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Anglican Church of Southern Africa
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St. Cyprian's Cathedral An Anglican funeral Truth and Reconciliation Commission, South Africa The Anglican Communion
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St. Cyprian's Cathedral
St. Cyprian's Cathedral Completed in 1908, St. Cyprian's Cathedral in Kimberley, South Africa, is a member of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa.

Anglican Church of Southern Africa

South African Anglican denomination
Also known as: Church of the Province of Southern Africa
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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History
An Anglican funeral
An Anglican funeralA somber procession during the funeral service of renowned South African poet James Matthews at St. George's Cathedral in Cape Town on September 21, 2024.

Anglican Church of Southern Africa, independent church that is part of the Anglican Communion. In 2020 the church claimed a membership of about 3.57 million throughout 26 dioceses in 4 southern African countries (South Africa, Eswatini, Lesotho, and Namibia) and on the island of St. Helena. Its parishioners represent many cultures and races, and the church’s prayer book is available in nine regional languages. Unlike many other Anglican bodies from the Global South, the Anglican Church of Southern Africa is considered theologically moderate and socially progressive. It retains a traditional definition of marriage, affirms openly gay clergy, and fully accepts women priests and bishops.

Early history

The Anglican Church of Southern Africa developed from the work of British clergy among the British soldiers and settlers in the Cape of Good Hope in the late 18th and 19th centuries. The bishop of Calcutta (Kolkata), India, was at first responsible for the area, but in 1847 Robert Gray was consecrated the first bishop of Cape Town. Through his work the church grew, and additional dioceses were established. In 1853 he became metropolitan (archbishop) of South Africa. Gray had been influenced by the Oxford Movement in the Church of England, which emphasized the Roman Catholic heritage of the church. Anglicanism in South Africa reflected this influence, including the establishment of branches of several Anglican religious communities in the region.

Apartheid era

Truth and Reconciliation Commission, South Africa
Truth and Reconciliation Commission, South AfricaMembers of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission—including Dr. Alex Boraine (second from left), deputy chair; Archbishop Desmond Tutu (center), chair; and Rev. Bongani Finca (right), commissioner—at the commission's first hearing, April 1996, East London, S.Af.

Attempting to minister to the country’s Black population, the church actively opposed the government’s policy of apartheid (enforced separation for white and Black people) until the policy was abolished. In 1985, at the height of the township rebellions in South Africa, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu was installed as Johannesburg’s first Black Anglican bishop, and in 1986 he was elected the first Black archbishop of Cape Town, thus becoming the primate of South Africa’s then 1.6 million-member Anglican church. In 1995 South African Pres. Nelson Mandela appointed Tutu head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which investigated allegations of human rights abuses during the apartheid era.

Contemporary church

The “Africa Six”

In the 2020s there were six Anglican women bishops in Africa, referred collectively as the “Africa Six.”

  • Emily Onyango, Kenya (consecrated 2012)
  • Elizabeth Awut Ngor, South Sudan (2016)
  • Vicentia Kgabe, Lesotho (2021)
  • Rose Okeno, Kenya (2021)
  • Dalcy Badeli Dlamini, Eswatini (2022)
  • Filomena Tete Estêvão, Angola (2023)

Formerly the Church of the Province of Southern Africa, it changed its name in 2006. Archbishop Thabo Cecil Makgoba was installed as metropolitan of the church in 2008. In 2012 the Anglican Church of Southern Africa made history when it ordained Ellinah Ntombi Wamukoya as the bishop of Swaziland (now Eswatini), the first female Anglican bishop on the continent. She held the position until her death in 2021 and was succeeded by Dalcy Badeli Dlamini. In 2012 the church also consecrated Margaret Vertue as the diocesan bishop of False Bay in South Africa; she retired in 2023. Vicentia Kgabe was consecrated in 2021 as the bishop of Lesotho.

The Anglican Communion
The Anglican CommunionMap of the churches and membership of the Anglican Communion.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Melissa Petruzzello.