Edward Steere (1828 – 26 August 1882) was an English Anglican

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

in the 19th century.

Life

Steere was educated at

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

and

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

in 1850. After

curacies A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

and

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, he joined

William Tozer William George Tozer (1829–1899) was a colonial bishop in the 19th century. He was born in Teignmouth and educated at St John's College, Oxford and ordained in 1854. His first post was a curacy at St Mary Magdalene Munster Square. Later he wa ...

(Bishop in Central Africa) on a mission to Nyasaland in 1863. He was appointed

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

in 1874 and died on 26 August 1882. Steere spent several periods in Zanzibar, 1864–68, 1872–74, and 1877–82. In 1873 he placed the foundation stone at

Christ Church, Zanzibar Christ Church is an Anglican cathedral in Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania. It belongs to the Anglican Church of Tanzania. It is a landmark historical church, as well as one of the most prominent examples of early Christian architecture in East Afr ...

, in Stone Town, Zanzibar. The cathedral was based on his vision; its concrete roof shaped in a

barrel vault A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault, wagon vault or wagonhead vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The curves are ...

was Steere's idea. He also worked with

David Livingstone David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, and pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, an explorer in Africa, and one of the most popular British heroes of t ...

to abolish slavery in Zanzibar. He is buried behind the altar in the church. David Livingstone's aides James Chuma and Abdullah Susi were part of an expedition led by Steere. Chuma was captain of the expedition and both men acted as interpreters.

Works

Steere was a considerable linguist and published works on several East African languages and dialects, including Shambala, Yao, Nyamwezi, and Makonde. But he is especially known for his work on Swahili, publishing a ''Handbook of Swahili'' in 1870, and he also translated or revised the translation into Swahili of a large part of the Bible.Dictionary of National Biography entry; see External links below.

Notes

References

* Steere was never Bishop of Grahamstown *

External links

* * *
Robert Marshall Heanley (1898) ''A Memoir of Edward Steere, D.D., LL.D.'', Office of the Universities' Mission to Central Africa, London (Google ebook)

''Dictionary of National Biography'' entry Steere, Edward, by C. A. Harris

original 1870 edition. * ttps://archive.org/details/handbookswahili00stee Steere's ''A Handbook of the Swahili Language as spoken at Zanzibar''revised by A.C. Madan 1894. 1828 births 1882 deaths Alumni of the University of London English Anglican missionaries Anglican bishops in Central Africa Anglican missionaries in Tanzania Anglican missionaries in Malawi {{Anglican-bishop-stub