Emmanuel, God with us, who didst make thy home in every culture and community on earth: We offer thanks for the raising up of thy servant Samuel Azariah as the first indigenous bishop in India. Grant that we may be strengthened by his witness to thy love without concern for class or caste, and by his labors for the unity of the Church in India, that people of many languages and cultures might with one voice give thee glory, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.
It’s marvelous that the new feast days of +Samuel Crowther and +Samuel Azariah fall back to back on Dec. 31st and Jan. 1st respectively. Bishop Crowther was the first indigenous Anglican bishop in Africa (Nigeria), and Bishop Azariah was the first indigenous Anglican bishop in Asia (India). Both were outstanding leaders, who amply demonstrated that you didn’t have to be an Anglo to be a great Anglican bishop. They paved the way for the many indigenous leaders who have since then risen to the episcopate in former British colonies around the world.
Bishop Azariah came along a couple generations later than Crowther. The Nigerian bishop was consecrated in 1864 and died in 1891. +Azariah was consecrated in 1912 and died on Jan. 1st, 1945, not long before India finally achieved independence.
Thank God for the faithful life and witness of both men.
David Handy+