The Diocese of Lesotho is a diocese in the

Anglican Church of Southern Africa 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 l ...

. It comprises the entire nation of

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked as an enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the highest mountains in Southern Africa. It has an area of over and has a population ...

. 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 new elected bishop the Right Revd Dr Vicentia Kgabe was installed on the 5th of December 2021.

History

was originally included in the

Anglican 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 ...

but became an independent diocese in 1950, still with the name of

Basutoland Basutoland was a British Crown colony that existed from 1884 to 1966 in present-day Lesotho. Though the Basotho (then known as Basuto) and their territory had been under British control starting in 1868 (and ruled by Cape Colony from 1871), t ...

. His first bishop was John Maund, who would be in office from 1950 to 1976. Upon the independence from 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 ...

in 1966, the diocese was renamed the Diocese of Lesotho. The seat of the diocese is 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 ...

List of Bishops

* John Arrowsmith Maund 1950-1976 *

Desmond Mpilo Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop ...

1976-1978 *

Philip Stanley Mokuku Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

1978-1997 *

Andrew Thabo Duma Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derived ...

1997-1999 *

Joseph Mahapu Tsubella Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

1999-2006 * See Vacant - 2007 * Adam Taaso 2008– 2020. *

Vicentia Kgabe 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. Early life and education Born in Soweto, Kgabe attended schools in Soweto, she ...

was elected by the synod of bishops of the

, after the electoral college of the diocese of Lesotho failed to elect a successor to Taaso. She will be consecrated as a bishop at a later date.

Bishops suffragan

* Fortescue Tumelo Makhetha *

Donald Nestor Donald Patrick Nestor (6 October 1938 – 10 January 2003) was a British suffragan bishop in Lesotho, a diocese in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa from 1979. In 1992 he returned to England to serve as an Assistant Bishop of Blackburn and ...

* Andrew Thabo Duma

References

External links

* Anglican Church of Southern Africa dioceses Christianity in Lesotho {{Anglican-diocese-stub