Rt. Rev. James Chapman
1845 to 1861The first Bishop. Consecrated at Lambeth Palace on 4 May 1845 and installed at St Peter's Church, Fort, which served as the pro-cathedral. He found a scattering of colonial chaplaincies and set about turning them into a diocese: he established chaplaincies for the plantation workers at Nuwara Eliya, held the first ordinations conducted in Ceylon, and in 1849 laid the foundation stone of the College of Saint Thomas the Apostle at Mutwal. Christ Church, Mutwal, was consecrated in 1854. He worked himself into ill health and resigned in 1860. His own view was that enduring works are often of humble beginnings.
Rt. Rev. Piers Claughton
1862 to 1871Piers Calverley Claughton was appointed the first Bishop of St Helena in 1859. In 1862, three years later, he was translated to Ceylon as Bishop of Colombo, and he held the see until 1871. On his return to England he was appointed Archdeacon of London, a post he held from 1871 to 1884.
Rt. Rev. Hugh Jermyn
1862 to 1871Rt. Rev. Hugh Willoughby Jermyn was consecrated in 1871, according to one source, and resigned the see in 1875. He was elected Bishop of Brechin in Scotland the same year and served there until 1903. He also served as Primus of Scotland from 1886 to 1901, and he died in 1903.
Rt. Rev. Reginald Stephen Copleston
1875 to 1902Bishop Dushantha was appointed by the Metropolitan and was ordained and installed at the Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour on 28 October 2020, the Feast of Saints Simon and Jude.
The country was under pandemic restrictions. The Cathedral held a fraction of the congregation it would normally have held for such a service, and the rest of the Diocese watched it live streamed and broadcast nationally on Rupavahini. Young people were given a visible part in the liturgy, which was a deliberate decision and was noticed.
The country was under pandemic restrictions. The Cathedral held a fraction of the congregation it would normally have held for such a service, and the rest of the Diocese watched it live streamed and broadcast nationally on Rupavahini. Young people were given a visible part in the liturgy, which was a deliberate decision and was noticed.
Rt. Rev. Ernest Arthur Copleston
1903 to 1923Brother of his predecessor. Continued the expansion of the Diocese's institutional life through the early decades of the twentieth century.
Rt. Rev. Mark Carpenter-Garnier
1924 to 1938Born on 1 January 1881 in Wickham, Hampshire. He was a curate at All Saints’, Margaret Street, from 1908 to 1920, then Librarian of Pusey House, Oxford, before coming to Colombo. In 1930 the Diocese joined the new Province of India, Burma and Ceylon as the Church of Ceylon. After Colombo he was Principal of St Boniface Missionary College, Warminster, and a Canon of Salisbury. He died in 1969.
Rt. Rev. Cecil Douglas Horsley
1938 to 1947In 1944 he selected Lakdasa de Mel as his Assistant Bishop, the first Ceylonese person to be an Anglican bishop anywhere. The centenary of the Diocese was kept in 1945 with the Metropolitan and bishops of the Province present.
Rt. Rev. Rollo Graham Campbell
1938 to 1947In 1944 he selected Lakdasa de Mel as his Assistant Bishop, the first Ceylonese person to be an Anglican bishop anywhere. The centenary of the Diocese was kept in 1945 with the Metropolitan and bishops of the Province present.
Rt. Rev. Harold de Soysa
1964 to 1971The first Ceylonese Bishop of Colombo. Laid the foundation stone of the present Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour on 28 October 1968.
Rt. Rev. Cyril Abeynaike
1971 to 1977The first Bishop to be installed in the new Cathedral following its consecration in November 1973.
Rt. Rev. Swithin Fernando
1978 to 1987Educated at Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa. Ordained deacon in December 1942 and priest in 1944. Made Archdeacon of Colombo in 1971 and consecrated Bishop in January 1978. He had served as incumbent of All Saints’ Church, Galle, and St Luke’s Church, Borella. Ecumenical in outlook, he was a guiding spirit of the Church Union Movement of the 1960s and 70s and built friendships with leaders of other religions. He died in December 2009.
Rt. Rev. Jabez Gnanapragasam
1987 to 1992The first Bishop of Colombo from the Tamil community, elected at the height of the civil conflict. His election was understood at the time, and is still understood, as a deliberate statement by the Diocese about where it stood.
Rt. Rev. Kenneth Fernando
1992 to 2001The 13th Bishop. Born on 25 July 1932; he was Vicar of Maharagama before ordination. Born in Moratuwa, educated at Prince of Wales’ College, Royal College and Oxford, and Secretary of the Diocese before his election. He was consecrated in December 1992 and spoke for justice and peace in turbulent times. He was Director of the Ecumenical Institute (EISD), and his major achievement was the incorporation of the Church of Ceylon by Act of Parliament in 1998. He died on 3 September 2025, aged 93.
Rt. Rev. Duleep Kamil de Chickera
2001 to 2010Born in 1948. Educated at Royal College, where he played 1st XV rugby, then trained at the Theological College of Lanka and earned an M.Sc. from Keble College, Oxford. A prominent public voice during the war years. His sermon at the 2009 Lambeth Conference received worldwide media attention. He remains active in the Diocese and teaches the Cathedral Institute’s lay education course on contemporary Christianity.
Rt. Rev. Dhiloraj Ranjit Canagasabey
2011-2020Ordained to the episcopate in 2001. A prominent public voice during the war years. He remains active in the Diocese and teaches the Cathedral Institute's lay education course on contemporary Christianity.