John William Hawkins Flagg was an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

bishop from 1951 to 1977; and was later

general secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

of the ''South American Missionary Society''. Born in

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

on 16 April 1929 and ordained in 1959 he began his career with the post of Chaplain at the ''St Andrew's Chapel to the British Embassy. He then went on to found the Sams Mission in Asuncion, whilst supporting the Chaco missions such as Makklaiwaya Mission''Working closely with notable missionaries such as Derek and Betty Hawksbee,

Asunción Asunción (, ) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of Asunción in the north ...

after which he was

Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...

of northern Argentina and Paraguay by the age of 36 before his ordination to the

episcopate A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

as Northern Argentina and Paraguay's first Anglican bishop. Translated to

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

in 1973 he returned to Britain as

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 p ...

of St Cyprian's, Edge HillDuring this time he was also an

assistant bishop An assistant bishop in the Anglican Communion is a bishop appointed to assist a diocesan bishop. Church of England In the established Church of England, assistant bishops are usually retired (diocesan or suffragan bishop, suffragan) bishops – in ...

in the

Diocese of Liverpool The diocese of Liverpool is a diocese of the Church of England in North West England. The diocese covers Merseyside north of the River Mersey, south-west Lancashire, western Greater Manchester, and part of northern Cheshire. Liverpool Cathedral ...

> Who's Who (ibid) He later took the position of leading SAMS through its transitional period as a Mission allied to Allen Gardiner and his vision to a much more diverse and culturally open church. He visited South America again to inter his late wife's ashes and spent time with colleagues and friends from many backgrounds returning to the Uk to promote and support the missions he loved dearly . He died on 1 October 2008, leaving behind six children, many grandchildren and one great grandchild.

References

1929 births People from Somerset Anglican archdeacons in South America 20th-century Anglican bishops in South America 2008 deaths Anglican bishops of Chile, Bolivia and Peru Anglican bishops of Paraguay Anglican bishops of Peru {{Peru-reli-bio-stub