Diocese of Rangoon

History

The area today known as Myanmar was in 1877 part of the British Indian Empire, and known as Burma. The Anglican see under which it came under was the Diocese of Calcutta. For many years both the American baptist, Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (S.P.G.) and Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (S.P.C.K.) missionaries had been active in Burma. In recognition of this, the Diocese of Winchester created an Endowment Fund for the establishment of a bishopric in Burma. The diocese itself contributed £10,000. The S.P.G., S.P.C.K. and the Colonial Bishoprics' Fund together contributed £10,000 to the creation of the diocese.

In 1877 Jonathan Holt Titcomb, a parish priest in the Winchester diocese, was appointed by Letters Patent the Bishop of Rangoon. At first the diocese encompassed only the southern half of Burma, but was later extended to cover the whole of the country. At its inception in 1877 the diocese came under the authority of the Church of England in India and Ceylon; in 1927 this became autonomous from the mother church and became the Church of India, Burma and Ceylon. Covering the entirety of Burma, the diocese was in effect the Church of Burma.

There were eight Bishops of Rangoon during the official existence of the diocese of Rangoon. The seventh, V.G. Shearburn was forced to resign when all missionaries were compelled to leave in 1966. The seventh, his assistant bishop Frances Ah Mya became the eighth bishop and became the first "National Bishop of Rangoon". In 1970 the Burmese church broke away from the Church of India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon and became the Church of the Province of Burma. The bishopric of Rangoon was elevated to that of archbishopric of Burma.