The Anglican Diocese of Accra is a

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, 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 Roman province, prov ...

of the

Church of the Province of West Africa The Church of the Province of West Africa is a province of the Anglican Communion, covering 17 dioceses in eight countries of West Africa, specifically in Cameroon, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Senegal and Sierra Leone. Ghana is th ...

, a member church of the

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...

. It was founded in 1909 by the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

. The cathedral of the diocese is Holy Trinity Cathedral in

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

. The Anglican Diocese of Accra (ADOA) is the oldest in the Internal Province of Ghana, and in terms of clergy and churches, is Ghana's largest diocese. The diocese is made up of over one hundred parishes, congregations and missions with over 120 clergy, both male and female. The diocese is organized under five clusters namely the Deanery, Accra East Archdeaconry, Accra West Archdeaconry, Accra North Archdeaconry, Accra North-East Archdeaconry and the Tema Archdeaconry. The diocese was carved out of the Diocese of Equatorial Africa in 1909 after some two centuries of missionary work in the then Gold Coast. In response to that growth, and in consonance with the Anglican polity of "Synodically Governed and Episcopally led" the Diocese of Accra was created. The succession of Diocesan bishops have been

Nathaniel Temple Hamlyn Nathaniel Temple Hamlyn (1864–1929) was an Anglican bishop in Africa in the first decade of the 20th century. Hamlyn was educated at Totnes Grammar School and Durham University, completing his Licentiate of Theology in 1899, followed by a M ...

(1909–1910), Mowbray Stephen O'Rorke (1913–1923),

John Orfeur Aglionby John Orfeur Aglionby (16 March 1884 – 15 May 1963) was Bishop of Accra during the second quarter of the 20th century. Educated at Westminster and The Queen's College, Oxford, Aglionby was ordained in 1911 and began his career with a curacy at ...

(1924–1951),

John Charles Sydney Daly John Charles Sydney Daly (1901–1985) was an Anglican bishop in Africa and Asia for fifty years. Education Educated at Gresham's School, Holt, Norfolk, Holt, and King's College, Cambridge, Daly was ordained as a Church of England deacon and prie ...

(1951–1955),

Reginald Richard Roseveare Reginald Richard Roseveare SSM CBE (18 May 1902 – 9 April 1972) was an Anglican bishop in Africa in the third quarter of the 20th century. Educated at Sedbergh School, Roseveare was ordained in 1930 and began his career with a curacy at St Geo ...

(1956–1967). So for the duration of the colonial era of Gold Coast, the Anglican Diocese was led by expatriate bishops. With the metamorphosis of Gold Coast to the sovereign independent nation of Ghana on 6 March 1957, the Diocese of Accra which covered the whole geographic area of Ghana, began to have Ghanaian leaders – Ishmael Samuel Mills LeMaire (1968–1982),

Francis William Banahene Thompson Francis William Banahene Thompson was Bishop of Accra from 1983 to 1996. Ordained in 1964 after a period of study at Kelham Theological College, he was a chaplain to the Ghanaian forces from 1968.''Crockford's Clerical Directory 1975-76'' London: O ...

(1983–1996), Justice Ofei Akrofi (1996–2012) and Daniel Sylvanus Mensah Torto, the current bishop, who was consecrated on 24 June 2012 and enthroned on 11 November 2012.

List of bishops

* 1909

Temple Hamlyn Nathaniel Temple Hamlyn (1864–1929) was an Anglican bishop in Africa in the first decade of the 20th century. Hamlyn was educated at Totnes Grammar School and Durham University, completing his Licentiate of Theology in 1899, followed by a M ...

* 1913

Mowbray O'Rorke Mowbray Stephen O'Rorke (21 May 1869 – 15 March 1953) was an Anglican bishop in Africa in the first quarter of the 20th century. Ordained ministry O'Rorke was ordained Deacon in 1902 and Priest in 1903. He served curacies at St Paul's, Jarr ...

* 1924 John Aglionby * 1951 John Daly ** 1951–1968

Ezra Martinson Ezra Douglas Martinson, MBE was an Anglican bishop in Africa in the third quarter of the 20th century. Education Martinson was educated at King's College London. Career summary * ordained deacon, 1915 * ordained priest, 1916 * Priest Diocese o ...

, Assistant Bishop * 1956

Richard Roseveare Reginald Richard Roseveare SSM CBE (18 May 1902 – 9 April 1972) was an Anglican bishop in Africa in the third quarter of the 20th century. Educated at Sedbergh School, Roseveare was ordained in 1930 and began his career with a curacy at St Geo ...

* 1968

Ishmael Mills Le-Marie Ishmael Samuel Mills Le-Maire (August 29, 1912 – 1984) was the first Ghanaian Bishop of Accra from 1968 to 1982. Ordained in 1936,''Crockford's Clerical Directory 1975-76'' London: Oxford University Press, 1976 he was Canon (priest), Canon of ...

(also

Archbishop of West Africa The Church of the Province of West Africa is a province of the Anglican Communion, covering 17 dioceses in eight countries of West Africa, specifically in Cameroon, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Senegal and Sierra Leone. Ghana is th ...

, 1981–82) * 1983

Francis Thompson Francis Joseph Thompson (16 December 1859 – 13 November 1907) was an English poet and Catholic mystic. At the behest of his father, a doctor, he entered medical school at the age of 18, but at 26 left home to pursue his talent as a writer a ...

* 1996

Justice Akrofi Justice Ofei Akrofi (born 1942) is a Ghanaian Anglican bishop. He is the former Anglican Bishop of Accra, Ghana and former archbishop (primate) of the Church of the Province of West Africa. He was elected to that position in 2003, which he held ...

(also

, 2003–12) * 2012

Daniel Torto Daniel Sylvanus Mensah Torto (born 1960) is a Ghanaian Anglican bishop. He has been the Anglican Bishop of Accra, in the Church of the Province of West Africa, since 2012. Education Torto was educated at St. Thomas Aquinas Senior High School, t ...

References

External links

Christian organizations established in 1909

Accra {{Anglican-diocese-stub