Episcopal Press and News
Anglican Bishop and Wife Die in Belize
Episcopal News Service. December 28, 1978 [78366]
BELIZE CITY, -- The Anglican bishop of Belize and his wife were killed in an automobile accident near Belmopan, the capital city, church sources here reported.
The Rev. Eldon Anthony Sylvester and his wife Sonia were killed when their small car crashed into a truck parked on the highway on Tuesday, Dec. 19, at 6 p.m. Also traveling with the Sylvesters was their daughter Beverly, 9, who is in critical condition with broken legs at a local hospital. Their other two children, Lawrence, 17, and Edward, 15, were not with them at the time of the accident.
Bishop Sylvester was ordained priest in 1956 after completing his theological training at Codrington College, Barbados. He served parishes in Belize until 1961 when he was appointed archdeacon. In 1972 he was consecrated bishop of Belize, the first black to occupy that post since the creation of the diocese in 1891.
The bishop was active in many civic and religious affairs and was one of the leading figures in the ecumenical movement in Belize. Mrs. Sylvester was a school teacher.
The Sylvesters were buried Dec. 22, at a local cemetery after a Requiem Mass at the Cathedral of St. John. The Mass was attended by political, civic and religious leaders of Belize.
In New York, the Rt. Rev. John M. Allin, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, sent a cable to the Diocese of Belize expressing his "deep grief" for the loss of the two Christian leaders.
The Diocese of Belize is part of the Church in the Province of the West Indies, the Anglican jurisdiction of the area.