Southern Africa Hosts CAPA in Cape Town

Anglican Church leaders from across Africa are being hosted at meetings in Cape Town by Archbishop Thabo Makgoba.

The leaders include Archbishops, Bishops and other members of the Council of African Provinces of Africa (CAPA), a body which coordinates and articulates issues affecting the Church and communities across the continent.

The council, chaired by the Most Revd Bernard Ntahoturi, Archbishop of the Province of the Anglican Church of Burundi, represents Anglicans in 26 countries from 12 church provinces.

The meetings, which are happening in South Africa for the first time, include Primates (the leaders) of churches and members of the CAPA Standing Committee.

The meetings have included a gathering of members of the Anglican Global South, chaired by the Most Revd Dr Mouneer Hanna Anis of Egypt, President Bishop of the Anglican Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East.

Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, South Africa's Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, and Premier Helen Zille of the Western Cape sent messages of welcome to the delegates and their spouses.

Archbishop Makgoba said the meetings were a tangible expression of the Anglican family belonging together. He expressed hope that the meeting would renew relations among churches across Africa.

On the first day, participants visited Masikhanye Food Garden in Khayelitsha, an urban food project supported by the Anglican Church of Southern Africa's outreach arm, Hope Africa.

Archbishops plant onions at an urban food project in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. 

The visitors included, from left, Archbishop Ian Ernest of the Indian Ocean, Archbishop Ezekiel Kondo of the Internal Province of Sudan, Archbishop Mouneer Anis of the Anglican Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, Archbishop Jacob Chimeledya of Tanzania, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba of Cape Town and Archbishop Bolly Lapok of South-East Asia.