Diocese of Cape Town Dioecesis Civitatis Capitis Bisdom van Kaapstad IDayosisi yaseKapa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Ecclesiastical province | Southern Africa |
| Archdeaconries | Cathedral, Athlone, Constantia, Groote Schuur, Ibongoletu, Rondebosch, Waterfront |
| Coordinates | 33°55′30″S18°25′10″E / 33.92500°S 18.41944°E /-33.92500; 18.41944 |
| Statistics | |
| Parishes | 47 |
| Information | |
| Rite | Anglican |
| Established | 1847 |
| Cathedral | St. George's Cathedral |
| Current leadership | |
| Archbishop | Thabo Makgoba,Archbishop of Cape Town |
| Suffragan | Joshua Louw,Bishop of Table Bay |
| Website | |
| www | |
TheDiocese of Cape Town is adiocese of theAnglican Church of Southern Africa (ACSA) which presently covers centralCape Town, some of its suburbs and the island ofTristan da Cunha, though in the past it has covered a much larger territory. TheOrdinary of the diocese is Archbishop of Cape Town andex officioPrimate andMetropolitan of the ACSA. His seat isSt. George's Cathedral in Cape Town.[1]
Desmond Tutu was archbishop from 1986 to 1996 and was archbishop-emeritus until his death in 2021.[2] The current archbishop isThabo Makgoba.[3] Because of the archbishop's responsibilities as primate, many of his diocesan duties are delegated to asuffragan bishop known as theBishop of Table Bay, an office currently held by Joshua Louw.[4] (This is similar to theBishop of Dover in theChurch of EnglandDiocese of Canterbury, who has held such a role since 1980.)
The diocese came into being in 1847 with the consecration of the first bishop,Robert Gray, and was the first diocese of what was to become the Church of the Province of Southern Africa and subsequently the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. The original territory of the diocese, which had previously fallen under theDiocese of Calcutta, included the whole of Southern Africa.
In 1853, the territory was reduced by the creation of theDiocese of Grahamstown in the eastern parts of theCape Colony and theDiocese of Natal in theColony of Natal. In 1859, theDiocese of St Helena was created forSaint Helena andAscension Island. In 1863, theDiocese of Bloemfontein was created, taking over all the territory north of theOrange River and theDrakensberg mountains. In 1866, J. Harries Thomas was archdeacon of Cape Town and H. Badnall, archdeacon of George; and N. J. Merriman, archdeacon of Bloemfontein (by then separated) was still a canon of Cape Town cathedral.[5] The territory of the Cape Town diocese was further reduced in 1911 by the creation of the dioceses ofGeorge andKimberley and Kuruman. Finally, in 2005 the diocese was divided into three, with the part to north of the city of Cape Town becoming theDiocese of Saldanha Bay and the part to the east of the city becoming theDiocese of False Bay.
| Bishops of Cape Town | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| From | Until | Incumbent | Notes |
| 1847 | 1873 | Robert Gray | In 1853 resigned his overlarge diocese and received freshletters patent for a new, smaller diocese. |
| 1874 | 1897 | William West Jones | BecameArchbishop of Cape Town. |
| Archbishops of Cape Town | |||
| 1897 | 1908 | William West Jones | Died in office. |
| 1909 | 1930 | William Carter | Previously Bishop ofZululand and then ofPretoria. |
| 1931 | 1938 | Francis Phelps | Translated fromGrahamstown; died in office. |
| 1938 | 1948 | Russell Darbyshire | Translated fromGlasgow and Galloway; died in office. |
| 1948 | 1957 | Geoffrey Clayton | Translated fromJohannesburg; died in office. |
| 1957 | 1963 | Joost de Blank | Translated fromStepney. |
| 1964 | 1974 | Robert Selby Taylor | Previously Bishop ofNorthern Rhodesia, then ofPretoria, then ofGrahamstown; laterBishop of Central Zambia. |
| 1974 | 1981 | Bill Burnett | Previously Bishop ofBloemfontein and then ofGrahamstown. |
| 1981 | 1986 | Philip Russell | Previously Bishop ofPort Elizabeth and then ofNatal. |
| 1986 | 1996 | Desmond Tutu | Previously Bishop ofLesotho and then ofJohannesburg. |
| 1996 | 2007 | Njongonkulu Ndungane | Translated fromKimberley and Kuruman. |
| 2007 | present | Thabo Makgoba | Translated fromGrahamstown. |
From 1931,Sidney Lavis wascoadjutor bishop of the diocese.[6] In 1964,Patrick Barron became an assistant bishop of the diocese.[7]
The Diocese has fourdiocesan schools:
The diocese has borne arms since its inception. The arms, designed by Bishop Gray, combined elements of those of the dioceses ofDurham (where Gray had been Bishop) andBristol (his first chaplaincy, when his father was Bishop of Bristol) and of Baroness Burdett-Coutts, who financed the establishment of the diocese.
In their original form, the arms were :Quarterly Azure and Sable: I and IV, a lion rampant Argent; II and IV, three open crowns palewise Or; on a cross throughout Or an anchor in fess point Sable and in honour point the shield of arms of Baroness Burdett-Coutts; the shield ensigned with a Bishop's mitre proper.
The arms were revised by theCollege of Arms and granted in 1952. The revision consisted of replacing the Burdett-Coutts shield witha stag's head erased Gules, between the attires a pheon Azure. These arms were registered at theBureau of Heraldry in 1968.[8]
33°55′30″S18°25′10″E / 33.92500°S 18.41944°E /-33.92500; 18.41944
| Dioceses | |
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| Related | |
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