Diocese of St Helena

Diocese of St Helena Anglican Church of Southern Africa
Arms of the Bishop of St Helena
Saint Paul's Cathedral
Bishop:	Richard Fenwick
Cathedral:	St Paul's Cathedral, St Helena
Organisation
No. of parishes:	4
Details
Website:	dioceseofsthelena.com

The Diocese of St Helena is a diocese which covers the Atlantic Ocean islands of St Helena and Ascension within the British overseas territory of St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. Of this territory, the isle of Tristan da Cunha is outside the Diocese of St Helena and overseen by the Archbishop of Cape Town instead. The diocese is part of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, formerly known as the Church of the Province of Southern Africa.

The Diocese of St Helena was created in 1859. Its cathedral is Saint Paul's Cathedral on St Helena.

History

The first chapel on St Helena was built by its discoverer in 1502, the Portuguese admiral, João da Nova, who anchored in the lee of the island opposite the deep valley which is now filled with the island's capital, Jamestown.

The East India Company occupied St Helena in 1659 for its strategic importance as a fortress and staging post on the route to and from India. They built the fort and the growing town in the valley used Da Nova's chapel, when shorn of its overly papist trimmings. In 1671, the East India Company sent the first chaplain. In 1674 the early chapel was torn down and replaced by a slightly bigger church (later named St James church). Another church ("the Country Church") was built shortly afterwards near the present St. Paul's Cathedral.

By 1774 the first parish church in Jamestown showed signs of decay, and so finally a new building was erected. St James' is the oldest surviving Anglican church south of the Equator.

On 7 March 1849 the first Bishop of Cape Town, Robert Gray, arrived to conduct the confirmations on the Island. Bishop Gray made a further two visits in 1852 and 1857. Ten years later, in 1859, the Diocese of St. Helena was established by Order in Council, and included St Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha. Furthermore, until 1869 the diocese also included the British residents of Rio de Janeiro and other towns on the eastern seaboard of South America as well as the Falkland Islands. The first Bishop was Piers Calverley Claughton, who was consecrated in Westminster Abbey and arrived later the same year. St Paul's Cathedral, built 1850-51, became the cathedral in 1859.

After the Zulu War, Chief Dinizulu, son of King Cetshwayo, and his family were exiled to the Island in 1890 for nine years. Dinizulu became a convert to Christianity and was baptised and confirmed by the Bishop.

In the 1960s, Tristan da Cunha was transferred to the Diocese of Cape Town.

The diocese is the fourth oldest diocese in the Church of the Province of Southern Africa.

Parishes

There are three parishes on St Helena with 12 churches, and one on Ascension Island:

St Paul's Cathedral, St Helena

St Helena:

• The Cathedral Parish of St Paul's which consists of St Paul's Cathedral, and four daughter churches:
  • St Andrew's, Half Tree Hollow
  • St Helena of the Cross, Blue Hill
  • St Martin's in the Hills, Thompson's Hill
  • St Peter's, Sandy Bay
• The Parish of St James: St James' Church in Jamestown, the oldest Anglican Church in the southern hemisphere, built in 1774. There are 3 daughter churches:
  • St John's, Upper Jamestown
  • St Mary's, the Briars
  • St Michael's, Rupert's Valley
• The Parish of St Matthew: St Matthew in Hutt's Gate with one daughter church:
  • St Mark's, Longwood
  • a congregation at Levelwood but no church building

Ascension Island:

• St Mary's in Georgetown

Ascension Island

The cornerstone of St Mary’s church on Ascension was laid by Mrs Dwyer, wife of the Commandant, on 6 September 1843. The following year the first Royal Navy Chaplain arrived, the Rev George Bellamy. The main body of the church was completed in 1846, making it the second oldest existing Anglican church in the Diocese, second only to St James church on St. Helena.

Bishop Piers Calverley Claughton arrived on H.M.S. Buffalo in 1861 to consecrate the church and conduct a confirmation service. The old pulpit and reading desk was removed in 1870, during the time of Rev J T Westroff and replaced with a lectern. The pews were also replaced with open seats and an altar, with rails was installed. Two years later, the Revd. George C Waller added a seat in the chancel. Between 1879-1880 restoration work was undertaken under the auspices of Captain A G Roe. A chancel was also added. Over the next two decades, a new organ was installed, the chancel was paved with tessellated pavement, the present brass lectern replaced the old one, a new stained glass East window was installed, and an oak litany desk was donated. On Easter Day in 1900 a stone font was presented by the congregation and placed at the entrance to the church.

The end Royal Navy Chaplains presiding at the church came to an end in 1905 when the Garrison was reduced to 120. The Bishops paid twice yearly visits and Sunday worship was led by lay people licensed by the Bishop. The Royal Naval Garrison was finally withdrawn in 1922. Ascension Island became a dependency of the Colony of St Helena a status it would maintain until 2009. From 1966 onwards, with Revd John Crawford appointed as the first vicar of St Mary’s, the Bishops of St Helena appointed vicars to take care of the parish.

Bishops of St Helena

Tenure	Incumbent	Notes
1859-1862	Piers Calverley Claughton
1862-1899	Thomas Earle Welby
1899-1905	John Garraway Holmes
1905-1930	William Arthur Holbech
1931-1935	Charles Christopher Watts
1935-1939	Charles Arthur William Aylen
1939-1960	Gilbert Price Lloyd Turner
1960-1967	Harold Beardmore
1967-1973	Edmund Michael Hubert Capper
1973-1979	George Kenneth Giggall
1979-1985	Edward Alexander Carman
1985-1991	James Nathaniel Johnson
1991-1999	John Harry Gerald Ruston
1999-2011	John William Salt
2011-	Richard David Fenwick

Outside links

• Diocese of St Helena
• Website of Ascension Island Heritage Society