Diocese of Lebombo

Diocese of Lebombo
Location
Ecclesiastical province	Anglican Church of Southern Africa
Archdeaconries	6
Statistics
Parishes	40
Information
Rite	Anglican
Cathedral	Cathedral of St. Augustine, Maciene
Current leadership
Bishop	Carlos Matsinhe
Website
Anglican Diocese of Lebombo at the ACSA Official Website

The Diocese of Lebombo (pt. Diocese Anglicana dos Libombos) is a diocese in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. It is one of the two Anglican dioceses of Mozambique. This diocese is the more southerly of the two, the other being Niassa. It is divided into 6 archdeaconries: Inhambane District, Limpopo, Maciene, Maputo District, Pungoe and Umbeluzi. There are advanced plans for the division of the diocese into three separate dioceses.

History

The diocese was a result of the British missionary activity in Portuguese Mozambique, in the 19th century. The first bishop nominated of the Anglican Diocese of Lebombo was William Edmund Smyth, in 1893, who would be in functions until 1912. Only after the beginning of the war of independence between Portugal and the FRELIMO, the diocese would have his first Portuguese language bishop, Daniel Pina Cabral, a white European born prelate. Pina Cabral developed friendly relationships with the Roman Catholic bishops of Mozambique and established contact with members of the FRELIMO. He would be in office from 1969 to 1976, shortly after the independence. He was succeeded by the first Mozambican-born black bishop, Dinis Sengulane, in office from 1976 to 2014. He was succeeded by Carlos Matsinhe.

The seat of the diocese is the Cathedral of St Augustine in Maciene in Mozambique. The largest city in the diocese is Maputo. At the 2012 Provincial Synod of the Church of Southern Africa plans to create further dioceses in Mozambique were discussed. As an interim measure, two new episcopal areas are to be created in Lebombo Diocese, with two Area Bishops appointed to work with the Diocesan Bishop. The 21st session of the diocesan synod, meeting in October 2015, confirmed the plans, and also stated that the new dioceses would be named Inhambane and Pungue.

List of Bishops

• William Edmund Smyth 1893-1912
• John Latimer Fuller 1913-1920
• Leonard Noel Fisher 1921-1928
• Basil William Peacey 1929-1936
• Dennis Victor 1936-1948
• John Boys 1948-1952
• Humphry Beevor 1952-1958
• Stanley Chapman Pickard 1958-1969
• Daniel Pina Cabral 1969-1976
• Dinis Sengulane 1976-2014
• Carlos Matsinhe 2014-

References

• Sheldon, Kathleen; Newitt, Malyn (1997). "A History of Mozambique". African Studies Review. 40 (1): 179. doi:10.2307/525052. ISSN 0002-0206.
• Burrell, Sheenagh (23 February 2012). "ALMA - Reps Circular". Alma Link. Diocese of London. Retrieved 2014-08-10. At the Provincial Synod of Bishops the multiplication of Mozambican dioceses was on the agenda. Archbishop Thabo reports: We began our work with a lively discussion facilitated by Bishop Brian Germond around the topic of creatively thinking outside of the box. We re-examined some of the mission opportunities God provides us, and the recent proposals of multiplication coming from the dioceses of Mozambique challenged us to think again on how we might respond{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)

• MANNA Magazine, no. 90, Mozambique and Angola Anglican Association, p. 10, Spring 2012 {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

• "Bishop Dinis Sengulane". Global Health Council. Archived from the original on 19 October 2010. Retrieved 21 October 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
• Malton, W. H. C. (1912). The Story of the Diocese of Lebombo. Lebombo Home Association. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)