Simon Mark Aiken is Dean of Benoni and rector of St Dunstan's Cathedral in the

Diocese of the Highveld The Diocese of the Highveld (formerly the Diocese of South Eastern Transvaal) is a diocese of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa covering the East Rand in Gauteng province and the southern part of Mpumalanga province in South Africa. The bis ...

. He was previously the 12th Dean of Kimberley and rector of

St Cyprian's Cathedral, Kimberley The Cathedral Church of St Cyprian the Martyr, Kimberley, Northern Cape, Kimberley, is the seat of the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman, Kimberley and Kuruman, Anglican Church of Southern Africa. The building was dedicated ...

, in the Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman in

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 ...

. Born in England in 1962, he went to South Africa in 2006, initially as subdean at

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

Cathedral.

Early career

Aiken qualified with a Master of Theology degree from

St Andrew's University The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

(1985) and a Certificate in Theology from

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 ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

(1986-1988). He was made a deacon (1988) and ordained as a priest (1989) in the

Diocese of Blackburn The diocese of Blackburn is diocese of the Church of England in North West England. Its boundaries correspond to northern Lancashire. The diocese contains 211 parishes and 280 churches. Blackburn Cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Blackburn ...

. Aiken served curacies, 1988-1994, at St Matthew with Holy Trinity,

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

, and St Anne’s at

St Annes-on-Sea Lytham St Annes () is a seaside town in the Borough of Fylde in Lancashire, England. It is on the Fylde coast, directly south of Blackpool on the Ribble Estuary. The population of the built-up area at the 2021 census was 42,695. The town is ma ...

. Subsequently he was vicar respectively at St Thomas the Apostle,

Musbury Musbury is a village and civil parish in the East Devon district of Devon, England. It lies approximately away from Colyton and away from Axminster, the nearest towns. Musbury is served by the A358 road and lies on the route of the East Devo ...

Helmshore Helmshore () is a village in the Rossendale Valley, Lancashire, England, south of Haslingden between the A56 and the B6235, north of Manchester. The population at the 2011 census was 5,805. The housing in Helmshore is mixed, with some two-up, ...

(1994-1999), and at St Lawrence with St Paul,

Longridge Longridge is a market town and civil parish in the borough of Ribble Valley in Lancashire, England. It is situated north-east of the city of Preston, at the western end of Longridge Fell, a long ridge above the River Ribble. The nearest vi ...

, north east of the city of Preston (1999-2006). An early interest in liturgy led Aiken to researching and revising the

compline Compline ( ), also known as Complin, Night Prayer, or the Prayers at the End of the Day, is the final prayer liturgy (or office) of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours, which are prayed at fixed prayer times. The English wor ...

rite for his theological college and to subsequent engagements in devising liturgies for many contexts and occasions at parish and diocesan levels. Aiken became involved with the

Royal School of Church Music The Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) is a Christian music education organisation dedicated to the promotion of music in Christian worship, in particular the repertoire and traditions of Anglican church music, largely through publications, tr ...

both regionally and at a national level in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, being chaplain for the annual Easter course at

Rossall School Rossall School is a private Day school, day and boarding school, boarding school in the United Kingdom for 0–18 year olds, between Cleveleys and Fleetwood, Lancashire. Rossall was founded in 1844 by St. Vincent Beechey, St Vincent Beechey as a ...

over a period of 11 years. He is himself a singer and he plays the

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

and

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

South Africa

Aiken went to South Africa in 2006 to become the subdean at the Cathedral of St Andrew and St Michael in

in the

Diocese of the Free State The Diocese of the Free State is a diocese in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. It was formerly known as the 'Diocese of Bloemfontein'. History The first service North of the Orange River to be taken by an Anglican clergyman was conducted i ...

– a diocese having a link relationship with the

. In 2009 he was invited by Archbishop

Thabo Makgoba Thabo Cecil Makgoba KStJ (born 15 December 1960) is the South African Anglican archbishop of Cape Town. He had served before as bishop of Grahamstown. Biography Makgoba graduated from Orlando High, Soweto, and completed his BSc degree at ...

to be champion for the Anglican Church of Southern Africa’s Liturgical Transformation Task Team. As in England, Aiken was soon integrating musical endeavours with the theological and liturgical aspects of the life of the cathedral and he was instrumental in forming a new Free State branch of the

centred in Bloemfontein. He forged links between the cathedral and academic institutions in the city, formally as Anglican chaplain to the

University of the Free State The University of the Free State (; Sotho language, Sesotho: ''Yunivesithi ya Freistata'') is a multi-campus public university in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State (province), Free State and the judicial capital of South Africa. It wa ...

and the

Central University of Technology The Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT) is a public technology university with campuses in Bloemfontein and Welkom, Free State (province), Free State province, South Africa. It was established in 1981 as "Technikon Free State." ...

, as well as through the fostering of musical connections. Aiken enrolled for a PhD at the University of the Free State, to study African liturgical music.

Kimberley Cathedral

In 2010 Aiken was invited to be Dean of Kimberley and was installed by Oswald Swartz, bishop of the Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman at St Cyprian's Cathedral on 6 November 2010. In his first sermon as dean, Aiken quoted Archbishop William Temple to remind his listeners that "the Church is the only cooperative society in the world that exists for the benefit of those who are not its members." He spoke of his vision to nurture a generous and welcoming spirit at the cathedral which serves not just its own parish but also the wider city of Kimberley and the diocese. Aiken has described himself as being "a very embryonic student of

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

" ("what can I say but 'ek probeer' - I try") while having a more fluent command of

Sesotho Sotho (), also known as ''Sesotho'' (), Southern Sotho, or ''Sesotho sa Borwa'' is a Southern Bantu languages, Southern Bantu language spoken in Lesotho as its national language and South Africa where it is an official language. Like all Ba ...

. His diocesan responsibilities included appointments as the Archdeacon of the Karoo (2011-2012) and as Titular Rector of St Mary's, Barkly West, as well as his role as Canon Missioner for the diocese and as Vicar General (April 2012).

Benoni

Aiken was appointed Dean of Benoni in 2014 and was instituted and installed as Dean and Rector at St Dunstan's Cathedral on 25 May 2014. Following the retirement of Bishop David Bannerman at the end of January 2015, Aiken was licensed as

Vicar General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

of the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aiken, Simon Mark Alumni of the University of St Andrews Deans of Kimberley 21st-century South African Anglican priests Living people Alumni of Ripon College Cuddesdon Year of birth missing (living people)