The church was founded as the diocese of Eastern Equatorial Africa (Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania) in 1884,

with James Hannington as the first bishop; however, Protestant missionary activity had been present in the
area since 1844, when Johann Ludwig Krapf, a Lutheran missionary, landed in Mombasa. The first Africans
were ordained to the priesthood in 1885. In 1898, the diocese was split into two, with the new diocese of
Mombasa governing Kenya and northern Tanzania (the other diocese later became the Church of Uganda);
northern Tanzania was separated from the diocese in 1927. Mass conversions of Africans began as early as
1910. In 1955, the diocese's first African bishops, Festo Olang' and Obadiah Kariuki, were consecrated by
the Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher, in Uganda. In 1960, the province of East Africa,
comprising Kenya and Tanzania, was formed with Leonard James Beecher as archbishop. The province was
divided into two, with Festo Olang' being the first African archbishop of the new province of Kenya in
1970. Manasses Kuria was the Archbishop of Kenya from 1980 to 1994. The current archbishop is Joseph
Ole Sapit, who is in office since 2016 .1

The Anglican Church of Kenya has been politically active throughout its history. As the official church of
the colonial power, the Anglican missions enjoyed a privileged position, and Anglican preachers sharply
denounced the Mau Mau rebellion in the 1950s. A number of Kikuyu loyalists who rejected Mau Mau were
active church members.[2] When President Daniel arap Moi moved to consolidate his power by suppressing
free speech and limiting political opposition, Anglican leaders spoke out in defense of civil rights. Bishop
David Gitari famously denounced election controls in a 1987 sermon that received considerable criticism
from Moi supporters, but other church leaders soon joined in Gitari's criticisms. In 1990, Bishops Henry
Okullu and Alexander Muge criticized the state's investigation of the murder of moderate foreign minister
Robert Ouko. Bishop Muge was killed in a suspicious automobile accident later in the year after receiving
open threats from a government official. His death spurred Bishops Gitari, Okullu, and other Anglican
leaders to take an even more active public role, vocally supporting the move to multi-party democracy.[3]
Gitari became archbishop in 1995 and continued the church's active engagement around civil rights, using
his position to promote constitutional changes such as term limits and fairer elections.2

The history of the Anglican Church of Kenya goes back to 1844 when the first missionaries of the CMS
(Church Missionary Society) arrived in Mombasa. The Diocese of Eastern Equatorial Africa was formed in
1884, including today's Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The mission spread to central and western Kenya as
of the year 1900. The work benefitted greatly from the East Africa Revivals in the first half of the 20th
century, when mass conversions occurred. In 1927 Kenya became a diocese on its own. The first Kenyan
bishops were consecrated in 1955 and in 1960 the Province of East Africa was established covering Kenya
and Tanzania. The two countries became separate provinces ten years later. That same year, 1970, the first
African archbishop of Kenya was installed. In 1998 the name of the province was changed to Anglican
3
Church of Kenya.

The vision of the ACK is a strengthened Anglican Church built on the foundation of the apostolic faith in
Jesus Christ with the ability to equip all God's people to face the challenges of the new millennium. Its
mission is to bring all people into a living relationship with God through Jesus Christ, through preaching,
teaching, healing and social transformation and enabling them to grow in faith and live life in its fullness. 4
The church runs many educational and other institutions, e.g. a language school for expatriate and local
staff, a community development centre for orphaned and destitute children, several theological colleges and
a provincial programme of theological education by extension. St Paul's United Theological Colleges (now
University) in Limuru, near Nairobi, was jointly established by the Anglicans, Presbyterians and Methodists
in 1954. The Church Army Africa is the evangelistic and social welfare arm of the ACK. The church has
developed a five-year strategic plan which mainly focuses on evangelism and social transformation.5

Brief History

DR. Johann Ludwig Krapf, a German Lutheran, sent by the Church Missionary Society (CMS) arrived in
Mombasa in the year 1844. Dr. Krapf established a mission station at Rabai some 15 miles inland.The Rt.
Rev. William G. Peel, the first Bishop of the Diocese of Mombasa arrived in Nairobi at the same time as the
uganda railway in 1900.6

He conducted the first Anglican service in Nairobi attended by the railway officials of East Africa. Two years
later (1902) the first European Chaplain, the Rev. P.A. Bennet arrived to serve the growing European
community in Nairobi and the surrounding areas.7

The Foundation Stone of the first St. Stephens Church built of wood and corrugated iron was laid by
Bishop Peel in December 1903 and the Church was consecrated in 1904; it stood near where Parliament
buildings now stand. This church was moved to Pumwani in 1922 and re-dedicated to St. John. Another St.
Stephens was built of stone next to the first St. Stephens where the present Chamber of Parliament is now.
It was demolished to make way for the extensions to Parliament in 1963. Because it was so strongly built
dynamite had to be used to bring it down.8

The need for a larger church was realized and under the Revd. W.M Falloon money was steadily collected.
During this time the original church of St. Marks Parklands was built in 1907. This was behind the present
Parklands Police station.9

In July 1914 a public meeting of European Anglicans was held to raise money for a permanent church in
the centre of Nairobi and the Foundation Stone for the Church of All Saints was laid on 3rd February
1917.10

On 31st July 1918, the newly appointed Bishop Heywood dedicated the incomplete new Church. (The first
part of the Nave)11

The design of Mr. Temple Moore, an architect who thought Gothic and was said to be one of the most
outstanding architects in that style in the late Victorian era, was for a large church, and further portions of
the building were completed in 1924, 1934 and in 1952 to a new design for the Chancel.12

In November 1924, the Church of All Saints became the Cathedral of the Highlands, equal in status to the
Cathedral in Mombasa.13

However, even by 1934, the building had only progressed as far as the Chancel arch and it remained in that
incomplete state until after the Second World War.14
In 1949 an appeal was launched to complete the building and the present building, All Saints Cathedral,
was consecrated to the glory of God on 21st March 1952 by Bishop R. P. Crabbe.

1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglican_Church_of_Kenya Accessed On 02-11-2017
2
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglican_Church_of_Kenya Accessed On 02-11-2017
3
https://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/anglican-church-of-kenya Accessed On 02-11-2017
4
https://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/anglican-church-of-kenya Accessed On 02-11-2017
5
https://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/anglican-church-of-kenya Accessed On 02-11-2017
6
http://www.allsaintsnairobi.org/the-church/ Accessed On 02-11-2017
7
http://www.allsaintsnairobi.org/the-church/ Accessed On 02-11-2017
8
http://www.allsaintsnairobi.org/the-church/ Accessed On 02-11-2017
9
http://www.allsaintsnairobi.org/the-church/ Accessed On 02-11-2017
10
http://www.allsaintsnairobi.org/the-church/ Accessed On 02-11-2017
11
http://www.allsaintsnairobi.org/the-church/ Accessed On 02-11-2017
12
http://www.allsaintsnairobi.org/the-church/ Accessed On 02-11-2017
13
http://www.allsaintsnairobi.org/the-church/ Accessed On 02-11-2017
14
http://www.allsaintsnairobi.org/the-church/ Accessed On 02-11-2017