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The Diocese of Cape Town is a

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

of the

Anglican Church of Southern Africa The Anglican Church of Southern Africa, known until 2006 as the Church of the Province of Southern Africa, is the province of the Anglican Communion in the southern part of Africa. The church has twenty-five dioceses, of which twenty-one are loc ...

(ACSA) which presently covers central

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second larges ...

, some of its suburbs and the island of

Tristan da Cunha Tristan da Cunha (), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately from Cape Town in South Africa, from Saint Helena ...

, though in the past it has covered a much larger territory. The Ordinary of the diocese is Archbishop of Cape Town and ''ex officio''

Primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including human ...

and Metropolitan of the ACSA. His seat is St. George's Cathedral in Cape Town.

Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic dis ...

was archbishop from 1986 to 1996 and was archbishop-emeritus until his death in 2021. The current archbishop is

Thabo Makgoba Thabo Cecil Makgoba KStJ (born 15 December 1960 in Alexandra, Johannesburg) is the South African Anglican archbishop of Cape Town. He had served before as bishop of Grahamstown. Biography Makgoba graduated from Orlando High, Soweto, an ...

. Because of the archbishop's responsibilities as primate, many of his diocesan duties are delegated to a

suffragan bishop A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdiction ...

known as the Bishop of Table Bay, an office currently held by Joshua Louw. (This is similar to the

Bishop of Dover The Bishop of Dover is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the town of Dover in Kent. The Bishop of Dover holds the additional title of "Bishop in ...

in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church record ...

Diocese of Canterbury The Diocese of Canterbury is a Church of England diocese covering eastern Kent which was founded by St. Augustine of Canterbury in 597. The diocese is centred on Canterbury Cathedral and is the oldest see of the Church of England. The ''Report ...

, who has held such a role since 1980.)

History

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 the Diocese of Calcutta, included the whole of Southern Africa. In 1853, the territory was reduced by the creation of the Diocese of Grahamstown in the eastern parts of the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with th ...

and the Diocese of Natal in the

Colony of Natal The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on 4 May 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Natalia Republic, Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three o ...

. In 1859, the Diocese of St Helena was created for

Saint Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three consti ...

and

Ascension Island Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island, 7°56′ south of the Equator in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is about from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America. It is governed as part of the British Overseas Territory ...

. In 1863, the Diocese of Bloemfontein was created, taking over all the territory north of the

Orange River The Orange River (from Afrikaans/ Dutch: ''Oranjerivier'') is a river in Southern Africa. It is the longest river in South Africa. With a total length of , the Orange River Basin extends from Lesotho into South Africa and Namibia to the n ...

and the

Drakensberg The Drakensberg (Afrikaans: Drakensberge, Zulu: uKhahlambha, Sotho: Maluti) is the eastern portion of the Great Escarpment, which encloses the central Southern African plateau. The Great Escarpment reaches its greatest elevation – within ...

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. The territory of the Cape Town diocese was further reduced in 1911 by the creation of the dioceses of George and Kimberley and Kuruman. Finally, in 2005 the diocese was divided into three, with the part to north of the city of Cape Town becoming the Diocese of Saldanha Bay and the part to the east of the city becoming the Diocese of False Bay.

Parishes

* Cathedral Archdeaconry ** Cathedral of St George the Martyr,

* Archdeaconry of Athlone ** St Mark the Evangelist,

Athlone Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midland Region, Ire ...

** St John, Crawford ** St Dominic, Hanover Park ** The Holy Nativity, Hazendal ** All Saints, Lansdowne ** St Aidan, Lansdowne ** St George the Martyr,

Silvertown Silvertown is a district in the London Borough of Newham, in east London, England. It lies on the north bank of the Thames and was historically part of the parishes of West Ham and East Ham, hundred of Becontree, and the historic county of ...

* Archdeaconry of Constantia ** St Martin, Bergvliet ** Christ Church, Constantia ** St Luke, Diep River ** Christ Church,

Kenilworth Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Warwick District in Warwickshire, England, south-west of Coventry, north of Warwick and north-west of London. It lies on Finham Brook, a tributary of the River Sowe, which joins the ...

** St Philip,

Kenwyn Kenwyn ( kw, Keynwynn) is a settlement and civil parish in Cornwall, England. The settlement is a suburb of the city of Truro and lies 0.5 mi (1 km) north of the city centre, within Truro parish, whereas Kenwyn parish covers an area w ...

** Holy Spirit, Kirstenhof ** All Saints,

Plumstead Plumstead is an area in southeast London, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich, England. It is located east of Woolwich. History Until 1965, Plumstead was in the historic county of Kent and the detail of much of its early history can b ...

** St Faith, Plumstead ** St Cyprian, Retreat ** St Andrew, Steenberg ** Emmanuel, Wynberg ** St John, Wynberg * Archdeaconry of Groote Schuur ** St Mark, Cape Town ** St Philip, Cape Town ** St Michael and All Angels,

Observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Hi ...

** St Luke, Salt River ** All Saints,

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...

** St Bartholomew, Woodstock ** St Mary the Virgin, Woodstock * Archdeaconry of Ibongoletu ** Church of the Resurrection, Bonteheuwel ** Eluvukweni Mission, Crossroads ** St Columba, Guguletu ** St Mary Magdalene, Guguletu ** Church of the Holy Spirit, Heideveld ** St Cyprian, Langa ** Church of the Reconciliation, Manenberg ** Holy Cross, Nyanga * Archdeaconry of Rondebosch ** Christ the King, Claremont ** St Matthew, Claremont ** St Saviour, Claremont ** St Peter, Mowbray ** St Andrew, Newlands ** St Paul,

Rondebosch Rondebosch is one of the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa. It is primarily a residential suburb, with shopping and business districts as well as the main campus of the University of Cape Town. History Four years after the first Dutch s ...

** St Thomas, Rondebosch * Archdeaconry of Waterfront ** St Peter, Camps Bay ** St Paul, Cape Town ** Church of the Ascension, Devil's Peak ** St Barnabas,

Gardens A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate both ...

** St Peter the Fisherman,

Hout Bay Hout Bay ( af, Houtbaai, meaning "Wood Bay") is a harbour town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is situated in a valley on the Atlantic seaboard of the Cape Peninsula, twenty kilometres south of Cape Town. The name "Hout Bay" can ...

** Church of the Holy Redeemer,

Sea Point Sea Point (Afrikaans: ''Seepunt'') is one of Cape Town's most affluent and densely populated suburbs, situated between Signal Hill and the Atlantic Ocean, a few kilometres to the west of Cape Town's Central Business District (CBD). Moving fro ...

** St James the Great, Sea Point ** St Mary,

List of Bishops and Archbishops

Assistant bishops

From 1931, Sidney Lavis was

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co ...

of the diocese. In 1964, Patrick Barron became an assistant bishop of the diocese.

Schools

The Diocese has four diocesan schools: *

Diocesan College The Diocesan College (commonly known as Bishops) is a private, English medium, boarding and day high school for boys situated in the suburb of Rondebosch in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The school was establishe ...

Herschel Girls' School ("To the Glory of God") , established = , type = All-girls private school , religion = Anglican , district = District 9 , number = 021 650 7500 , locale ...

* St. Cyprian's School * St. George's Grammar School

Coat of arms

The diocese has borne arms since its inception. The arms, designed by Bishop Gray, combined elements of those of the dioceses of Durham (where Gray had been Bishop) and

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

(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 the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the British Sovere ...

and granted in 1952. The revision consisted of replacing the Burdett-Coutts shield with ''a stag's head erased Gules, between the attires a pheon Azure''. These arms were registered at the

Bureau of Heraldry Bureau ( ) may refer to: Agencies and organizations *Government agency *Public administration * News bureau, an office for gathering or distributing news, generally for a given geographical location * Bureau (European Parliament), the administra ...

in 1968.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cape Town, Anglican Diocese of Christianity in Cape Town 1847 establishments in the Cape Colony Anglican Church of Southern Africa dioceses