| Anglican Diocese of Singapore | |||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 聖公會新加坡教區 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 圣公会新加坡教区 | ||||||||||
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The Anglican Diocese of Singapore (Chinese: 圣公会新加坡教区; pinyin: Shènggōnghuì Xīnjiāpō Jiāoqū) consists of 26 Anglican parishes in Singapore to date and 6 deaneries throughout the Asia region. It has an established history of church-planting as well as providing educational, medical and social services in Singapore and the neighbouring region. The Diocese of Singapore is in communion with the See of Canterbury. St Andrew's Cathedral is the Cathedral church of the Diocese of Singapore.[1]
Currently, the Diocese is headed by the Archbishop of the Province of the Anglican Church in South East Asia and Bishop of Singapore, The Most Reverend Dr John Chew Hiang Chea together with Assistant Bishop and Vicar of St John-St Margaret Church, The Right Reverend Rennis Ponniah.
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The coat of arms of the Diocese of Singapore which belongs to the category of ecclesiastical heraldry, consists of a Mitre surmounted on a St Andrew's Shield. The Mitre symbolises Apostolic Authority and Divine Endorsement to govern the Anglican diocese in the region. The Crozier symbolises the Bishop's Episcopate and the Key represents the access to heaven. Emblazoned upon the St Andrew's Shield are four bunches of wheat symbolising the harvest fields which God has entrusted to the Diocese.
In 1881, St. Andrew's Church was made the Cathedral church of the then newly established Diocese of Singapore, Labuan and Sarawak. A diocese over such a large area was quite unmanageable, and in 1909, Singapore was made a separate diocese, with Bishop Charles J. Ferguson-Davie as the first Bishop of the Diocese. On February 6, 1960 it merged with another diocese to form the Diocese of Singapore and Malaya. On 8 April 1970, the diocese was dissolved and split into Diocese of Singapore and Diocese of West Malaysia.
To date, there are 26 Anglican parishes under the Diocese:
There are 6 Deaneries under the Diocese of Singapore:
A dean oversees the mission work in each deanery and regularly reports to the Director of Missions of the Diocese of Singapore. The present Director of Missions is The Very Reverend Kuan Kim Seng who is also the Dean and Vicar of St Andrew's Cathedral.
Anglican schools in Singapore:
In addition, there are 6 kindergartens and 6 child development centres.
The St Andrew's Mission Hospital (SAMH) is a non-profit voluntary welfare organisation under the Diocese of Singapore. It is the corporate headquarters that oversees its several medical arms such as:
With the re-location of St. Andrew's Community Hospital to Simei, SAMH plans to redevelop the Elliot Road site into a centre for helping autistic youth and adults. St. Andrew's Autism Centre will be an integrated and comprehensive centre providing medical, education, day care, vocational training, job placement and respite care services. SAMH is working closely with the Ministry of Community, Youth and Sports, and the Ministry of Education on the setting up of this centre.