Celebrating AAPI Representation in the Church – St. Mark's Episcopal Church

May is Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and St. Mark’s observed it by raising the AAPI flag on the first Sunday of the month. Also, the slides for our online worship featured just a few of the men and women who represent the region across our wider church.

The Rev. Huang Guangca (1827-1886)  – First Chinese National Ordained in the Episcopal Church

The Rev. Wu-Hongyu (1834 — 1919) – priest & missionary (American Episcopal Church in China)

The Rev. Fran Toy (1934-2024) –  First Asian-American female Priest in the Episcopal Church (1985)

The Rev. Dr. Winston Wyman Ching (d. 2012) – Founder of Episcopal Asiamerican Ministry (1973)

The Rt. Rev. Allen K. Shin (Korean-American)  Bishop Suffragan, Diocese of New York

The Rev. Dr. Kyung-Ja “KJ” Oh  – First Korean -American Female Priest

The Rt. Rev. Joseph “Jos” Tharakan (Malayali-American) - Bishop of Idaho, author & poet

The Rev. Dr. Jo Ann Jaén Lagman (Filipino-American)  – Asiamerica Missioner for the Episcopal Church

The Rt. Rev. Diana Akiyama  – First Japanese-American Female Priest,  Current Bishop of Western Oregon

The Rt. Rev. Waitohiariki Quayle, Bishop of Te Upoko o Te Ika  – First Māori woman consecrated as Bishop (Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia)

The Rev. Winnie Varghese (Malayali-American) Priest, Author, Dean-Elect of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine (Episcopal Diocese of New York)

“Asia” takes in a huge swath of territory ranging from Israel and Palestine on the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea to Australia and New Zealand in the deep southern Pacific. Over our history we have counted Armenia, China, Japan, Korea, Lebanon, and the Philippines among the many places that make up our collective ethnic roots.

The Anglican Communion–of which the Episcopal Church is part–has representation in a number of places across this region, particularly–but not exclusively–in places that were once outposts of the British Empire. With a few representations of other denominations mixed in, here is also a sampling of the church across the east.

Santhome Cathedral Basilica (Roman Catholic), Channai, Tamil Nadu, India

“St. Mary of the Snows” –  Japanese (~1600)

St. Andrew’s Anglican (Nippon Sei Ko Kai) Church  - Kyyosato, Yamanashi, Japan

Namban-style votive altar (Japan ~1600)  – Guimet museum, Paris

Chinese Martyrs of the Boxer Rebellion (1900)  - icon 1990 Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA

Palm Sunday procession (~600-700) –  Nestorian church in Qocho, China

St. John’s Anglican Cathedral, Hong Kong

Marth Mariam Syrio-Catholic Church (999 AD)  – Kerala, India

Depiction of Christ with children, Japan (origin unknown)

The “Cardboard Cathedral” Christchurch, New Zealand, was constructed after a series of earthquakes destroyed the traditional structure after which the city is named.(Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia)

Christian Mass in a “Nanban” (missionary structure) Japan (~1600)

Cross of St. Thomas (9th Century  – Kerala, India

St. George’s Cathedral, Jerusalem (Episcopal Church of Jerusalem and the Middle East)

St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral, Channai, Tamil Nadu, India

All Saints Episcopal Church, Kapa’a Kuai’i, Hawai’i

Māori depiction of Jesus – convent at Jerusalem, Whanganui National Park, New Zealand

Where is the Anglican Church in Asia?

The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia (New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Cook Islands)
The Anglican Church of Australia
The Anglican Church of Bangladesh
The Anglican Church of Korea
The Church of Pakistan
The Church of Papua New Guinea
The Church of the Province of Melanesia (Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, and New Caledonia)
The Church of the Province of Myanmar (Burma)
The Church of the Province of South East Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore)
The Episcopal Church (Guam, Hawai’i)
The Episcopal Church of the Philippines
The Episcopal Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East (Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria)
Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui (China)
Nippon Sei Ko Kai (Japan)
The Church of North India*
The Church of South India*

NOTE: The churches in India united with other Protestant denominations, but remain affiliated with the Anglican Communion.

PHOTO CREDITS:
Sourced from Flickr and used under Creative Commons license unless otherwise noted

- “Bishop Azariah” – Stevemacias CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
- “Bishop Quayle” – © Anglican Communion News Service
- BK한국전쟁삐라_402_7229_뒤 – 주식회사유앤피플, CC BY 1.0 via Wikimedia Commons
- “Cardboard,_wood_and_glass” – By Jocelyn Kinghorn CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
- “Allen Shin”, “Diana Akiyama”, “Fran Toy”, “Kyung Ja Oh” “Winnie Varghese” – © Episcopal News Service
- “Episcopal Church Kapaa Kauai” – David Stephensen (quarrion)
- “Huang_Guangcai” – BDConline
- “Japanese Votive Altar” – World Imaging CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
- “JoAnn Lagman” – Episcopal Church
- “Jos Tharakan” – Episcopal Diocese of Idaho
- “Māori Jesus” – Robert Thomson (14degrees)
- “Nasrani_cross” – Jogytmathew CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikipedia commons
- “St._Andrew’s_Church, Kiyosato – – Aw1805 CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
- “St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral, Puthencavu” – Alicejohnson1234 CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
- “St. John’s Cathedral, Hong Kong” – Anthony Ivanoff (public domain)