Kenneth Oram
Encyclopedia
The Right Reverend Kenneth Cyril Oram AKC
(March 3, 1919 – 7 January 2001) was an Anglican clergyman who served as Dean of Kimberley and of Grahamstown before his elevation to the episcopacy as Bishop of Grahamstown
, 1974 to 1987.
where he studied English and became an Associate of King's College
. He was ordained deacon in 1942 and priest, in the Diocese of Canterbury
, in 1943. In the same year he married Kathleen Malcolm.
. Under Bishop John Hunter
he was appointed initially as Rector of St Luke's Church, Prieska, and Director of Prieska Mission District (1949-51), and subsequently as Rector of Mafeking
(St John's), 1952-59. He served as Archdeacon of Bechuanaland from 1953 to 1959.
Cyprian Thorpe, in an obituary, relates that while Oram was no linguist, he nevertheless learned enough Afrikaans
, Setswana
and isiXhosa
to conduct services in those languages in the rural areas and townships where they were spoken. His musicality "undoubtedly helped him to pronounce the languages ... He was a church organist from the age of 15 and even produced Gilbert and Sullivan
operettas amongst his Afrikaans-speaking congregations in the remote towns of the Northern Cape
.
In 1960 he was appointed Dean
of Kimberley at St Cyprian's Cathedral
, where he was intalled on 21 February 1960. This was exactly a month prior to the Sharpeville massacre
, one of the turning points in the history of apartheid oppression under which Oram's South African ministry was exercised. “We shall offer penitence for our failure to be a Christian nation,” read a prayer chain in May 1960, part of the Union Jubilee Festival.
Oram's "love of music, together with a good pastoral touch, made him entirely suitable for a cathedral setting," comments Thorp. (His father had been a choirmaster and an elder brother, Bernard Oram, taught the organ at the Guildhall School of Music. Later Oram was to be a keen member of the Cape Organ Guild). The St Cyprian's Cathedral Choir at this period performed such works as Messiah
(Handel
), Elijah
(Mendelssohn
) and Bach's
Christmas Oratorio
.
One of Oram's curates at this period was Fr John da Costa who afterwards served in District Six and as Dean of Salisbury
, Rhodesia
. Another was Fr Alan Butler
.
as Dean of St. Michael and St. George Cathedral
.
In 1974 he was elected Bishop of Grahamstown
.
in 1987 Oram became Assistant Bishop of Lichfield
, 1987-1997.
He died in Worthing, West Sussex, on 7 January 2001.
Associate of King's College
The Associateship or Associate of King's College award has been the degree-equivalent qualification of King's College London since 1833. It is the original qualification that the College awarded to its students since, not being a university, it could not award a degree.Since 1909, only students...
(March 3, 1919 – 7 January 2001) was an Anglican clergyman who served as Dean of Kimberley and of Grahamstown before his elevation to the episcopacy as Bishop of Grahamstown
Bishop of Grahamstown
The Bishop of Grahamstown is the bishop of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa in the Diocese of Grahamstown, which encompasses the area around Grahamstown, South Africa and is located in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The seat of the Bishop is St. Michael and St. George...
, 1974 to 1987.
Early years
Oram was educated at Selhurst Grammar School and King's College LondonKing's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
where he studied English and became an Associate of King's College
Associate of King's College
The Associateship or Associate of King's College award has been the degree-equivalent qualification of King's College London since 1833. It is the original qualification that the College awarded to its students since, not being a university, it could not award a degree.Since 1909, only students...
. He was ordained deacon in 1942 and priest, in the Diocese of Canterbury
Diocese of Canterbury
The Diocese of Canterbury is a Church of England diocese covering eastern Kent, founded by St. Augustine of Canterbury in 597. It is centred on Canterbury Cathedral, and is the oldest see of the Church of England....
, in 1943. In the same year he married Kathleen Malcolm.
Kimberley and Kuruman
After the war Oram responded to an appeal by the United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel to serve abroad, and thus began his ministry in South Africa. He went out to the Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman - which covered a vast area including, at that time, the southern half of the Bechuanaland ProtectorateBotswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
. Under Bishop John Hunter
John Hunter (bishop)
John Hunter was the 3rd Bishop of Kimberley and Kuruman from 1943 until 1951. He was educated at Keble College, Oxford and ordained in 1922. His first post was as a Curate in Harrow but his next post was in South Africa...
he was appointed initially as Rector of St Luke's Church, Prieska, and Director of Prieska Mission District (1949-51), and subsequently as Rector of Mafeking
Mafikeng
Mahikeng – formerly legally, but still commonly known as Mafikeng – is the capital city of the North-West Province of South Africa. It is best known internationally for the Siege of Mafeking, the most famous engagement of the Second Boer War.Located on South Africa's border with Botswana, it is ...
(St John's), 1952-59. He served as Archdeacon of Bechuanaland from 1953 to 1959.
Cyprian Thorpe, in an obituary, relates that while Oram was no linguist, he nevertheless learned enough Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
, Setswana
Tswana language
Tswana or Setswana is a language spoken in Southern Africa by about 4.5 million people. It is a Bantu language belonging to the Niger–Congo language family within the Sotho languages branch of Zone S , and is closely related to the Northern- and Southern Sotho languages, as well as the Kgalagadi...
and isiXhosa
Xhosa language
Xhosa is one of the official languages of South Africa. Xhosa is spoken by approximately 7.9 million people, or about 18% of the South African population. Like most Bantu languages, Xhosa is a tonal language, that is, the same sequence of consonants and vowels can have different meanings when said...
to conduct services in those languages in the rural areas and townships where they were spoken. His musicality "undoubtedly helped him to pronounce the languages ... He was a church organist from the age of 15 and even produced Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
operettas amongst his Afrikaans-speaking congregations in the remote towns of the Northern Cape
Northern Cape
The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of an international park shared with Botswana...
.
In 1960 he was appointed Dean
Dean (religion)
A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church.-Anglican Communion:...
of Kimberley at St Cyprian's Cathedral
St Cyprian's Cathedral, Kimberley
The Cathedral Church of St Cyprian the Martyr, Kimberley, is the seat of the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman, Anglican Church of Southern Africa. It became a Cathedral when the Synod of Bishops gave a mandate for the formation of the new Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman in...
, where he was intalled on 21 February 1960. This was exactly a month prior to the Sharpeville massacre
Sharpeville massacre
The Sharpeville Massacre occurred on 21 March 1960, at the police station in the South African township of Sharpeville in the Transvaal . After a day of demonstrations, at which a crowd of black protesters far outnumbered the police, the South African police opened fire on the crowd, killing 69...
, one of the turning points in the history of apartheid oppression under which Oram's South African ministry was exercised. “We shall offer penitence for our failure to be a Christian nation,” read a prayer chain in May 1960, part of the Union Jubilee Festival.
Oram's "love of music, together with a good pastoral touch, made him entirely suitable for a cathedral setting," comments Thorp. (His father had been a choirmaster and an elder brother, Bernard Oram, taught the organ at the Guildhall School of Music. Later Oram was to be a keen member of the Cape Organ Guild). The St Cyprian's Cathedral Choir at this period performed such works as Messiah
Messiah (Handel)
Messiah is an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel, with a scriptural text compiled by Charles Jennens from the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer. It was first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742, and received its London premiere nearly a year later...
(Handel
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
), Elijah
Elijah (oratorio)
Elijah, in German: Elias, is an oratorio written by Felix Mendelssohn in 1846 for the Birmingham Festival. It depicts various events in the life of the Biblical prophet Elijah, taken from the books 1 Kings and 2 Kings in the Old Testament....
(Mendelssohn
Mendelssohn
Mendelson is a Polish/German Jewish family name, meaning "son of Mendel", Mendel being a Yiddish diminutive of the Hebrew given name Menahem, meaning "consoling" or "one who consoles".Mendelssohn is the surname of a number of people:...
) and Bach's
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
Christmas Oratorio
Christmas Oratorio
The Christmas Oratorio BWV 248, is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It was written for the Christmas season of 1734 incorporating music from earlier compositions, including three secular cantatas written during 1733 and 1734 and a...
.
One of Oram's curates at this period was Fr John da Costa who afterwards served in District Six and as Dean of Salisbury
Harare
Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its...
, Rhodesia
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
. Another was Fr Alan Butler
Alan Butler (priest)
Alan John Butler, a Director of the Kuruman Moffat Mission in Kuruman, South Africa, and Canon of Kimberley Cathedral, was a priest who served in the Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman for a major part of the second half of the twentieth century...
.
Grahamstown
In 1964 Oram transferred to GrahamstownGrahamstown
Grahamstown is a city in the Eastern Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa and is the seat of the Makana municipality. The population of greater Grahamstown, as of 2003, was 124,758. The population of the surrounding areas, including the actual city was 41,799 of which 77.4% were black,...
as Dean of St. Michael and St. George Cathedral
St. Michael and St. George Cathedral
The Cathedral of St. Michael and St. George is the home of the Anglican Diocese of Grahamstown in Grahamstown, South Africa in the Eastern Cape Province. It is the episcopal seat of the Bishop of Grahamstown. The cathedral is located on Church Square. It has the tallest spire in South Africa...
.
In 1974 he was elected Bishop of Grahamstown
Bishop of Grahamstown
The Bishop of Grahamstown is the bishop of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa in the Diocese of Grahamstown, which encompasses the area around Grahamstown, South Africa and is located in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The seat of the Bishop is St. Michael and St. George...
.
Retirement
On his return to EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1987 Oram became Assistant Bishop of Lichfield
Bishop of Lichfield
The Bishop of Lichfield is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 4,516 km² of the counties of Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and West Midlands. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed...
, 1987-1997.
He died in Worthing, West Sussex, on 7 January 2001.