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BOOKS: A HEART FOR THE PEOPLE OF MYANMAR

DAVID ADAMS reads Alan Nichols’ story of Archbishop Stephen Than’s life…

Alan Nichols

Dancing wi-Angels: The Life Story of Stephen Than-Archbishop of Myanmar

Acorn Press-Moreland-Australia-2015

ISBN: 987-0994254436

“Archbishop Than’s heart for the Buddhist people of Myanmar comes across clearly through the book as he looks for ways to engage with them on issues of commonality rather than focusing on issues of difference.

Born into a Christian family in the minority Po Karen tribe Myanmar’s delta region, Stephen Than Myint Oo has faced his fair share of difficulties in following the path God set before him. 

Dancing with Angels tells the story of how, despite the many hardships he has faced – including the torture he faced and two years he spent in prison in the early 1980s after he was unjustly accused of “damaging the state”, he has continued to bring Christ’s message of love and hope to the predominantly Buddhist nation in which he lives as he rose to become first Bishop of Hpa’an and then Archbishop of Myanmar.

Archbishop Than’s heart for the Buddhist people of Myanmar comes across clearly through the book as he looks for ways to engage with them on issues of commonality rather than focusing on issues of difference. It’s a mission that was underlined for him while on a retreat with other bishops to The Philippines in 2013 when two angels – those of the book’s title – appeared to him in a vision which he says showed him it was time for the Anglican Church in Myanmar to “put our heads up” and join civil society.

Author Alan Nichols, himself an Anglican priest with a long connection to Myanmar, provides plenty of context for Archbishop Than’s story, including some useful explanations of Theravada Buddhism (some 87 per cent of the country’s population identify themselves as Buddhist), and the country’s history, including the arrival of the Christian church (and there’s a handy timeline of more recent events at the end). He also looks briefly at some of the challenges faced by minority tribal groups such as the Karen in Myanmar.

The book closes with a chapter gleaning some of the archbishop’s thoughts on a wide range of issues currently before the church in Myanmar including the role of the church following natural disasters like Cyclone Nargis in 2008, gender equity issues and the place of the Church of Myanmar within the international Anglican movement.

Written by someone with an intimate knowledge of the subject, this easy-to-digest book will provide insights to anyone with an interest in Myanmar, not just of the Anglican Church within the country, but of the country as a whole.

Follow this link to buy this book – Dancing with Angels: The Life Story of Stephen Than, Archbishop of Myanmar.

 

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