The Diocese of Khartoum
The background of the Christian faith in this Diocese goes back to the conversion by Evangelist Philip of the Ethiopian eunuch in the Acts chapter 8 and the arrival of Julian in AD 543 to Sudan.
The Christian Kingdoms of Nubatia, Makuria and Alwa disappeared and were replaced by Islam. The arrival of CMS Missionaries, led by Llewellyn Gwynne at the dawning of this century, gave rise to the establishment of the Protestant Christian tradition. Gwynne arrived and started the Anglican faith in Omdurman in 1899.
In 1904 Gwynne was able to lay the foundation stone of All Saints Cathedral in Khartoum (near the Republican Palace), which was opened in 1912 by the Bishop of London Dr. Winnington Ingram. The Cathedral became the CMS Headquarters from which they would operate for years to come in the Sudan. It was built as a memorial to Charles George Gordon who died in Khartoum in 1885.
Four Dioceses were created under the newly inaugurated Province of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan in 1976. Khartoum was one of these dioceses led by Bishop Butrus Tia Shokai, its first Sudanese leader. The heavy responsibility of the Diocese of the Sudan was transferred from Khartoum to Juba.
This change brought significant development in the life of the Diocese of Omdurman then. Under his leadership, Shokai created two Archdeaconries, the North Archdeaconry and the Archdeaconry of the Nuba Mountains. At the moment, there are 7 archdeaconries in the Diocese. This Headquarters of the Diocese was finally transferred from Omdurman to Khartoum in 1983 with the opening of the new Cathedral in Amarat.
The Diocese of Khartoum is one of the largest dioceses of the Province of the Episcopal Church of Sudan. It covers six government States: Khartoum, Gezira, Blue Nile, White Nile in the South and River Nile and Northern State in the North of Sudan. The Diocese is composed of all the tribes of the Sudan.
These four dioceses have a special link relationship with the Diocese of Bradford in the United Kingdom.
For a more detailed map of all the dioceses that are the Episcopal Church of Sudan, visit the Provincial Church Website.
The Office of the Episcopal Church of Sudan is based in Juba with Liaison Office in Khartoum
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