Paul Kwong CStJ (; born 28 February 1950) is a retired

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 ...

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 ...

from Hong Kong, who served as

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 ...

and

Primate Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...

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 ...

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 ...

, and Bishop of Macau from 2007 to 2021. Kwong is also the current chair of the

Anglican Consultative Council The Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) is one of the four "Instruments of Communion" of the Anglican Communion. It was created by a resolution of the 1968 Lambeth Conference. The council, which includes Anglican bishops, other clergy, and lait ...

, as the first sitting primate to lead an ACC meeting. Kwong is also a member of the

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s United front (China), united front system. Its members adv ...

(CPPCC) taking a pro-Beijing stance.

Early life and education

Kwong was born to a local Christian family in 1950. His father was a teacher and his great-grandfather, Kwong Yat-sau, was the first Chinese priest in the Diocese of Victoria. Kwong is a fourth-generation

. Kwong was first graduated from Lingnan College with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in English Language degree in 1977. After graduation, he was admitted to

Church Divinity School of the Pacific Church Divinity School of the Pacific (CDSP) is an Episcopal seminary in Berkeley, California. It is one of the nine seminaries in the Episcopal Church and a member of the Graduate Theological Union. The only Episcopal seminary located in the ...

in 1979 to pursue studies in a

Master of Theology Master of Theology (, abbreviated ThM, MTh or MTheol, or ''Sacrae Theologiae Magister''; abbreviated STM) is a post-graduate degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. It can serve as a transition degree for entrance into a ...

degree, then graduated in 1982. Kwong was admitted to

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

to study a degree of

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

in 1996, then graduated in 2008.

Ministry and public services

Kwong was ordained

deacon 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 Cathol ...

in 1982 and

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

in 1983. Upon the

ordination 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 ...

, he was appointed

curate 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 as ...

of Holy Trinity Church in 1983. Three years later, Kwong was appointed

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. Matthias' Church, leading the parish until 1996. He was chaplain to St. John's Cathedral with responsibility for the

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

speaking congregation, and also served as assistant to the Archbishop, and Provincial General Secretary. Kwong was first elected Bishop on 30 December 2005 and consecrated on 25 March 2006 at St John's Cathedral. Following his

consecration Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

, Kwong became

Coadjutor Bishop 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 ...

until his predecessor, Peter Kwong, left office on 31 December 2006. He was later enthroned diocesan bishop on 15 January 2007. After being elected by the

General Synod The General Synod is the title of the governing body of some church organizations. Anglican Communion The General Synod of the Church of England, which was established in 1970 replacing the Church Assembly, is the legislative body of the Church ...

on 3 February 2007, Kwong was installed Archbishop on 26 September 2007 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 ...

. He was reelected Archbishop by the General Synod on 1 June 2013. His advisor for theological and historical studies is Rev Dr Philip L. Wickeri, Professor of Church History at HKSKH Ming Hua Theological College. Kwong was conferred an

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

by Lingnan University, his alma mater, on 16 October 2007. Kwong was designated member of

, political advisory body of

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, in February 2013. Kwong was elected chairperson of the

on 15 April 2016 during the

Lambeth Conference The Lambeth Conference convenes as the Archbishop of Canterbury summons an assembly of Anglican bishops every ten years. The first took place at Lambeth in 1867. As regional and national churches freely associate with the Anglican Communion, ...

, succeeding James Tengatenga, then Bishop of Southern Malawi. Prior to this appointment, he has served as the ACC Standing Committee since 2012. He was also awarded Dean's Cross for Servant Leadership in Church and Society Award by

Virginia Theological Seminary Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), formally the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia, is an Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal seminary in Alexandria, Virginia. It is the largest and second-oldest such accredited se ...

on 13 November 2016, making him the first non-American to receive the honor. In 2017, he was enthroned as Episcopal Canon of St. George's Cathedral, Jerusalem. Kwong retired in January 2021, succeeded by Matthias Der, Dean of St John's Cathedral, as the bishop of Hong Kong Island and by Andrew Chan, Bishop of Western Kowloon, as Archbishop of Hong Kong. He was invited by Archbishop Chan to be Archbishop Emeritus of Hong Kong.

Political views

Paul Kwong has been known for his staunch pro-Beijing stance in Hong Kong. During an interview with the reporters of ''Echo'', official newspaper published by the

Province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

, Kwong stated that a

universal suffrage Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...

would not be "

panacea In Greek mythology and religion, Panacea (Greek ''Πανάκεια'', Panakeia), a goddess of universal remedy, was the daughter of Asclepius and Epione. Mythology Panacea and her four sisters each performed a facet of Apollo's art: * Panac ...

", numerous social issues in Hong Kong would still exist even after its implementation. He also voiced objection to

civil disobedience Civil disobedience is the active and professed refusal of a citizenship, citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders, or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be cal ...

as a means to strive for democracy in Hong Kong and expressed his reservations about the Occupy Central movement in the same interview.

Controversy

Pro-Beijing homily

In a homily he gave to the faithful in St. Paul's Church on 6 July 2014, Paul Kwong ridiculed the 511 protesters who were arrested during a sit-in

protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...

following the annual 1 July rally, suggesting they should "bring along their Filipino maids to the march". He also criticized their lack of

critical thinking Critical thinking is the process of analyzing available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments to make sound conclusions or informed choices. It involves recognizing underlying assumptions, providing justifications for ideas and actions, ...

ability and expressed his perplexity over why some Hong Kong people "have to speak up so much" in that homily. Kwong then quoted several verses in

Book of Isaiah The Book of Isaiah ( ) is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible and the first of the Major Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. It is identified by a superscription as the words of the 8th-century BC prophet Isaiah ben Amo ...

to support his claim that

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

remained silent in the face of

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...

, saying, "Jesus remained silent in the face of Pilate. He was like a lamb awaiting slaughter." He further added, " metimes we don't have to say anything. Silence is better than saying anything." Kwong also condemned some lawmakers for being "irrational and violent" when expressing opinion in meetings of the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

, saying, "I don't think he would act like a few councilors we have now, throwing everything around. I don't think that if Jesus was in the streets today, he would use such humiliating words to scold

government officials An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (either their own or that of the ...

and other people. I don't think that Jesus would express himself with such irrational violence." Kwong later mentioned a church member's opposition to the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

's proposed developments in northeastern New Territories, quoting the church member's assertion that Hong Kong is losing its

autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be ...

. He rebutted the idea, expressing his disbelief that mainlanders would be "given all new flats". Kwong further added, "Hong Kong's autonomy is just partial autonomy, not full autonomy." Kwong's comments soon sparked controversy among

pan-democrats The pro-democracy camp, also known as the pan-democracy camp, is a political alignment in Hong Kong that supports increased democracy, namely the universal suffrage of the Chief Executive and the Legislative Council as given by the Basic La ...

as well as church members. Wu Chi-wai, pastor from

Christian and Missionary Alliance The Alliance World Fellowship (or The Alliance, also C&MA and CMA) is an evangelicalism, evangelical Christian denomination It includes 6.2 million members throughout 88 countries within 22,000 churches. History The Alliance has its origins in ...

, responded that it would be "unfair to use Jesus to fit some personal values and orientation". He also challenged Kwong's claim that Jesus remained silent in contempt of crucifixion.

Emily Lau Emily Lau Wai-hing (; born 21 January 1952) is a politician in Hong Kong who champions press freedom and human rights. A former journalist, she became the first woman directly elected on the Legislative Council of Hong Kong in the 1991 Leg ...

, then-chairwoman of the Democratic Party, criticized him for being too cynical, expressing her disappointment that Kwong "had lashed out at the students". Chan Kin-man, co-organizer of Occupy Central movement, queried Kwong's attitude, saying, " lievers and society expected religious leaders to speak up to manifest the value of their belief."

Bibliography

* * Kwong, Paul (2013). "The Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui." In
The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to the Anglican Communion
', edited by Ian S. Markham, J. Barney Hawkins IV, Justyn Terry et al., 253–62. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell. . *Kwong, Paul and Philip Wickeri (2015). "Sheng Kung Hui: The Contextualization of Anglicanism in Hong Kong." In ''The Oxford Handbook of Anglican Studies'', edited by Sathianathan Clarke Mark Chapman and Martyn Percy, 256–70. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kwong, Paul Living people Anglican archbishops of Hong Kong 1950 births Alumni of Lingnan University (Hong Kong) Alumni of the University of Birmingham Church Divinity School of the Pacific alumni Anglican bishops in Hong Kong Anglican bishops of Hong Kong Island Members of the 13th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference