Clergy

There nearly 90 Priests and more than a dozen Deacons in the Diocese. There is at present no Bishop, but Ebenezer Ntlali, Archdeacon of King William's Town, is the Bishop-Elect, to be consecrated and installed on 20 September. Some of the priests are employed by the College of the Transfiguration and other Church institutions, and a number are retired.

Less than a third of the Clergy are paid by the Diocese

Of the priests, less than 30 are stipendiary (i.e. paid by the Diocese). Almost all the deacons are non-stipendiary. In addition, some formerly stipendiary priests who are on pension, are actively engaged in parish ministry, and two or three priests have their stipends sponsored by church bodies beyond the diocesan borders.

This means that much of the ministry in the Diocese rests upon non-stipendiary priests. Some of them earn their living at secular employment during the week, while others have means, such as e.g. a pension from former employment, which enable them to engage in ministry full-time. The self-supporting clergy include about a dozen who are rectors or priests-in-charge of parishes, including one Archdeacon. The rest are attached to parishes to assist the rector, and at times when there is an interregnum, may also find themselves with the responsibility for a parish. A further ten retired clergy have Permission to Officiate, and help out from time to time, unless they are too frail or aged.

Of eleven people ordained deacon in June 2004, only one was stipendiary.

Woman Priests

Grahamstown was the first Diocese in the ACSA to ordain women priests, in 1992. There are now about 20 women clergy in the Diocese, all but one self-supporting. Among these are: Canon Suzanne Peterson, a member of Chapter and Sub-Dean of the Cathedral. The Revd Hazel Goodfellow is acting Archdeacon of Albany, a member of Chapter and Rector of St Bartholomew's in Grahamstown. The Revd Ruth Brandt is Administrator for the Ukhahlamba region. The Revd Noelene Arends is the Diocesan Coordinator for HIV/AIDs based in Queenstown. The others are Assistants, or are on the staff of the Diocesan School for Girls or the College of the Transfiguration.

Languages

Many parishes are mixed language. A number of parishes have two congregations, one English-speaking and the other Xhosa.

All the Xhosa- , Afrikaans- and Sotho-speaking clergy also speak English fluently, and the Sotho speakers have a good command of Xhosa. Some of the English-speaking clergy also speak Afrikaans, and a few of them Xhosa.

English-speaking:	about 53
Xhosa-speaking:	about 54
Sotho-speaking:	3
Afrikaans-speaking:	one or two
Other African languages:	2