The Argus/1916/Bishop of Mombasa is Dead

Bishop of Mombasa is Dead. The death is announced of Dr. William Peel, Anglican Bishop of Mombasa since 1899. He was in his 82nd year. Dr. Peel was one of the leading figures in the Kikuyu controversy in 1913-14. A conference of missionary societies at work in British East Africa, (including Anglicans, Methodists, and Presbyterians) was held at Kikuyu in June, 1913 Among those who attended it were two Anglican bishops, Dr. Peel of Mombasa and Dr. Willis of Uganda. The conference was called under a deep sense of the need of presenting a united front to heathenism and Mohammedanism, and proposals were adopted with the object of reaching an ultimate union of native Christians into one native church. At the close of the conference a united communion service was held in the Scots Church. The bishops presided over it, and the order of the Anglican Prayer Book was followed. Both the proposals put forward at the conference and the action of the bishops in communicating Non-conformists were strongly opposed by the Bishop of Zanzibar (Dr. Weston) The case was laid before the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishops of Mombasa and Uganda were virtually charged with schism. A lengthy newspaper correspondence ensued and a number of pamphlets were issued on both, sides. The incident was referred by the Primate to a consultative committee representative of the church it home and abroad. After receiving the advice of this committee, the Primate decided that irregular communion services such as the celebration at Kikuyu, should be abstained from at present as they were liable to misunderstanding He had previously refused to accept a charge of heresy and schism against Bishop Peel and Bishop Willis.