 333 church workers of all d ...

, is included in the group of 20th century martyrs over the west door of

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. In 1948 Strong invited the Rev

Alf Clint William Alfred Clint (8 January 1906 – 21 April 1980) was an Australian priest in the Church of England in Australia (as the Anglican Church of Australia was then called). He established a number of Aboriginal co-operatives on behalf of the ...

to come to Gona to become a co-operative adviser. Clint walked from village to village organizing Christian co-operatives. Strong also served in the Legislative Council from 1955 after being appointed to replace Frank George Lewis.

Archbishop

During his time as Archbishop of Brisbane, although a religious conservative, Strong was an advocate of co-operation between different Christian denominations. Following the disappearance and presumed death of the Australian prime minister,

Harold Holt Harold Edward Holt (5 August 190817 December 1967) was an Australian politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Australia from 1966 until his presumed death in 1967. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party. Holt was born in S ...

, in 1967, Strong delivered the eulogy at his memorial service at

St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Melbourne, Australia. It is the cathedral church of the Diocese of Melbourne and the seat of the Archbishop of Melbourne, who is also the metropolitan archbishop of the Province of Victoria. ...

Retirement

In retirement, Strong lived in the Cathedral Close in

Wangaratta Wangaratta ( ) is a city in the northeast of Victoria, Australia, from Melbourne along the Hume Highway. The city had an estimated urban population of 19,318 at June 2018. Wangaratta has recorded a population growth rate of almost 1% annually ...

. He returned to Papua New Guinea for the independence celebrations in 1975. He attended an ecumenical service on 14 September, two days before the act of independence, at which the inaugural Prime Minister of PNG,

Michael Somare Sir Michael Thomas Somare (9 April 1936 – 26 February 2021) was a Papua New Guinean politician. Widely called the "father of the nation" (), he was the first Prime Minister after independence. At the time of his death, Somare was also the lo ...

made an Act of Dedication: "We, as your chosen leaders, dedicate ourselves and the people of Papua New Guinea to God in Christian life and service". Strong recorded in his Christmas letter to his friends that year his "hope … that New Guinea may become a truly Christian country, perhaps the first such in the world".Jonathan Holland, ''The Destiny & Passion of Philip Nigel Warrington Strong'', (2019: Lakeside Publishing), p 471. He died in Wangaratta in 1983, aged 83.

References

External links

Anglican ArchivesKing's Worcester: Distinguished OVsPapers of Sir Philip Strong
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strong, Philip Nigel Warrington 1899 births 1983 deaths People educated at King's School, Worcester Alumni of Selwyn College, Cambridge Anglican archbishops of Brisbane Primates of the Anglican Church of Australia Members of the Legislative Council of Papua and New Guinea