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, in 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 ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

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

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State (province), Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legisla ...

Cathedral.

Early career

Aiken qualified with a Master of Theology degree from

St Andrew's University (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

(1985) and a Certificate in Theology from

Ripon College Cuddesdon Ripon College Cuddesdon is a Church of England 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 ordained and lay min ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

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

Diocese of Blackburn The Diocese of Blackburn is a Church of England diocese, covering much of Lancashire, created on 12 November 1926 from part of the Diocese of Manchester. The diocese includes the towns of Blackburn, Blackpool and Burnley, the cities of Lancas ...

. 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 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

, and St Anne’s at St Annes-on-Sea. 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, two- ...

(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. Its nearest neigh ...

, 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 service (or office) of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours, which are prayed at fixed prayer times. The English wo ...

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

, being chaplain for the annual Easter course at

Rossall School Rossall School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for 0–18 year olds, between Cleveleys and Fleetwood, Lancashire. Rossall was founded in 1844 by St Vincent Beechey as a sister school to Marlborough College ...

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

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

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. History The first service North of the Orange River to be taken by an Anglican clergyman was conducted in 1850 by † Robert Gray, the first Bishop of Cape Town ...

– 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 in Alexandra, Johannesburg) 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 ...

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 is a multi-campus public university in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State and the judicial capital of South Africa. It was first established as an institution of higher learning in 1904 as a tertiary se ...

and the

Central University of Technology Central University of Technology, Free State or CUT is a University of Technology in Bloemfontein in the Free State province of South Africa. It was established in 1981 as "Technikon A technikon was a post-secondary institute of technology (poly ...

, 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 Oswald Peter Patrick Swartz (born 1953) is a South African Anglican bishop. He is the twelfth and current Bishop of Kimberley and Kuruman. Swartz was born in Kimberley, Northern Cape and educated at St Paul's Theological College, Grahamsto ...

, bishop of the

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 language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

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

Sesotho Sotho () or Sesotho () or Southern Sotho is a Southern Bantu language of the Sotho–Tswana ("S.30") group, spoken primarily by the Basotho in Lesotho, where it is the national and official language; South Africa (particularly the Free ...

. 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 of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

of the

References

External links

Sermon by the Very Revd Fr Simon Aiken, Dean of Kimberley, St Cyprian's Cathedral

* [http://stcypskimberley.blogspot.com/2011/04/easter-sermon-very-revd-fr-simon-aiken.html Easter Sermon, 24 April 2011, St Cyprian's Cathedral - with images from the Easter Monday Ordination and Chrism Mass]
Archdeacon's Charge, St Cyprian's Cathedral, 8 May 2011

* ttp://stcypskimberley.blogspot.com/2011_11_01_archive.html "Remembrance Sunday" - sermon by the Dean of Kimberley, 13 November 2011
Christmas Midnight Mass - The Word was made Flesh and Dwelt among Us, 25 December 2011

* ttp://stcypskimberley.blogspot.com/2012/03/sermon-for-lent-ii-2012-by-dean-of.html Sermon for Lent II, 2012 - The Very Revd Fr Simon Aiken, Dean of Kimberley, 4 March 2012
Sermon for Lent V, 'The Hour of Glory: Bearing much Fruit' by The Very Revd Fr Simon Aiken, Dean of Kimberley, 25 March 2012

* [http://stcypskimberley.blogspot.com/2012/04/easter-2012-noli-me-tangere-do-not.html Easter Sermon 2012: 'Noli me tangere - Do not touch me' by the Very Revd Fr Simon Aiken, Dean of Kimberley and Canon Missioner to the Diocese, 8 April 2012]
The Dean's sermon on 13 May 2012 - 104th anniversary of the dedication of St Cyprian's Cathedral

* ttp://stcypskimberley.blogspot.com/2012/08/sermon-for-feast-of-transfiguration.html Sermon for the Feast of the Transfiguration - the Very Revd Fr Simon Aiken, 5 August 2012
Sermon by the Dean - 'Therefore take up the armour of God' (Ephesians 6:10-20), 26 August 2012

* ttp://stcypskimberley.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-deans-patronal-festival-sermon-st.html The Dean's Patronal Festival Sermon, St Cyprian, 16 September 2012
Remembrance Sunday 2012, Sermon by the Dean, The Very Revd Simon Aiken, Honorary Chaplain to the Kimberley Regiment

* ttp://stcypskimberley.blogspot.com/2014/02/you-are-salt-of-earth-sermon-on-fourth.html 'You are the salt of the earth' - sermon for the fourth Sunday before Lent 9 February 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Aiken, Simon Mark Deans of Kimberley 21st-century South African Anglican priests Living people Alumni of Ripon College Cuddesdon Year of birth missing (living people)