Arthur Baillie Lumsdaine Karney (1874 – 8 December 1963) was the first bishop of
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...
in 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 (Anglican), province of the Anglican Communion in the southern part of Africa. The church has twenty-five dioceses, of whi ...
and the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
.
Family
Karney was one of 10 children of Gilbert Sparshott Karney,
rector
Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to:
Style or title
*Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations
*Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
of
Emmanuel Church, West Hampstead
Emmanuel Church is a historic Grade II church in West Hampstead, a suburb of London, England.
Location
The church is located on the corner of Lyncroft Gardens and Fortune Green Road, just off West End Green.
History
Services started in a scho ...
and Emma Sarah Storrs. He was educated at
Windlesham House School
Windlesham House School is an independent boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 4 to 13 on the South Downs, in Pulborough, West Sussex, England. It was founded in 1837 by Charles Robert Malden and was the first boys' preparatory school ...
,
Brighton (1885–88),
Haileybury and
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...
, where he graduated BA in 1896.
He married Georgina Maude Bessie Fielding in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the Capital city, capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata ...
in 1908 and they had seven children, Peter, Anthony (Tony), Audrey. George, Rosamund, Mary (Molly) and Grace.
One of his older sisters, Evelyn, (1869–1953) founded the
Talawa mission in
Ceylon
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
.
He was ordained in the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
in 1897 and appointed assistant chaplain to the
Missions to Seamen at
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
. He had become fascinated in the work of seamen and in 1899 volunteered to work under Harry O'Rouke running the Seaman's Institute in San Francisco then one of the toughest assignments because of the number and state of the seamen arriving after the stormy voyage around
Cape Horn
Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramí ...
. He became involved in protecting young seamen from being '
shanghaied' or 'crimped' and acquired the name of the fighting parson. The San Francisco Institute was destroyed by the earthquake in 1905. In 1903, he was
rector
Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to:
Style or title
*Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations
*Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
of
Woolpit in Suffolk. In 1906, he founded the
Missions to Seamen in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the Capital city, capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata ...
.
In 1914, on the outbreak of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...
he became a chaplain in the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...
firstly on a hospital ship and then with pastoral care for 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron. He was in HMS Yarmouth at the Battle of Jutland, but being cypher officer, he was below and his main recollection of the battle was the incredible noise. In early 1918 he came chaplain with the 22nd
Northumberland Fusiliers
The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Raised in 1674 as one of three 'English' units in the Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, it accompanied William III to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution an ...
when they were overrun in the German March offensive and in the interests of protecting his men he was taken into captivity at the detention camp in
Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the German States of Germany, state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital o ...
. From 1918 to 1922 he was Oxford Diocesan Missioner. In 1922 he was awarded an honorary
DD by the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
.
[
On 25 July 1922 he was consecrated first bishop of Johannesburg.Consecration of First Bishop of Johannesburg]
/ref> St Mary's Cathedral, Johannesburg
Saint Mary's Cathedral, officially the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, is the cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Johannesburg, South Africa. In late 2015 Xolani Dlwati was appointed as the dean until 27th of November 2022.
Hist ...
, which bears his name on the foundation stone, was built in a poor downtown area to serve ALL the people of the Johannesburg. He spent a considerable period of his ministry seeking better conditions for the "native" population. A card bearing the words "ALL RACES WELCOME – ARTHUR + " was pinned in the cathedral and remained there for some 50 years. He also instituted services for black congregations in their own languages. In Karney's first ten years not only was the fine cathedral consecrated but 25 churches had been built. During his first five years the number of black children in diocesan schools rose from just over 5,000 to more than 9,000. In 1931 Karney wrote "Alas the Native can't bargain – at least he can if he gets a great leader but he hasn't found one yet". In that month Desmond Tutu
Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbish ...
, later to succeed Karney as bishop of Johannesburg, was born and the young Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the ...
was tending cattle in the hills above Qunu
Qunu () is a Xhosa rural village in South Africa's Eastern Cape Province, south-west of Mthatha on the road between Dutywa and Mthatha.
The Mandela family
Former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela was born near Qunu in the village ...
in the Transkei
Transkei (, meaning ''the area beyond he riverKei''), officially the Republic of Transkei ( xh, iRiphabliki yeTranskei), was an unrecognised state in the southeastern region of South Africa from 1976 to 1994. It was, along with Ciskei, a Ba ...
.
He became bishop of Southampton
The Bishop of Southampton is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Winchester, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the city of Southampton in Hampshire. The current b ...
from 1933 to 1943, chaplain of Marlborough College
Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...
until 1944 and rector of Blendworth until 1949. Following his retirement he lived in Lewes
Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre ...
, Sussex until his death in 1963.
Two of his sons became priests. Peter was chaplain of Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...
, a naval chaplain during the war and vicar of Embleton, Northumberland. Tony was chaplain to the Church Railway Mission in South Africa and rector of Eythorne, Kent.
Publications
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karney, Arthur Baillie Lumsdaine
Anglican bishops of Johannesburg
Bishops of Southampton
1874 births
1963 deaths
People educated at Windlesham House School
20th-century Church of England bishops
20th-century Anglican Church of Southern Africa bishops