Diocese of Lesotho

Last updated
Diocese of Lesotho
Location
Ecclesiastical province Southern Africa
Statistics
Parishes24
Information
Rite Anglican
CathedralCathedral of St. Mary and St. James, Maseru
Current leadership
BishopVicentia Kgabe
Website
lesotho.tacosa.org

The Diocese of Lesotho is a diocese in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. It comprises the entire nation of Lesotho. It is divided in three archdeaconries, Central Lesotho, Northern Lesotho and Southern Lesotho. The former bishop is Adam Taaso, in office since 2008 until 2020. The Right Revd Dr Vicentia Kgabe was appointed by the Synod of Bishops and installed on 5 December 2021.

Contents

History

Lesotho was originally included in the Anglican Diocese of the Free State but became an independent diocese in 1950, still with the name of Basutoland. The first bishop was John Maund, who would be in office from 1950 to 1976. Upon the independence from the United Kingdom in 1966, the diocese was renamed the Diocese of Lesotho. [1]

The seat of the diocese is the Cathedral of St Mary and St James in Maseru.

List of Bishops

Bishops suffragan

See also

Related Research Articles

The Continuing Anglican movement, also known as the Anglican Continuum, encompasses a number of Christian churches, principally based in North America, that have an Anglican identity and tradition but are not part of the Anglican Communion.

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 located in South Africa, and one each in Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and Saint Helena.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anglican Catholic Church</span> Continuing Anglican denomination

The Anglican Catholic Church (ACC), also known as the Anglican Catholic Church (Original Province), is a body of Christians in the continuing Anglican movement, which is separate from the Anglican Communion. This denomination is separate from the Anglican Catholic Church in Australia and the Anglican Catholic Church of Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem</span> Anglican jurisdiction in part of the Middle East

The AnglicanDiocese of Jerusalem is the Anglican jurisdiction for Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. It is a part of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, and has diocesan offices at St. George's Cathedral, Jerusalem.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anglican Province of America</span> American Continuing Anglican denomination

The Anglican Province of America (APA) is a Continuing Anglican church in the United States. The church was founded by former members of the Episcopal Church in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anglican Diocese of Cape Town</span> Diocese of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa

The Diocese of Cape Town is a diocese of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa (ACSA) which presently covers central Cape Town, some of its suburbs and the island of Tristan da Cunha, though in the past it has covered a much larger territory. The Ordinary of the diocese is Archbishop of Cape Town and ex officio Primate and Metropolitan of the ACSA. His seat is St. George's Cathedral in Cape Town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thabo Makgoba</span> South African Anglican bishop

Thabo Cecil Makgoba KStJ is the South African Anglican archbishop of Cape Town. He had served before as bishop of Grahamstown.

The Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman is a diocese in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, and encompasses the area around Kimberley and Kuruman and overlaps the Northern Cape Province and North West Province of South Africa. It is presided over by the Bishop of Kimberley and Kuruman, until recently Ossie Swartz. On 19 September 2021 the Electoral College of Bishops elected to translate the Right Revd Brian Marajh of George to become the 13th Bishop of Kimberley & Kuruman. The seat of the Bishop of Kimberley and Kuruman is at St Cyprian's Cathedral, Kimberley. There had been so far 12 bishops of the See, though one of these served for two different periods of time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diocese of the Free State</span> Diocese of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa

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'.

The Diocese of Lebombo is a diocese in the Anglican Church of Mozambique and Angola. It is one of the three Anglican dioceses of Mozambique. This diocese is the most southerly of the three, the others being the Diocese of Niassa and the Diocese of Nampula.

The College of the Transfiguration in Makhanda, Eastern Cape, is the only provincial residential college of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, offering a contextual approach to theology studies.

The Episcopal/Anglican Province of Alexandria is a province of the Anglican Communion. Its territory was formerly the Diocese of Egypt with North Africa and the Horn of Africa. On 29 June 2020 the diocese was elevated to the status of an ecclesiastical province, and became the forty-first province of the Anglican Communion. The primate and metropolitan of the province is the Archbishop of Alexandria.

John Arthur Arrowsmith Maund was the first Anglican Bishop of Lesotho from 1950 until 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suheil Dawani</span> Palestinian Anglican bishop

Suheil Salman Ibrahim Dawani is a Palestinian Anglican bishop.

Ellinah Ntombi Wamukoya was a Swazi Anglican bishop.

Brian Melvin Marajh was the thirteenth and current Bishop of Kimberley & Kuruman in South Africa. He was previously the eighth bishop of George, before, on 19 September 2021, the Electoral College of Bishops elected to translate the Right Revd Brian Marajh of George to become Bishop of Kimberley & Kuruman. He was consecrated as bishop at St Mark's Cathedral, George, on 7 May 2011. Marajh was born in Kimberley in the Northern Cape on 2 April 1960.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret Rodgers (deaconess)</span>

Margaret Rodgers AM was a prominent deaconess and lay-person in the Anglican Diocese of Sydney. Rodgers was Principal of Deaconess House, (1976–85), Research Officer for the Anglican General Synod (1985–93), chief executive officer of the Anglican Media Council (1994–2003), President of the New South Wales Council of Churches and Lay Canon of St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney.

Right. Rev Dr Vicentia Refiloe Kgabe is an Anglican Bishop of Diocese of Lesotho in the Anglican Church of South Africa and academic teaching Practical Theology.

John Robert Osmers was a New Zealand anti-apartheid activist. He was Anglican Bishop of Eastern Zambia from 1995 to 2002.

Lesotho does not recognise same-sex marriages or civil unions. The Marriage Act, 1974 does not provide for the recognition of same-sex unions.

References

  1. Dove, Reginald (1975). Anglican Pioneers in Lesotho: Some Account of the Diocese of Lesotho, 1876-1930.
  2. Pheko, Lipholo (11 February 2020). "Bishop Taaso steps down". The Post. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  3. Melbourne Anglican website, article by Jenan Taylor dated May 17, 2023