Most Rev. Lakdasa Jacob De Mel (1902–1976), MA was the first Bishop of Kurunegala, Sri Lanka and the last

Metropolitan Archbishop Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

of India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylo

Lakdasa De Mel was born on 24 March 1902 in

Moratuwa Moratuwa ( si, මොරටුව, ta, மொறட்டுவை) is a large suburb of Colombo, on the southwestern coast of Sri Lanka, near Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia. It is situated on the Galle–Colombo (Galle road) main highway, south ...

, Sri Lanka, to a prominent Anglican family. He was the son of

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

Henry de Mel, former Member of the Legislative Council and Elsie Jayawickrame. De Mel was educated at the

Royal College Colombo Royal College, Colombo is a selective entry boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started as a private school by Rev Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academy by Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton in Jan ...

and went on to study at Keble College at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, gaining an MA.Rev. Lakdasa de Mel: inspiring legend of Baddegama
De Mel was ordained to a short curacy at St John the Divine, Kennington before returning to Sri Lanka, where he was appointed as the parish priest at St Michael and All Angels Church, Polwatte. For 10 years he was the authority of Missionary of South Sri Lanka’s Baddegama Parish. From 1940 he served as the priest at St. Paul's Church, Kandy. As a priest he became one of the pioneers of the indigenisation of the Anglican Church in Sri Lanka. He said his first Mass in Sinhala and sought to integrate local music styles into the service. De Mel was consecrated as Assistant Bishop of Colombo on 8 November 1945. In January 1950 the Church of Ceylon resolved to create a new

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

, the Diocese of Kurunegala. The diocese was formally inaugurated on 2 February 1950, on the Feast of the Presentation, with George Hubback, the then Metropolitan of India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon, appointing De Mel as the first Bishop of Kurunegala. The formation of this new Diocese was marked by the induction, installation and enthronement of De Mel as the founding Bishop, at Trinity College Chapel, Kandy. He, along with other members of the De Mel family were largely responsible for the funding of the construction of the Cathedral of Christ the King. In May 1962, De Mel was elected as Metropolitan of India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon and Bishop of Calcutta, the first Sri Lankan to become an

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 archdi ...

of the

Anglican Church 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 ...

. He was enthroned on 21 August 1962, at St. Paul's Cathedral, Calcutta. It was a post that he held until his retirement in 1970. In 1971 he married Joan Hamilton (1921–2009) and at the end of 1972 they moved to live in

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, f ...

. In March 1976 he was diagnosed with

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

and he died on 23 October 1976, his ashes were interred in the Cathedral of Christ the King.Anglicanism: A Global Communion
edited by Andrew Wingate, p.340 (Church Publishing Inc)

References

External links

The Church of Ceylon (Anglican Communion)

Anglican Church of Ceylon News

* ttp://cnicalcutta.org/bishop_h_lakdasa_j_del_mel.html Bishop of Calcutta and Metropolitan of India
Diocese of Kuunegala

{{DEFAULTSORT:De Mel, Lakdasa Sri Lankan Anglican bishops Anglican bishops of Kurunegala Anglican bishops of Calcutta Anglican archbishops in Asia Alumni of Keble College, Oxford Alumni of Royal College, Colombo People from Moratuwa 1902 births 1976 deaths Lakdasa Lakdasa 20th-century Anglican bishops in India

See also

References

External links