The church has twenty-five dioceses, of which twenty-one are located in South Africa, and one each in Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and Saint Helena.

Owen witnessed the massacre of Piet Retief, the Voortrekker leader, and his companions, who had come to negotiate a land treaty with Dingane, and left soon afterwards.

[18] There are more than 800 Anglican church congregations in Angola and Mozambique, and the new province would have an initial membership of approximately half a million people.

Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, was instrumental in determining the form Anglicanism was to take, not by writing confessional statements or significant theological treaties, but through his authoring of the Book of Common Prayer in 1549 and 1552.

All expressions of Anglicanism forever after defined itself in relation to the concept of the Prayer Book, whether being faithful to the Reformed tradition or seeking different approaches.

Other denominations have found unity in confessional documents, or doctrinal formularies, or a systematically articulated theology, or the pronouncements of magisterial authorities.

The work of the revision reflected the worldwide liturgical renewal, most notably in relation to the Roman Catholic Church as a result of decisions reached at its Second Vatican Council.

Theological breadth – catholic, evangelical, charismatic, and liberal – was aimed at in order to achieve balance and to accommodate these various convictions.

Two are taken from the Church of England, one is borrowed with permission from the Roman Catholic Canon, and pride of place is given in the First Eucharistic Prayer to an indigenous product.

The influence of the liturgical movement can be seen in the overall structure and language of the Eucharist, including seeking a sense of continuity with the early, apostolic church.

215), bishop of Rome, called the Apostolic Tradition, captured the imagination of contemporary liturgists and now appears in the modern liturgical books of different churches both Roman Catholic and Protestant.

The fourth Eucharistic prayer most closely maintains the link with the Hippolytus liturgy, but allows slight variation with respect to the wording of "we offer you" and "we bring before you" to accommodate different theological persuasions.

The basic teachings of the church, (contained in the catechism),[25] include: The threefold sources of authority in Anglicanism are scripture, tradition, and reason.

[31][32] The canon law of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa states that "marriage by divine institution is a lifelong and exclusive union partnership between one man and one woman.

[46] Thabo Makgoba, the current primate and archbishop, was quoted as being "one among few church leaders in Africa to support same-sex marriage.

"[47] The Diocese of Cape Town, after a synod in 2009, passed a resolution calling the bishops of the church to give pastoral guidelines for homosexual couples who lived in "covenanted relationships."

In 2009 the synod declared that "[g]ays and lesbians can be leaders within the Anglican Church of Southern Africa as long as they remain celibate".

[50] Mervyn Castle, who is openly gay, was consecrated as bishop of False Bay by Desmond Tutu, the then archbishop of Cape Town in 1994.

[52] In 2013, the Provincial Synod, governing the church, adopted a resolution that "urged its bishops to provide guidelines for giving pastoral care to same-sex couples who have entered civil unions under South African law.

[56] In 2016, the Revd Charlotte Bannister-Parker, a Church of England priest, presided with her bishop's permission over a service of celebration, and Archbishop Tutu was able to give a blessing for his daughter and her partner.

[57][58] Tutu decided to surrender her licence in South Africa to avoid controversy, but remained a priest of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington D.C. in the USA.

[59] Bishop Raphael Hess, of Saldanha Bay, supporting same-sex unions, is seeking to change church policy to allow her to serve.

"[65] In August 2016, the Diocese of Saldanha Bay proposed that the church bless same-gender unions and permit LGBTI priests to marry.

[72] Archbishop Thabo Makgoba set up a working group ".... to amend Canon 34 which will enable ministry to those in Same Sex Unions and the LGBTI Community in the context in which ACSA operates in Southern Africa.

"[73] In 2019, the Provincial Synod voted to establish a permanent commission on human sexuality and to send a report to dioceses, for "reflection and study," that recommends allowing each diocese to choose whether to offer services of prayer following a same-sex civil union during a trial period; a third motion to request that bishops develop guidelines for pastoral ministry to LGBTQ persons was deadlocked, and did not pass, in a vote of 75 in favour to 75 against.

Moderate conservative Bishop Johannes Seoka, of the Anglican Diocese of Pretoria, represented the province at the Global South Fourth Encounter that took place in Singapore on 19–23 April 2010 and at their subsequent meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, on 18–20 July 2012.

At the same time, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba emphasised his province's role of "being at the heart of Anglican life, often acting as a bridge-builder, and drawing on its own experiences of living with considerable diversity and wrestling with difference.

[88] Nopece led a 10 members delegation, which included Bishop Nathaniel Nakwatumbah of the Anglican Diocese of Namibia, to the GAFCON II that took place at Nairobi, Kenya, on 21–26 October 2013.