Anglican Diocese of Mthatha
Encyclopedia
The Anglican Diocese of Mthatha is the new name for a diocese which contains much (but not all) of the old St John’s area
.
It came into existence in 2006 and currently has 69 parishes. The current Bishop Sitembele Tobela Mzamane
believes another new diocese
will be created in the south of his current area around the town of Ngcobo
.
, and Anglican Diocese of Natal
in the north-east under Bishop John William Colenso
were founded, they each included part of an area which in 1872 became the diocese of St John’s.
Bishop Callaway was consecrated in Edinburgh in 1873 as the first bishop of the diocese. In Bishop Callaway's new diocese, apart from the mission station he started at Clydesdale, there were five or six other centres of missionary work. The oldest being St Mark's. The first part of Callaway's work was spent trying to find the best way to organise the diocese. The chief problem was to link Clydesdale with the St Mark's group in the south. He first attempted to establish the See at Clydesdale, which was too far north, and then at St Andrew's, not far from Lusikisiki, which turned out to be inaccessible except by sea. He finally settled on a place on the Mthatha River. A town sprang up around the bishop's mission station and Pro-cathedral.
The first Pro-Cathedral of the diocese was built of wood and iron and was also the first church in Mthatha
. It could seat a congregation of 250. It was dedicated at the Diocese of St John’s second synod on 24 June 1876..
By the turn of the Twentieth Century a stone-built cathedral had been erected on the top of a hill leading to the administrative and commercial centre of Mthatha. George Fellowes Prynne
was the architect and originally designed an impressive looking cathedral. His plan shows a cruciform church, with a nave 147 feet in length, by 36 feet in width, divided into 7 bays. The chancel is 67 feet long by 30 feet wide. The north and south transepts from chapels accommodating 189 and 146 people respectively. East of the chapels are the vestries and organ chamber, the latter being over the clergy vestry, and speaking into the south chapel and chancel. Only the nave was completed, which is the present cathedral of St John the Evangelist.
Renamed, Diocese of Mthatha
Bishop of St John's
The Bishop of St John’s is the Bishop of the Diocese of St Johns in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, which encompassed the area around King Williams Town and East London and is located in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. In 1991 the Diocese split with a portion of it becoming the...
.
It came into existence in 2006 and currently has 69 parishes. The current Bishop Sitembele Tobela Mzamane
Sitembele Tobela Mzamane
Sitembele Tobela Mzamane is the current Anglican Bishop of Mthatha, and although the first Bishop to bear that title he is the 10th incumbent-the Bishopric previously being known as St John's. A former Dean of the Diocese’s cathedral he is opposed to the blessing of same-sex relationships...
believes another new diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
will be created in the south of his current area around the town of Ngcobo
Ngcobo, Eastern Cape
Ngcobo is a town in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.Ngcobo has the status of a local municipality within the Chris Hani District Municipality of the Eastern Cape.Ngcobo was situated in the former Bantustan of Transkei....
.
History
When the Anglican Diocese of Grahamstown in the south under Bishop John ArmstrongJohn Armstrong (bishop)
John Armstrong was a Church of England clergyman and bishop of Grahamstown.He was educated at a preparatory school in Hanwell before being sent to Charterhouse School. In 1832, he went to Lincoln College, Oxford, graduating in 1836 with a third-class honours degree in Classics. He was ordained in...
, and Anglican Diocese of Natal
Anglican Diocese of Natal
The Anglican Diocese of Natal covers the western part of the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal, west and south of the Tugela and Buffalo rivers. The episcopal leader of the diocese is the Bishop of Natal.-History:...
in the north-east under Bishop John William Colenso
John William Colenso
John William Colenso , first Anglican bishop of Natal, mathematician, theologian, Biblical scholar and social activist.-Biography:Colenso was born at St Austell, Cornwall, on 24 January 1814...
were founded, they each included part of an area which in 1872 became the diocese of St John’s.
Bishop Callaway was consecrated in Edinburgh in 1873 as the first bishop of the diocese. In Bishop Callaway's new diocese, apart from the mission station he started at Clydesdale, there were five or six other centres of missionary work. The oldest being St Mark's. The first part of Callaway's work was spent trying to find the best way to organise the diocese. The chief problem was to link Clydesdale with the St Mark's group in the south. He first attempted to establish the See at Clydesdale, which was too far north, and then at St Andrew's, not far from Lusikisiki, which turned out to be inaccessible except by sea. He finally settled on a place on the Mthatha River. A town sprang up around the bishop's mission station and Pro-cathedral.
The first Pro-Cathedral of the diocese was built of wood and iron and was also the first church in Mthatha
Mthatha
Mthatha is the main town of the King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality in Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The town has an airport, previously known by the name K. D. Matanzima Airport after former leader Kaiser Matanzima....
. It could seat a congregation of 250. It was dedicated at the Diocese of St John’s second synod on 24 June 1876..
By the turn of the Twentieth Century a stone-built cathedral had been erected on the top of a hill leading to the administrative and commercial centre of Mthatha. George Fellowes Prynne
George Fellowes Prynne
George Halford Fellowes Prynne was born on 2 April 1853 at Wyndham Square, Plymouth, Devon. He died on 7 May 1927.He was the designer of many parish churches in England, mostly in the southeast and southwest, and almost always on a grand scale of high-church Gothic revival...
was the architect and originally designed an impressive looking cathedral. His plan shows a cruciform church, with a nave 147 feet in length, by 36 feet in width, divided into 7 bays. The chancel is 67 feet long by 30 feet wide. The north and south transepts from chapels accommodating 189 and 146 people respectively. East of the chapels are the vestries and organ chamber, the latter being over the clergy vestry, and speaking into the south chapel and chancel. Only the nave was completed, which is the present cathedral of St John the Evangelist.
List of Bishops
Former, Diocese of St John's- Henry CallawayHenry CallawayHenry Callaway was a missionary for the Church of England and a bishop of St. John's, Kaffraria, in the Church of the Province of Southern Africa .- Pre-missionary life :Henry Callaway was the son of a bootmaker...
1873-1886 - Bransby Lewis KeyBransby Lewis KeyBransby Lewis Key was the 2nd Bishop of St John's in what was then known as Kaffraria and is now Mthatha, South Africa. Born into a medical family he was educated at Kensington Grammar School and St Augustine's College, Canterbury. Ordained Deacon in 1864 and Priest a year later his first post...
1887 - 1901 - Joseph Watkin WilliamsJoseph Watkin WilliamsJoseph Watkin Williams was the 3rd Bishop of St John's in what was then known as Kaffraria and is now the Anglican Diocese of Mthatha. Educated at Winchester College and New College, Oxford, he was ordained deacon in 1881 and priest two year later...
1901 - 1922 - Edward Harold EtheridgeEdward Harold EtheridgeEdward Harold Etheridge was the 4th Bishop of St John's in what was then known as Kaffraria and is now Mthatha. Educated at Marlborough and Keble College, Oxford he was ordained in 1895. He began his career with curacies at Kensington and Slough before emigrating to begin missionary work in...
1923 - 1943 - Theodore Sumner GibsonTheodore Sumner GibsonTheodore Sumner Gibson was the 2nd Anglican Bishop of Kimberley and Kuruman and subsequently the 5th Bishop of St John's from 1928 until 1951.-Early life:...
1943 - 1951 - Henry St John Tomlinson EvansHenry St John Tomlinson EvansHenry St John Tomlinson Evans was the 5th Bishop of St John's in what was then known as Kaffraria and is now Mthatha. Educated at Merchant Taylor’s and St John’s College, Oxford he was ordained in 1928. From 1931 until 1941 he held posts in what is now Ghana, ending his time there as Archdeacon...
1951 - 1956 - James Leo SchusterJames Leo SchusterJames Leo Schuster was the long serving 6th Bishop of St John's in what was then known as Kaffraria and is now Mthatha. Educated at Lancing College and Keble College, Oxford he was ordained in 1937. Assistant Missioner at Rotherhithe until 1938 he was subsequently Chaplain at St Stephen's House,...
1956 - 1980 - Godfrey William Ernest Candler AshbyGodfrey William Ernest Candler AshbyGodfrey William Ernest Candler Ashby was the 8th Bishop of St John's in what is now known as Mthatha. He was educated at The King's School, Chester and King’s College London. Ordained Deacon in 1955 and Priest a year later, his first post was as a Curate at St Peter, St Helier, Morden. After a...
1980 - 1984 - Jacob Zambuhle Bhekuyise DlaminiJacob Zambuhle Bhekuyise DlaminiJacob Zambuhle Bhekuyise Dlamini was the last Bishop of St John's to hold that title throughout his episcopate. He studied for the priesthood at St Bede’s College Umtata and was ordained deacon in 1961 and priest two years later. He began his career with posts within the Diocese of Zululand...
1985 - 2000 - Sitembele Tobela MzamaneSitembele Tobela MzamaneSitembele Tobela Mzamane is the current Anglican Bishop of Mthatha, and although the first Bishop to bear that title he is the 10th incumbent-the Bishopric previously being known as St John's. A former Dean of the Diocese’s cathedral he is opposed to the blessing of same-sex relationships...
2000 - 2006
Renamed, Diocese of Mthatha
- Sitembele Tobela MzamaneSitembele Tobela MzamaneSitembele Tobela Mzamane is the current Anglican Bishop of Mthatha, and although the first Bishop to bear that title he is the 10th incumbent-the Bishopric previously being known as St John's. A former Dean of the Diocese’s cathedral he is opposed to the blessing of same-sex relationships...
2006–present