Geoffrey Hare Clayton was an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

in the 20th century. He was born on 12 December 1884, educated at

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

and

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 students and fellows. It is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from ...

, and ordained, after a period of study at

Ripon College Cuddesdon Ripon College Cuddesdon (RCC) is a Church of England seminary, theological college in Cuddesdon, a village outside Oxford, England. The College trains men and women for ministry in the Church of England: stipendiary, non-stipendiary, local orda ...

, in 1909. A

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Peterhouse has around 300 undergraduate and 175 graduate stud ...

, he was its Dean from 1910 to 1914 when he became a

Chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

to the BEF. When

peace Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (suc ...

returned he was

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

Little St Mary's, Cambridge Little St Mary's or St Mary the Less is a Church of England parish church in Cambridge, England, on Trumpington Street between Pembroke College's Mill Lane Project development site and Peterhouse. The church is in the Diocese of Ely and follo ...

and after that (successively)

rural dean In the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion as well as some Lutheran denominations, a rural dean is a member of clergy who presides over a "rural deanery" (often referred to as a deanery); "ruridecanal" is the corresponding adjective ...

and finally

archdeacon of Chesterfield The three Archdeacons in the Diocese of Derby are senior ecclesiastical officers in the Church of England Diocese of Derby. Each archdeacon has responsibility for church buildings and clergy discipline in her/his respective archdeaconry. History ...

. In 1934 he became bishop of Johannesburg and served for 14 years before his appointment as archbishop of Cape Town. A sub-prelate of the

Order of St John of Jerusalem The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there u ...

, he died on 7 March 1957.''Archbishop of Cape Town Scholar And Christian Gentleman''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

Friday, 8 March 1957; p. 13; Issue 53784; col D

Apartheid and the Archbishop

Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and marks the first day of Lent: the seven weeks of Christian prayer, prayer, Religious fasting#Christianity, fasting and ...

1957, the day before he died, Clayton signed, on behalf of the bishops of the Church of the Province of South Africa, a letter to the

prime minister of South Africa The prime minister of South Africa ( was the head of government in South Africa between 1910 and 1984. History of the office The position of Prime Minister was established in 1910, when the Union of South Africa was formed. He was appointed ...

, J. G. Strijdom refusing to obey and refusing to counsel the people of the Anglican Church in South Africa to obey, the provisions of section 29(c) of the Native Laws Amendment Act. The act sought to enforce

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

in all Christian congregations.

Notes

External links

Wits Historical papers
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clayton, Geoffrey Hare 1884 births 1957 deaths People educated at Rugby School Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge Alumni of Ripon College Cuddesdon Fellows of Peterhouse, Cambridge Church of England deans Archdeacons of Chesterfield Anglican bishops of Johannesburg 20th-century Anglican Church of Southern Africa bishops Anglican archbishops of Cape Town 20th-century Anglican archbishops Sub-Prelates of the Venerable Order of Saint John World War I chaplains Royal Army Chaplains' Department officers