Paul Arnott
In an intense Buddhist country like Myanmar, struggling towards democracy after 60 years of military rule, the story of a Christian leader in a very minority situation is worth telling.

Anglican Archbishop Stephen Than Myint Oo had a vision two years ago which catapulted him into directly supporting democracy, and wanting to tell his story. The story is told in a book published in Melbourne, and to be launched June 23 at 5.30pm at Bishopscourt, 120 Clarendon St., East Melbourne, home of the Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne, Dr Philip Freier. It is entitled Dancing with Angels: the life story of Stephen Than, Archbishop of Myanmar. Acorn Press Melbourne is Publisher.

The life story of Anglican Archbishop Stephen Than Myint Oo, is full of unexpected events, as the back cover of the book illustrates:
Stephen Than Myint Oo has been to jail, suffered torture, released without conviction. The shadow of his jail record followed him for years, even while studying theology. But his faith and a slowly emerging commitment to democracy and civil society were ignited by an experience of angels, which reinforced a mission plan he had as Archbishop of Myanmar for a tiny Anglican minority within a Buddhist country to take their place in the nation.

Archbishop Stephen Than and his wife Nan will be present on June 23 for the launch. He will be spending two weeks in Melbourne, and is available for interview onJune 24 at 10am.
Author is the book is the Venerable Alan Nichols, a former Archdeacon of Melbourne, and former refugee worker in Asia. He has had a long involvement in refugees from Burma/Myanmar, from a first visit in 1988, to identifying projects in refugee camps for Anglican Overseas Aid, to a human rights documentation training course in 2006, and a most recent visit to refugee camps in 2014.

He has visited inside Burma four times, including in February 2013 travelling with Archbishop Philip Freier, and meeting with the Australian Ambassador, the Anglican Archbishop Stephen Than and visiting projects in Yangon, Toungoo and Hpa’an. Hehas written 15 books and a number of monographs. Among the books are David Penman (1991), Refugee Dilemmas: Reviewing the Comprehensive Plan of Action for Vietnamese Refugees, with Paul White (1993), Reluctant Conscience (1984), Rescued by Angels: The story of miracles during the Rwandan genocide (2001, 2003, 2006), and Escape from West Papua (2007). He was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2006 for dialogue on public policy between Church and State, and for services to refugees.
*
The June 23 launch at Bishopscourt, 120 Clarendon St., East Melbourne, from 5.30pm to 7.30pm …