In a sermon he preached Aug. 19 for the birthday of Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba acknowledged historic tensions between the prince and Archbishop Desmond Tutu:
[W]e recall that Archbishop Joost de Blank invited you to stay at Bishopscourt when you were not allowed to stay in hotels in Cape Town, and that you became close to Archbishop Robert Selby Taylor, beginning when you represented the Province (ACSA) at the historic Anglican Congress in Toronto in 1963. We recall too your close relations with Archbishop Bill Burnett and with that much-loved pioneer of the Church, Bishop Alphaeus Zulu. We acknowledge too that at times there were tensions between you and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and that there were times when you felt a lonely Christian.
But even at the most difficult times in our history, you were always willing to welcome Archbishop Tutu to Ulundi, recognizing him as your archbishop, sharing a meal with him there and even sending a plane to bring him from Durban. We recall also that during that time you welcomed our Synod of Bishops to kwaNzimela, and that when Archbishop Tutu asked you in 1993 to meet Nelson Mandela to talk peace, you agreed without hesitation. More recently we have celebrated in particular the fine example you set to church and society in breaking the silence and addressing the stigma around HIV and AIDS.
Today we celebrate your life as a faithful Anglican, as a lay minister, as a former Council member of St Peter’s Seminary, as a representative of your Diocese to the Province, and of the Province to the wider Anglican Communion.
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.