Episcopal Press and News
New Bishop of Honduras Consecrated
Episcopal News Service. June 15, 1978 [78172]
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras -- The Rev. Hugo Louis Pina, vicar of the Church of St. Andrew, was consecrated here June 11 as the first bishop of the Missionary Diocese of Honduras.
The Rt. Rev. John M. Allin, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, was the chief consecrator. He was assisted by the Rt. Rev. Lemuel B. Shirley, Bishop of Panama and the Canal Zone and President of the Ninth Province, the Rt. Rev. Anselmo Carral, Bishop of Guatemala and until now Bishop in Charge of Honduras, and the Rt. Rev. William H. Folwell, Bishop of Central Florida, whose diocese has a companion relationship with Honduras.
The ceremony took place in the Chapel of the Sacred Heart of the Honduran Air Force.
In his sermon Bishop Carral reminded the congregation of the years of struggle in search for a resident bishop. He quoted the words of the Lord to Moses before the crossing of the Red Sea: "Speak to the children of Israel, that they go forward." He said that the Episcopalians in Honduras have a great mission to accomplish and challenged them to greater commitment to Christ and his Church.
During the service the new bishop was presented with a golden pectoral cross, the gift of Cuban Episcopalians now living around the world.
The Rt. Rev. James L. Duncan, Bishop of Southeast Florida, led a delegation that brought a monetary gift from the Cursillo Movement in his diocese. A similar gift was presented by Bishop Folwell on behalf of the people of Central Florida.
Bishop Allin read a cable of congratulations sent to Bishop Pina from Mr. Gerald Ford, former President of the United States.
Bishop Pina was born in 1938 in Camaguey, Cuba, studied theology at Union Seminary, Matanzas Cuba, and was ordained deacon and priest in 1964. He served parishes in Santa Clara and Havana until 1967 when he arrived in the United States.
Bishop Pina was elected at a special convention held on December 3, 1977 at San Pedro Sula, the second city of Honduras. He went to Honduras as a missionary in 1975.
The Episcopal Church in Honduras began last century when Anglican immigrants from the West Indies settled in the Atlantic coast of the country. For many years they were under the jurisdiction of the Anglican Bishop of British Honduras (now Belize) until 1957 when the work was transferred to the Episcopal Church in the United States.
In 1967 the present diocese was organized and placed under the Bishop of Guatemala. Between 1957 and 1967 the country formed part of the then called Missionary District of Central America.
At the present time there are seven organized missions: three among the descendents of the Anglicans who migrated from the West Indies, two among Honduran Indians, one serving foreigners and other Hondurans in Tegucigalpa and one in a very poor section of the capital. The diocese operates two schools and a medical clinic which serves a total of 2, 000 people in 12 isolated communities. The 1,400 Episcopalians are served by five priests.
Honduras is considered the second poorest country in Latin America after Bolivia.