Geoffrey Hare Clayton was an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

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

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College (officially "The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College or Hall of Valence-Mary") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 ...

, and ordained, after a period of study at Ripon College Cuddesdon, in 1909. A Fellow of

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite ...

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

Chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

to the BEF. When peace returned he was vicar of Little St Mary's, Cambridge and after that (successively) vicar, rural dean and finally archdeacon of Chesterfield. 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, he died on 7 March 1957.''Archbishop of Cape Town Scholar And Christian Gentleman'' The Times 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 falls on the first day of Lent (the six weeks of penitence before Easter). It is observed by Catholics in the Rom ...

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 ( af, Eerste Minister van Suid-Afrika) 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 Sout ...

J.G. Strijdom Johannes Gerhardus Strijdom (also spelled Strydom in accordance with Afrikaans spelling; 14 July 1893 – 24 August 1958), also known as Hans Strijdom and nicknamed the Lion of the North or the Lion of Waterberg, was the fifth prime minister of ...

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 Native Laws Amendment Act, 1952 (Act No. 54 of 1952, subsequently renamed the Bantu Laws Amendment Act, 1952 and the Black Laws Amendment Act, 1952), formed part of the apartheid system of racial segregation in South Africa. It amended sectio ...

. The act sought to force apartheid 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