Gabriel Sharma is an Anglican

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

in Fiji. On 1 May 2005, he became the first

Indo-Fijian Indo-Fijians or Indian-Fijians (also known as Fiji Indians) are Fijian citizens of Indian descent, and include people who trace their ancestry to various regions of the Indian subcontinent.Girmit by Suresh Prasad Although Indo-Fijians constit ...

to be consecrated as an Anglican Bishop, the first ethnic Indian Bishop in the Province of Aotearoa, of which Fiji forms a part, and the first Bishop specifically assigned to Fiji's Western Division, when he was installed as Bishop of

Viti Levu Viti Levu (pronounced ) is the largest island in the Republic of Fiji. It is the site of the nation's capital, Suva, and home to a large majority of Fiji's population. Geology Fiji lies in a tectonically complex area between the Australia ...

West. On 10 April 2005,ACANZP Lectionary, 2019
(p. 145) in a service at

Suva Suva () is the capital and largest city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rewa Province, Central Di ...

's Holy Trinity Cathedral, he was consecrated together with Apimeleki Qiliho, who became Bishop of

Vanua Levu Vanua Levu (pronounced ), formerly known as Sandalwood Island, is the second largest island of Fiji. Located to the north of the larger Viti Levu, the island has an area of and a population of 135,961 . Geology Fiji lies in a tectonicall ...

, and Dr Winston Halapua, who was installed as Bishop of the

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 ...

Polynesia Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...

, which covers

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

. He resigned his See in 2013, but returned in 2017.

Family background

Sharma, who hails from a farming family in the village of Korokoro in

Nadroga-Navosa Province Nadroga-Navosa ( Nadroga: Nadrogā-Navoha) is one of the fourteen provinces of Fiji and one of eight based in Viti Levu, Fiji's largest island. It is about 2,385 square kilometers and occupies the South-West and Central areas of Viti Levu, Fiji ...

, was raised as a Hindu but converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesu ...

after meeting Ana, whom he married in 1985.

View on the 2006 coup

After the 2006 coup, Sharma told Anglicans in Sydney that Fijian Christians were praying especially that no one would be harmed. He said that the majority of Fijians believed that the coup was illegal, but that a silent minority thought that the coup was "the only thing that could have happened." He called on the outside world to try to understand the situation. "We have heard a number of negative remarks bout the situation in Fiji but this will not help the people," he said. Sharma said that many churchgoers in his region had been laid off as hotel visits had slumped. He said that many people were still hopeful for a democratic resolution, but requested that Sydney Anglicans continued to pray.

References

Anglican bishops in Asia by diocese People from Nadroga-Navosa Province Converts to Anglicanism from Hinduism Converts to Protestantism from Hinduism Living people Fijian Anglicans Fijian bishops Year of birth missing (living people) {{Anglican-bishop-stub