Agnes Abuom

Agnes Regina Murei Abuom (1949 – 31 May 2023) was a Kenyan Christian organisational worker who served as moderator of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) since 2013. She was the first woman and the first African to hold this post. She represented the Anglican Church of Kenya. She went to high school near Nairobi and then undertook studies at University of Nairobi.

Career Abuom became involved with the World Council of Churches when the WCC's assembly was held in Nairobi in 1975. She also was involved in student organizations and politics – the latter causing controversies that led her to leave Kenya for Sweden in 1976. She learned Swedish and earned a degree in education. After two years as a youth worker for WCC in Geneva, she returned to Sweden and earned a doctorate in missiology with the thesis "The Role of Non-Governmental Organizations in Development". She later worked with refugee issues for WCC in Sudan and worked two years in Zimbabwe as a tutor. African Council of Religious Leaders (ACRL) / Religions for Peace, and National Council of Churches of Kenya. She was involved in ecumenical work and peace-building efforts in the Horn of Africa and other places.

Moderator of WCC In November 2013, Abuom was unanimously elected moderator of the WCC Central Committee at the organization's assembly in Busan, South Korea. She was the first woman and the first African to hold that position.

Personal life and death Abuom had two daughters; her husband died in July 2014.

Honours In 2017, she was awarded the Lambeth Cross for Ecumenism by the Archbishop of Canterbury "for her exceptional contribution to the Ecumenical Movement, for her work with the World Council of Churches and currently its Moderator". In 2019, Abuom received the National Council of Churches' s President’s Award for Excellence in Faithful Leadership. The award announcement stated that she was being recognized for "exceptional, risk-taking leadership." She also received an honorary doctorate from VID Specialized University in Norway.