Episcopal Press and News

BURUNDI: Archbishop Bernard Ntahoturi to serve as primate for five more years

Episcopal News Service. July 1, 2010 [070110-03]

ENS staff

Archbishop Bernard Ntahoturi has been chosen unanimously by his fellow bishops in the Anglican Church of Burundi to serve as primate for a further five years.

The decision was made during the House of Bishops meeting, held in Gitega June 23-24. Ntahoturi's five-year term will commence on July 17.

The Rev. Pedaculi Birakengana, provincial secretary of the Anglican Church of Burundi, described the decision as "a sign of appreciation for [Ntahoturi's] leadership in collegiality with other brother bishops and the whole staff of the province."

Ntahoturi was elected as the third archbishop of the Anglican Church of Burundi in June 2005.

Ntahoturi was ordained in 1973 and received his theological training at Ridley Hall and St. John's College, Cambridge, in the United Kingdom. He had a career in education and civil service before serving as provincial secretary of the Anglican Church of Burundi for five years. He was elected bishop of Matana in 1997.

Ntahoturi is currently a member of the central committee of the World Council of Churches and chair of the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission for Unity, Faith, and Order.

The Anglican Church of Burundi includes more than 625,000 Anglicans throughout six dioceses. An Anglican presence was established through the work of the Church Mission Society in the 1930s and grew rapidly as a result of the East African Revival. The church became an autonomous province in 1992.