Matthias Clement Tze-Wo Der (; born 14 August 1964) is an

Anglican bishop The Anglican ministry is both the leadership and agency of Christian service in the Anglican Communion. ''Ministry'' commonly refers to the office of ordained clergy: the ''threefold order'' of bishops, priests and deacons. Anglican ministry incl ...

from Hong Kong. He has served as

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island () is an island in the southern part of Hong Kong. The island, known originally and on road signs simply as "Hong Kong", had a population of 1,289,500 and a population density of , . It is the second largest island in Hong Kon ...

since January 2021. Prior to his episcopacy, he served as the

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

of St John's Cathedral, Hong Kong from July 2012 to December 2020.

Early life

Der was born in Hong Kong and moved to Taiwan from 1966 to 1976, where his father served as priest in the Church of the Good Shepherd in the Episcopal Church.New Hong Kong Coadjutor Has Canadian & American Ties
/ref> He described himself as a person "who could not speak clearly until the age of four, who struggled through school for most of his early schooling and who didn't learn the ABCs till the age of 12". In 1981, Der attended Seabury Hall, a boarding school in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. He attended the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

in 1984 and graduated with Bachelor of Arts (Sociology) and obtained a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

degree from

Wycliffe College, Toronto Wycliffe College () is an evangelical graduate school of theology of the University of Toronto located at the St. George campus in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1877 as an evangelical seminary in the Anglican tradition, Wycliffe College ...

in 1990.

Ministry

In 1990, he was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the

diaconate A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Catholi ...

in the Diocese of Toronto of the

Anglican Church of Canada The Anglican Church of Canada (ACC or ACoC) is the Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French-language name is ''l'Église anglicane du Canada''. In 2016, the Anglican Church of ...

, and to the priesthood in 1991. After serving his

curacy A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are ass ...

, Der served as

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

of St Christopher's Anglican Church in

Greater Toronto The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the Toronto, City of Toronto and the regional municipality, regional municipalities of Regional Municipality of Durham, Durham, Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton, Regional ...

for twenty years, helping St Christopher expand to a parish worshipping from two sites in

North York North York is a former township and city and is now one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the northern area of Toronto, centred around Yonge Street, north of Ontario Highway 401. It is bounded by ...

and Richmond Hill. He was appointed an

Honorary Canon Canon () is a Christian title usually used to refer to a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, in one of the houses within the precinct of ...

of St James’ Cathedral, Toronto in 2007. Der was appointed Dean of St John's Cathedral of

Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui The Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui (abbreviated SKH), also known as the Hong Kong Anglican Church (Episcopal), is the Anglican church in Hong Kong and Macao. It is the 38th Province of the Anglican Communion. It is also one of the major denominations ...

(Hong Kong Anglican Church) in July 2012 and installed on 13 October 2012. He is also a delegate to the

General Synod of Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui The General Synod of Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui () exercises the metropolitical authority of the Anglican Province of Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui. It is a tricameral synod which governs the Province and has the final authority in all matters affectin ...

and serves as the Director of Supervisors for student placement at SKH Ming Hua Theological College and a member of the Board of Governors of

Matilda International Hospital Matilda International Hospital is a For-profit Community Hospital in Hong Kong located at 41 Mount Kellett Road, The Peak, Hong Kong Island. The hospital was built as a result of the last will and testament of Granville Sharp, the husband of ...

. Der was elected as the

Bishop Coadjutor A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese. The coa ...

of the

Diocese of Hong Kong Island The Diocese of Hong Kong Island is one of the three dioceses under the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui, a province of the Anglican Communion. Its territory covers Hong Kong Island and the outlying islands. The cathedral of the diocese, St. John's Cat ...

in November 2019. He was consecrated to the episcopate on 3 October 2020 at

St John's Cathedral (Hong Kong) The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Evangelist is the cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Hong Kong Island, and mother church to the Province of Hong Kong and Macao. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Hong Kong and the Bishop of Hong Kon ...

, after postponement due to the coronavirus pandemic in Hong Kong, which also broke decades-long tradition with the absence of co-consecrators from other Anglican Communion provinces.Hong Kong bishop consecrated
/ref> He was enthroned as the

Bishop of Hong Kong Island The Diocese of Hong Kong Island is one of the three dioceses under the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui, a province of the Anglican Communion. Its territory covers Hong Kong Island and the outlying islands. The cathedral of the diocese, St. John's Ca ...

on 2 January 2021, succeeding Paul KwongHong Kong: Former Toronto priest elected bishop
/ref>

Family

Matthias Der is son of Canon Edmund B. Der (謝博文法政牧師), an Anglican priest and canon who served in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Canada and USA.Installation of The Very Reverend Canon Matthias Der
/ref> His younger brother Canon Philip Der (謝子樂法政牧師) is also an Anglican priest and canon, who succeeded Matthias as incumbent at St Christopher. Matthias is married, and the couple have two daughters.The Very Reverend Matthias Tze Wo Der
/ref>

References

External links

The Very Reverend Matthias Tze Wo DerBishop Matthias's Consecration Service
{{DEFAULTSORT:Der, Matthias Clement Tze-Wo Living people 1964 births Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui clergy Deans of Hong Kong 21st-century Anglican bishops in China Anglican bishops in Hong Kong Anglican bishops of Hong Kong Island