Richard Austin Kraft (3 June 1936 - 17 January 2001) was an American-born South African

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 ...

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

. Born in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, he was educated at Ripon College, Wisconsin and the General Theological Seminary, NY, NY and

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

in 1961. He moved to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, where his first post was as an

Assistant Priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, ...

at St Alphege Church, in

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; ) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa after Durban. It was named in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. The town was named in Zulu after King ...

. From 1963 to 1967 he was Rector of St Chad's Mission, Klip River. In 1968 he was asked by Bishop Alpheus Zulu to be Director of Christian Education in the Diocese of Zululand. He was also rector of All Saints Parish,

Melmoth, KwaZulu-Natal Melmoth is a small town situated in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The town was established in the Mthonjaneni district after the annexation of Zululand by the British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, coloni ...

from 1974 to 1976. As Director of Christian Education he was responsible for continuing the programme of experienced-based education (also known as

group dynamics Group dynamics is a system of behaviors and psychological processes occurring within a social group (''intra''group dynamics), or between social groups ( ''inter''group dynamics). The study of group dynamics can be useful in understanding decision ...

sensitivity training Sensitivity training is a form of training with the goal of making people more aware of their own goals as well as their prejudices, and more sensitive to others and to the dynamics of group interaction. Origins Kurt Lewin laid the foundations f ...

T-groups __NOTOC__ A T-group or training group (sometimes also referred to as sensitivity-training group, human relations training group or encounter group) is a form of group training where participants (typically between eight and fifteen people) learn a ...

) pioneered by another American priest, Don Griswold. He also pioneered the training of self-supporting clergy at the diocesan conference centre KwaNzimela, near Melmoth, inspired by the principles enunciated by

Roland Allen Roland Allen (29 December 1868 – 9 June 1947) was an English missionary to China sent by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG). Early life He was born in Bristol, England, the son of an Anglican priest; but was orphaned early i ...

. In 1976 he was appointed Director of the Education Department of the

Church of the Province of South 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 ...

and then

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

. In 1982 he became

Bishop of Pretoria A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

, a post he held until 1998. He was a strong opponent of the

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 ...

regime. He died on 17 January 2001 in

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kraft, Richard Austin 1936 births 2001 deaths Ripon College (Wisconsin) alumni 20th-century Anglican Church of Southern Africa bishops Anglican bishops of Pretoria Deans of Pretoria