John William Salt, OGS (30 October 1941 – 7 February 2017) was a British Anglican bishop. He was the Bishop of St Helena from 1999 to 2011. He lived on the island of

St Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...

, which is situated in the

South Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

Early life

Salt was born 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 Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Graduating with a Diploma of Theology (London) in 1965. Having previously studied at

Kelham Kelham is a small village and civil parish in Nottinghamshire about northwest of Newark on a bend in the A617 road near its crossing of the River Trent. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 207. Historical Kelham ...

(1961), he was ordained deacon in 1966 and priest in 1967 in the

Diocese of Carlisle The Diocese of Carlisle was created in 11 April 1132 by Henry I out of part of the Diocese of Durham, although many people of Cumbric descent in the area looked to Glasgow for spiritual leadership. The first bishop was Æthelwold, who was the ki ...

where he served his first curacy. Salt served as a curate at St Matthew's, Harrogate Street, Barrow. Later, as Bishop of St Helena, he returned to preach in 2007 at a Choral Evensong marking the 40th anniversary of the new church.

Ministry in Africa

In 1970, Salt went to southern Africa to the parish of Mohales Hoek in the

Diocese of Lesotho 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 Taas ...

. In 1971 he was appointed assistant chaplain and master at St Agnes' School in

Teyateyaneng Teyateyaneng is a town located in the district of Berea in Lesotho. Usually abbreviated to T.Y., Teyateyaneng takes its name from the two twin rivers which run on the north (Tebe-tebe River) and the South (Teja-tejana River). Both rivers lead to ...

, thereafter serving at the Cathedral of St Mary and St James in

Maseru Maseru is the capital and largest city of Lesotho. It is also the capital of the Maseru District. Located on the Caledon River, Maseru lies directly on the Lesotho–South Africa border. Maseru had a population of 330,760 in the 2016 census. The ...

, the capital of

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...

. In 1977, Salt was appointed as

precentor A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...

St Cyprian's Cathedral, Kimberley The Cathedral Church of St Cyprian the Martyr, Kimberley, is the seat of the Bishop of the Kimberley and Kuruman, Anglican Church of Southern Africa. The building was dedicated in 1908, becoming a Cathedral when the Synod of Bishops mandated fo ...

, the mother church of the

Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman 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 ov ...

, serving under deans Thomas Stanage and Roy Snyman. He subsequently took charge of St Stephen's in

Vryburg Vryburg () is a large agricultural town with a population of 48,400 situated in the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality of the North West Province (South Africa), North West Province of South Africa. It is the seat and the industrial ...

, in the same diocese. In 1989, Salt was made the dean of

Eshowe Eshowe is the oldest town of European settlement in Zululand, historically also known as Eziqwaqweni, Ekowe or kwaMondi. Eshowe's name is said to be inspired by the sound of wind blowing through the more than 4 km² of the indigenous Dlinza ...

and archdeacon of the Cathedral of St Michael and All Angels, Eshowe, in the

Diocese of Zululand The Diocese of Zululand is a diocese of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa which covers the part of the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal that lies to the northeast of the Buffalo and Tugela Rivers. It is divided in ten archdeaconries. ...

Bishop of St Helena

In 1999, Salt was consecrated as a bishop when he was elected to the Diocese of St Helena, where he was enthroned as the 14th Bishop of St Helena on 26 September 1999. The Bishop of St Helena has jurisdiction over the islands of St Helena and Ascension. In 2009 the diocese marked its 150th anniversary. On 31 October there was a ceremonial re-enactment of the landing of St Helena's first bishop,

Piers Claughton Piers Calveley Claughton (8 June 1814 – 11 August 1884) was an Anglican colonial bishop and author. Early life The son of Thomas Claughton ( M.P. for Newton, Lancashire, 1818 – 25) of Haydock Lodge, he was educated at Brasenose College, ...

. Salt began the celebration by being rowed ashore, as Bishop Claughton would have been 150 years previously. Locals, some of whom had donned period costume, commented on his courage, given the "undesirable" weather. As patron of the Citizenship Commission, Salt continued the work of his predecessor, Bishop John Ruston, towards supporting "restoration of full rights of citizenship of those British subjects who are Saint Helenian."

Private life

Salt was an English-constitution Freemason, having been initiated in 1993 in Eshowe Lodge No 2596. On his consecration as Bishop of St Helena he became a member of St Helena Lodge No 488, the only masonic lodge meeting on the island of St Helena.

Retirement

Salt retired as Bishop of St Helena in March 2011, having served for over 11 years. He returned to his native England and lived in

Walsingham Walsingham () is a civil parish in North Norfolk, England, famous for its religious shrines in honour of Mary, mother of Jesus. It also contains the ruins of two medieval Christian monasticism, monastic houses.Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Exp ...

, Norfolk, where he had an active retirement ministry at the Shrine of

Our Lady of Walsingham Our Lady of Walsingham is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus venerated by Catholics, Western Rite Orthodoxy, Western Rite Orthodox Christians, and some Anglicans associated with the Marian apparitions to Richeldis de Faverches, a pious English peo ...

. He died on 7 February 2017 in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, at the age of 75.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salt, John William 1941 births 2017 deaths 21st-century Anglican Church of Southern Africa bishops Anglican Church of Southern Africa deans Anglican bishops of St Helena Members of Anglican religious orders