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Archbishop of Canterbury to appoint Church of Ceylon bishop as election ends inconclusively
The election of a new Bishop of Colombo by the Church of Ceylon has been referred to the Archbishop of Canterbury the Most Rev. Justin Welby after the election held here ended without a clear decision.
“Since we were unable to come to a conclusion with the election we have referred the matter to His Grace, so the new Bishop will be an appointed Bishop instead of an elected one,” said Rtd. Rev. Dhiloraj Canagasabey, the outgoing Bishop of Colombo.
The failed election of the new Bishop of Colombo on August 15, 2020 became a topic of much controversy last week. Three candidates were in the running for the position — the Rev. Dushyantha Rodrigo (Headmaster of St. Thomas’ Prep School), the Very Rev. Perry Brohier (Archdeacon of Colombo) and the Rev. Marc Billimoria (Warden of St. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia).
The Church of Ceylon has two diocese: Colombo and Kurunegala. Each is headed by a Bishop and both report to the Archbishop of Canterbury.
According to the election process, the House of Clergy and the House of Laity each have to give the winner two-thirds of the vote. Any candidate getting less than twenty percent of the vote is eliminated and a new round of voting is done between the remaining candidates. A sixty percent win is required from each house for a candidate to win.
On the first round of voting, the Rev. Marc Billimoria was unable to garner more than twenty percent of the vote and was eliminated. The second round of voting to decide between the remaining Rev. Dushyantha Rodrigo and the Very Rev. Perry Brohier began close to midnight. The clergy and lay representative had begun proceedings at 7 am that day with Morning Prayer and mass.
The Rev. Dushyantha Rodrigo received 54.46 percent of the Clergy vote and 67.36 percent of the Laity vote with a total vote of 63.28 percent.
The Very Rev. Perry Brohier received 45.54 percent of the Clergy vote and 32.64 percent of the Laity vote with a total vote of 36.72 percent.
Since neither candidate was able to gain more than sixty percent of the votes from both the Clergy and the Laity, the final decision had to be referred to the Archbishop of Canterbury. Sources confirmed that it was a common procedure where voting for a new Bishop was concerned.
The two candidates both refused to comment on the matter and referred the Sunday Times to the Secretary for the Diocese of Colombo, Arun Gamlatge. Mr. Gamlatge was not contactable at the time of going to press.