 Rev. Amos Manga There was African dancing and energetic chanting in Oulu Cathedral last Sunday (10th June) as part of the ordination of a priest for the ‘Sudanese Community of Finland.’ The lively ceremony was reported in many of Finland’s newspapers and made the front page of The Kaleva. Rev. Amos Manga, who moved to Oulu from Sudan three years ago, was ordained an Anglican priest in Oulu Cathedral in a unique ceremony hosted by both the Church of England and the Lutheran Church of Finland. It was presided over by David Hamid, the Church of England Bishop of Gibraltar and Europe and also the Bishop of Oulu, Dr. Samuel Salmi. The Anglican Diocese of Europe was set up in 1996 to cater for the increasing numbers of Anglicans living in continental Europe but there are also Anglican minorities in many of the UK’s former colonies, including Sudan.
The Cathedral was packed for the event with many Oulu Sudanese, some of them dressed in striking national costumes, as well as many others from Oulu’s international community. There were also journalists from various newspapers and coach loads of Sudanese refugees who had come from such towns as Kokkola and Kotka to witness the event.
The ordination began with a procession up the aisle of the Cathedral which consisted of Mr Manga, the Bishops of Oulu and Europe, the Anglican Archdeacon of the Baltic States, the Bishop of Oulu’s ‘Theological Secretary’, the Anglican Chaplain from Helsinki and various Oulu Priests who are involved in international work. Foreshadowing what was to come; the procession was headed by young Sudanese girls performing a traditional dance and accompanied by Sudanese chanting and drumming.
Imprisoned for Preaching
The ordination involved speeches and readings from representatives of both the Anglican and Lutheran Churches, which are connected due to ‘The Porvoo Agreement’ which means that they recognise each other’s ministers and rituals.
The sermon was preached by the Bishop of Europe who remarked that ‘when I interviewed Amos I had to ask him whether he’d ever been in prison. He said “Yes.” I asked him what for and he said, “For preaching the word of the Lord.”’ The Bishop’s speech was translated line by line into Arabic by a Sudanese interpreter on the opposite side of the stage where all of the various priests were seated.
Mr Manga – who is 41 and married with four children - came to Oulu as an asylum seeker, having apparently been tortured in his native Sudan. He was ordained an Anglican Deacon – an assistant priest – in 2006 he is now a full priest or ‘Curate’.
Drumming and Chanting
When the speeches were over there came the ordination itself, in which those present were asked, in English, if they wanted him to be ordained and priest. Then Mr Manga went down on his knees and the priests laid their hands on him, gathered in a circle. Then finally, all of the priests kneeled, facing the front of the front of the church, and Mr Manga lay face down on the floor while organ music was played.
At the end of the ordination, an orange garland was placed around Mr Manga’s neck and there was ululating and a traditional hymn mixed with Sudanese drumming and chanting. The clergy left the Cathedral, again led by dancing Sudanese girls.
‘It’s one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen in Oulu Cathedral’ said one Finnish observer. ‘Incredible isn’t it?!’ remarked another. Mr Manga himself summed the day up as ‘Fantastic!’ After the ordination, there was coffee, speeches and further dancing at a specially organised party for Mr Manga. Mr Manga is still involved in the International Congregation, which meets in the Cathedral, but is also responsible for Sudanese throughout the country.
National Publicity
The ordination has gained considerable publicity in Finland. Helsigin Sanomat called the event ‘historic’ because there had never been a joint Anglican-Lutheran ordination in Finland before. It was also reported in the Turun Sanomat (Turku’s main newspaper) and the YLE News website and it made the local radio in the Kokkola region where there are a large number of Sudanese. It was a feature piece in The Kaleva as well as being on the front page. The Lutheran Church in influential in Finland, with most Finns being confirmed members. The ordination was also reported in Finland’s various Lutheran newspapers – such as Kotimaa and Kyrkpressen - and was even reported in Estonian Lutheran newspaper Meie Kirik.
Sudanese in Finland
Finland began accepting refugees from Sudan in the wake of the Second Civil War. Between 2003 and 2005, about 700 Sudanese – from the Christian Southern Sudan – were granted asylum in the country via Red Cross, UN-backed refugee camps. Since then, there have been further crises in Sudan, which has a population of 35 million, and further intakes of refugees. Many of the Sudanese have been settled in Kokkola, further south, and Oulu.
Conflict in Sudan
Sudan was granted independence from British-backed Egyptian rule in 1956 and was already in a state of Civil War between the Muslim-Arab north and black-Christian south at the time. The war ended in 1972 but started again in 1983, ending in 2003. The second war cost 1.5 millions lives, according to the BBC. The south claimed to be battling ‘oppression’ and ‘marginalisation,’ rejecting the government’s attempts to impose ‘Islam’ and ‘Sharia Law’ on the entire country. Pro-Government militias have been accused of carrying out ‘ethnic cleansing’ on Christians in the south, claims the BBC.
As the government and rebels came close to peace, inter-tribal fighting broke out in the Muslim region of Darfur in 2003. This has led to a further 200,000 to 400,000 deaths and 2 million more refugees. As of December 2005, Sudan is also at war with neighbouring Chad which accuses Sudan aiding its own rebel groups.
The Sudanese government has promised a referendum on independence for the south, where most of Finland’s Sudanese refugees come from, in the next six years.
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