The Diocese of Southerm Malawi is a diocese of the Anglican

Church of the Province of Central Africa The Church of the Province of Central Africa is part of the Anglican Communion, and includes 15 dioceses in Botswana, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Primate of the Church is the Archbishop of Central Africa. Albert Chama is the current archbi ...

. One of the church's four dioceses in

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

, it was formed in 1971 when the Diocese of Malawi split into the

Diocese of Lake Malawi The Diocese of Lake Malawi is a diocese of the Anglican Church of the Province of Central Africa. One of the church's four dioceses in Malawi, it was formed in 1971 when the Diocese of Malawi split into the Diocese of Southern Malawi and the Dio ...

and the Diocese of Southern Malawi. Today it covers the southern quarter of the country, and its

see city See or SEE may refer to: * Visual perception Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Televisio ...

Blantyre Blantyre is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce, and its second largest city, with a population of 800,264 . It is sometimes referred to as the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, Lilongwe. It is ...

History

Anglicanism in Malawi dates back to the 19th century and the missionary activity of

David Livingstone David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, and an explorer in Africa. Livingstone was married to Mary Moffat Livings ...

and the

Universities' Mission to Central Africa The Universities' Mission to Central Africa (c.1857 - 1965) was a missionary society established by members of the Anglican Church within the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, and Dublin. It was firmly in the Anglo-Catholic tradition of ...

. It took organizational form in 1892, when the first bishop of

Nyasaland Nyasaland () was a British protectorate in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. After ...

was appointed with his see on

Likoma Island Likoma Island is the larger of two islands in Lake Malawi, in East Africa, the smaller being the nearby Chizumulu. Likoma and Chizumulu both belong to Malawi, and together they make up the Likoma District. Although both islands lie just a few kil ...

, where St Peter's Cathedral was completed in 1911. Over the course of the 20th century, the diocese's territory narrowed to the boundaries of present-day Malawi. In 1971, the diocese was divided between the

(based at Likoma) and the Diocese of Southern Malawi. Bishop of Malawi

Donald Arden Donald Seymour Arden (12 April 1916 – 18 July 2014) was a British-Australian Anglican archbishop, and campaigner for issues of justice and equality. Ministry Arden was educated at St Peter's College, Adelaide and the University of Leeds. He ...

became the first bishop of Southern Malawi. Arden was succeeded by Dunstan Ainani, who had been made a suffragan bishop in 1979, and under indigenous Malawian leadership the diocese became more representative. Synods began to conduct business in

Chewa Chewa may refer to: *the Chewa people *the Chewa language Chewa ( ; also known as Nyanja ) is a Bantu languages, Bantu language spoken in Malawi and a recognised minority in Zambia and Mozambique. The noun class prefix ''chi-'' is used for lang ...

, lay participation and women's participation in governance rose, and worship began to include locally composed hymns set to Malawian tunes. Partnerships with the

Anglican Diocese of Birmingham The Diocese of Birmingham is a diocese founded in 1905 in the Church of England's Province of Canterbury, covering the north-west of the traditional county of Warwickshire, the south-east of the traditional county of Staffordshire and the north ...

continued during the 1970s and 1980s. During the 1980s, the diocese had a partnership with the

Episcopal Diocese of Texas The Episcopal Diocese of Texas is one of the dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. The diocese consists of all Episcopal congregations in the southeastern quartile of Texas, including the cities of Austin, Beaumont, ...

and the (at the time)

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

Episcopal Diocese of Colorado Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United States ...

. Priests Gerry Schnackenberg and John Wengrovius came from Colorado to serve as training chaplain to schools and colleges and a teacher at

Zomba Theological College Zomba Theological College is a theological seminary in Zomba, Malawi. It has been operated since 1977 by the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian for training ministry candidates for the Nkhoma, Livingstonia, Harare, Zambia, and Blantyre Synods ...

, respectively. The diocese experienced a leadership crisis during the 1990s under Bishop Nathaniel Aipa over concerns about the deployment and transparency of diocesan funds, as well as allegations of sexual impropriety on the part of the bishop. Aipa resigned in 1996 and was replaced by

James Tengatenga James Tengatenga (born 7 April 1958) is a Malawian Anglican bishop and theologian. As an Anglican leader in the Global South—and as a member and later chairman of the Anglican Consultative Council—he was known for attempting to hold provinces ...

in 1998. Under Tengatenga, the diocese focused on the crisis of

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

in Malawi, starting workships for clergy and lay leaders to promote AIDS education, advocate against casual sex and sexual exploitation and promote the use of

contraception Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...

. In 2002, the diocese split, with the northern area forming the

Diocese of Upper Shire The Diocese of Upper Shire is a diocese of the Church of the Province of Central Africa. One of the church's four dioceses in Malawi, it was formed in 2002 out of the Diocese of Southern Malawi. As of 2025, the diocese had 58 priests serving in 4 ...

. Much of the diocese's infrastructure, including the diocesan headquarters and bishop's residence in Malosa, went to the Upper Shire diocese. Tengatenga moved to Blantyre to establish a new headquarters and open new schools.

Bishops

Companion diocese and partnerships

The Diocese of Birmingham in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

The Diocese of Texas in the Episcopal Church

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diocese of Lake Malawi Anglicanism in Malawi

Lake Malawi Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, () is an African Great Lakes, African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is ...

Anglican bishops of Southern Malawi