Former Anglican Bishop of Colombo Kenneth Fernando passed away

On Sunday, 7th September, Bishop Kenneth’s body will be received into the Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour at 10.30 a.m. and an opportunity for people to pay their respects in the Unity Chapel.

On Monday, the 8th of September (Feast of Mary, the Mother of our Lord), a Requiem will be held at 2.30 p.m. in the Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour and cremation will follow at the General Cemetery Borella soon after.

Meanwhile, the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) General Secretary, Dr Mathews George Chunakara, expressed deep condolences on the passing of Bishop Kenneth M. Fernando, former CCA President and elder statesman of the Church of Ceylon. He was 93 years old.

Born on 25 July 1932 in Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, Bishop Kenneth M. Fernando served as the Secretary of the Diocese of Colombo before being elected as the Bishop of Colombo, a position he held from 1992 to 2001. He served as the President of the CCA from 1995 to 2000.

Bishop Fernando was widely respected for his unwavering commitment to reconciliation during Sri Lanka’s decades-long civil war. He courageously championed peacebuilding initiatives and sought to bridge divides between warring ethnic and religious communities.

His outspoken advocacy for peace, however, also came at great personal risk. At the height of the conflict, his residence was bombed by those unhappy with his efforts to foster reconciliation. Undeterred, he continued to work tirelessly to build trust, foster interfaith harmony, and strengthen collaboration among religions in Sri Lanka and across Asia.

Recollecting his close association and work with Bishop Kenneth Fernando in the 1990s, when Bishop Kenneth was President of CCA, Dr Mathews George Chunakara said, “Bishop Kenneth M. Fernando was an exceptional church leader, who was deeply committed to nurturing wider ecumenism and strengthening interfaith dialogue and cooperation.”

The CCA General Secretary further added, “Bishop Kenneth’s leadership within the Church of Ceylon and the ecumenical movement in Asia will be remembered with gratitude, and his legacy will continue to inspire generations of Christian leaders.”

Bishop Kenneth Fernando also served as the Director of the Ecumenical Institute for Study and Dialogue (EISD) from 1982 to 1992.

In December 2022, the Christian Conference of Asia felicitated and honoured Bishop Kenneth M. Fernando during a CCA programme held in Colombo, recognising his significant contributions to the Asian ecumenical movement and his decades of faithful service and visionary leadership.