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Bishop Peter Anibati Abia

Consecration and installation of Bishops for Sudan/South Sudan

by Mathew Block | May 7, 2024

*LCN Archbishop Christian Ekong presents the newly installed ELCSS/S Presiding Bishop Peter Anibati Abia (centre).*

SOUTH SUDAN – The Evangelical Lutheran Church in South Sudan and Sudan (ELCSS/S) held the consecration and installation of its first Presiding Bishop and four diocesan bishops on May 5, 2024, at St. Paul Cathedral in Yambio, South Sudan.

Installed as Presiding Bishop is Rev. Peter Anibati Abia, who was first elected to lead the ELCSS/S as Bishop in December 2016. He was subsequently elected to serve as Presiding Bishop at the ELCSS/S’ General Convention in December 2023.

The change in title from “Bishop” to “Presiding Bishop” reflects developments in the structure of the ELCSS/S, with the church establishing the office of diocesan bishops at its 2023 General Convention. Presiding Bishop Abia serves the Western Equatoria diocese; elected to serve the four other dioceses as bishop are Rev. Ogiki Benjamin (Central and Eastern Equatoria), Rev. Peter Chuol (Jonglei), Rev. Simon Gatluak (Upper Nile), and Rev. Musa Alabina (Sudan). All four diocesan bishops were consecrated and installed into office alongside Presiding Bishop Abia at the May 2024 service. Other officers installed during the service included the church’s General Secretary and the Assistant to the Bishop for the Western Equatoria diocese.

*The ELCSS/S’ diocesan bishops are consecrated and installed.*

International guests present for the consecration and installation service were Archbishop Christian Ekong of the Lutheran Church of Nigeria (LCN); Archbishop Joseph Ochola Omolo of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Kenya (ELCK); Bishop David Tswaedi of the Confessional Lutheran Church of South Africa; Bishop Charles Bameka of the Lutheran Church of Uganda (LCU); and Bishop Yohana Nzelu of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania’s South East of Lake Victoria Diocese (ELCT-SELVD).

*The procession to the consecration and installation service.*

The ELCSS/S was founded in 1993 and has approximately 150,000 members. In 2022, the church was accepted as an observer member in the International Lutheran Council (ILC), a global association of confessional Lutheran churches.

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ILC urges prayer for Sudan

by Mathew Block | Apr 26, 2023

SUDAN – The International Lutheran Council (ILC) is urging prayer for Sudan after armed conflict broke out in the country earlier this month. As of this publication, the World Health Organization reports more than 450 dead with more than 4,000 injured (with the actual number likely to be higher).

“Our hearts grieve for those caught in the midst of this terrible crisis,” said ILC General Secretary Timothy Quill. “We encourage our member churches around the world to name the Sudanese people in prayer, beseeching God for the reestablishment of peace and safety.”

In addition to the threat of violence, the turmoil has also led to critical shortages of necessities like food, water, fuel, and medicine. Even before the current conflict began, the people of Sudan faced serious hardship, with more than a third of the population considered to be in need of aid. The country was also home to more than one million refugees.

The International Lutheran Council has two observer member churches with ties to the nation of Sudan: the Evangelical Lutheran Church in South Sudan and Sudan (ELCSS/S) which has congregations in Sudan, and the South Sudan Evangelical Lutheran Church (SSELC).

“Although our headquarters is in Yambio, South Sudan, we also have churches within Khartoum, Sudan where there is serious fighting at the moment,” explained ELCSS/S Bishop Peter Anibati Abia. “Many people have been displaced or wounded, and others killed. Many are also stuck in their houses with no food, water, or electricity, and are in need of humanitarian support.”

“Please commend these suffering brothers and sisters into the Lord’s care as they endure the pains of this senseless war,” the bishop continued. “Pray for peace to prevail in Sudan. Pray for the bereaved, the homeless, the wounded, and the hungry. And pray also for the ELCSS/S as she ministers to these people.”

The International Lutheran Council is a global association of confessional Lutheran church bodies dedicated to the authority of Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions.

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