Daniel Deng Bul to step down in November

The Primate of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan and the Sudan has announced he will step down from office in November 2017. The Most Rev. Daniel Deng Bul was enthroned as the fourth archbishop and primate of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan on 20 April 2008 and has steered the church through civil war, famine and conflict between the new republic of South Sudan and the Sudanese government in Khartoum. The church has also expanded rapidly during his tenure and now is divided into five internal provinces in South Sudan and one province in the Sudan, each headed by an archbishop. On a visit to Yei this week, Archbishop Deng said he would reach mandatory retirement age in November and would retire. Speaking to Radio Tamazuj, Archbishop Deng said: “I became an archbishop in 2008, and it is time for me to retire and leave the site for a new young archbishop and primate for the Anglican Church.” He added the church “elect the new archbishop in November this year. However, it is important to let you know as Christians to pray for the next new archbishop … I feel it is important to notify you about that we need to see that the Anglican Church is well governed, and we have to see into it that it is governed by the right people.”