Cathedral of St Mary and All Saints, Harare explained

Building Name:Cathedral of St Mary and All Saints
Location:Harare Zimbabwe
Religious Affiliation:Anglican Communion
District:Harare, Zimbabwe
Status:Major cathedral
Architect:Herbert Baker
Groundbreaking:1913
Year Completed:1961

The Cathedral of St Mary and All Saints, Harare is an Anglican cathedral in Zimbabwe. The cathedral, located at the intersection of Nelson Mandela Avenue and Sam Nujoma Street in Harare, was begun in 1913 to plans by British architect Herbert Baker; he also designed the cathedrals of Cape Town and Johannesburg.

History

Construction began under The Rt Rev. Frederic Beaven, Bishop of Mashonaland, and the sanctuary and choir were completed in 1914. The sandstone structure was only finished in 1961. The cathedral features a bell tower with 10 bells which were cast in London. There are four chapels, dedicated to St George, St Mary, St Cecelia and the martyr Bernard Mizeki.

On the walls of the nave, there are 14 murals of Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion, the series being a traditional set of the Stations of the Cross. The murals were painted in spring 1981, and presented for Easter celebration that year.[1]

In 2012 a special service marked the return of the building to the Church of the Province of Central Africa after victory in a long-running legal battle with excommunicated former bishop Nolbert Kunonga, who had broken away from the CPCA in 2007 to form his own church. Kunonga and his supporters seized cars, churches, orphanages and other properties belonging to the CPCA. Eventually, the Supreme Court ruled that all the properties should be returned to the Anglican Diocese of Harare.

The present Bishop of Harare is The Rt Rev. Dr Farai Mutamiri.

See also

Bishopslea Preparatory School

-17.828°N 31.0512°W

Notes and References

  1. News: March 2001 . 2001 . McCartney . Murray . Stations of the Cross : Jackie Carstairs' murals in the Anglican Cathedral . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240607204952/https://gallerydelta.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/gallerymag27.pdf . 2024-06-07 . 2024-06-28 . Gallery . Gallery Publications / Gallery Delta . 16–17 . en . pdf . Harare, Zimbabwe . 27 . 1561-1574.