The history of the Churches in South Africa – especially the Dutch Reformed Church – is so closely interwoven with the general history of the Cape since the days when Johan van Riebeeck first planted the flag of the United Netherlands on the shore of Table Bay, that the two might be said to be identical in scope.

 

The Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa began with a small congregation of servants of the East India Company, who assembled in a hall of the small fort.

When Van Riebeeck arrived here he brought no regularly ordained clergyman, but with him was one Willem Barents Wylant,” a Ziekentrooster,” which literally means a “comforter of the sick,” who conducted services on a Sunday in the great hall of the old fort.

When ships called, the chaplains conducted service during their stay, and usually administered the sacraments. The first who is recorded to have acted in this capacity was the Rev. Mr. Backerius, chaplain of the Walvisch.

In 1678, a site was granted for a new church at the lower end of the great garden, and the foundation stone was laid by Governor Van der Stel on 28th December, 1700; but it was not until 1704 that the building was finished, which is now the Adderley Street Church. The first service was held therein on the 6th of January, 1704, the Rev. Petrus Kalden being the preacher. The Church was enlarged in 1779 and again in 1836. The eastern wall and the tower still standing were portions of the original building. The Church contains a fine specimen of wood-carving by Anthon Anreith, and in the aisles are some stones bearing inscriptions relating to the early pioneers who were buried there.

Dutch Reformed Churches
Others are at:
Bree Street
Somerset Road
Leeuwen Street
Hanover Street
Buitenkant Street
Main Road, Three Anchor Bay
Arthur’s Road, Sea Point
Van Kamp Street, Camps Bay
Aberdeen Street, Woodstock
Collingwood Road, Observatory
Central Square, Pinelands
St. Andrew’s, Rondebosch
Albert Road, Wynberg
Tokai Road, Retreat
Main Road, Kalk Bay
St. George’s Street, Simonstown
Toronga Road, Lansdowne
Voortrekker Road, Maitland
Forridon Street, Brooklyn

Anglican

 

During the English occupation of the Cape from 1795 to 1803, the Dutch Reformed Church, in accordance with the terms of the capitulation to the English arms, was known as the Established Church. The only Anglican Church services were conducted in the Castle by the military chaplains, and the con-sent of the Governor, as Ordinary, was necessary to marriages and baptisms. When the Colony was handed over to the Batavian Republic in 1893, and the English officials and troops were withdrawn, certain restrictions were placed upon the exercise of religious liberty.

 

Though services were conducted at the Castle by the chaplains regularly from the date of the second occupation, the arrival of the Rev. D. Griffiths in 1806, as Garrison Chaplain, was followed by great activity and energy on the part of the Anglicans.

Mr. Griffiths’ successor was the Rev. Robert Jones, during whose incumbency the use of the Dutch Reformed Church was granted for the celebration of the English services. The Dutch Reformed Church continued to be used for the Anglican service till the opening of St. George’s in 1834. The first English Church erected in South Africa was St. George’s at Simonstown.

The building of St. George’s Cathedral was not the work of a few days. Several projects were adopted, and abandoned owing to lack of funds. It was not till the visit in 1827 of Bishop James of Calcutta, in whose See the Cape was situated, that the Cathedral site was consecrated. The laying of the foundation stone was, however, delayed for three years after that date, when the Governor, Sir Lowry Cole, performed the ceremony with masonic honours, all the clergy taking part in the proceedings being Freemasons.

The new Cathedral of St. George, designed by Mr. Herbert Baker, is a dignified and inspiring building of Table Mountain sandstone but is only partially completed. The memorial stone in the buttress adjoining the Government Avenue was laid by H.M. King George V., when, as the Duke of Cornwall and York, he visited Capetown in 1901.
There is the Memorial Chapel adjoining which was erected as a memorial to the officers and men of the Imperial Forces who gave their lives in the South African War. A Roll of Honour emblazoned on vellum and bearing the names of all those who gave their lives in this campaign is enshrined within this Chapel and may be inspected upon application to the Very Rev. the Dean of Cape town. Adjoining the Cathedral are the buildings of the St. George’s Grammar School where the boys of the choir are trained and educated.

A list of Anglican Churches:

St. Mark’s Church, Bamford Avenue, Athlone
Church of the Transfiguration, Coronation Av., Bellville
St. Peter’s Church, Park Avenue, Camps Bay
St. Saviour’s Church, Main. Road, Claremont
Christ Church, Constantia Nek Road, Constantia
All Saints Church, Church Street, Durbanville
St. Margaret’s Church, cr. Fifth Avenue and Kommetjie Road, Fish Hoek
St. Alban’s Church, Alice Street, Goodwood
St. Alban’s Church, Cheviot Place, Green Point
St. Peter’s Church, Main Road, Hout Bay
St. Philip’s Church, Chapel Street, Cape Town
Holy Trinity Church, Main Road, Kalk Bay
St. Aidan’s Church, St. Aidan’s Road, Lansdowne
St. Anne’s Church, cr. Suffolk Street and Coronation Road, Maitland
Church of the Good Shepherd, Main Road, Maitland
St. Oswald’s Church, Jansen Road, Milnerton
St. Nicholas’ Church, Elsies River Road, Matroosfontein
All Saints Church, Main Road, Muizenberg
St. Peter’s Church, Durban Road, Mowbray
St. Andrew’s Church, Kildare Road, Newlands
St. Michael’s Church, St. Michael’s Road, Observatory
St. Margaret’s Church, Hopkins Street, Parow
St. John’s Church, Frankfort Street, Parow
St. Stephen’s Church, Central Square, Pinelands
All Saints Church, Tiverton Road, Plumstead
St. Cyprian’s Church, Station Road, Retreat
St. Paul ‘s Church, Main Road, Rondebosch
St. Thomas Church, Camp Ground Road, Rondebosch
St. Luke’s Church, Lower Main Road, Salt River
St. James’ Church, St. James’ Road, Sea Point
Church of the Holy Redeemer, Kloof Road, Sea Point
St. Frances’ Church, Main Road, Simonstown
St. Bartholomew’s Church, Queen’s Road, Woodstock
St. Mary’s Church, Station Road, Woodstock
Church of Christ the King, Milner Road Extension, Claremont
Christ Church, Summerly Road, Kenilworth
St. John’s Church, Waterloo Green, Wynberg

Roman Catholic

The history of the Roman Catholic Church in South Africa dates back to 1486, when Bartholomew Diaz erected a cross at Angra Pequena, and later on, in the same voyage, another which gave its name to Santa Cruz in Algoa Bay. Passing over many years and many interesting incidents, one reads of a call made at the Cape in 1685 by six Jesuits who were on their way to Siam, and who were sent thither for scientific purposes by Louis XIV. On their arrival they were kindly received by Governor Van der Stel, who granted them an observatory in the shape of a pavilion in the Gardens. Here in the course of their astronomical investigations they observed an eclipse of Jupiter’s moons; but in addition to scientific pursuits they visited many of their co-religionists who were sick, though they were not permitted to say Mass. In fact, it was not till 1805 that that privilege was granted to priests by Commissioner-General De Mist.
The Roman Catholic Church passed through various vicissitudes before its members were in a position to worship in their Cathedral, which stands on an elevated situation in Roeland Street, at the top of Plein Street. It was during the Episcopate of Bishop Griffiths that the Cathedral was begun, and he lived long enough to see it completed and opened for divine worship in 1857.

Catholic Churches

The Catholic Cathedral (St. Mary’s) faces Stalplein
Holy Cross, 36, Nile Street, Cape Town
Sacred Heart, 32, Somerset Road, Cape Town
St. Mary of the Angels, Lawrence Road, Athlone, Cape Flats
St. Vincent de Paul, Weltevreden Street, Bellville
St. Ignatius, Wade Road, Claremont
St. Joseph, 30, Anderson Street, Goodwood
The Most Holy Redeemer, Heathfield
Church of Our Lady Help of Christians, Lansdowne
St. John, 202, Coronation Road, Maitland
Holy Trinity Church, Matroosfontein, Cape Flats
St. Patrick, Langton Road, Mowbray
St. Francis Xavier, Pinelands
The Holy Name, Station Road, Observatory
St. Joseph, Philippi
St. Mary, Retreat
St. Michael, Rouwkoop Road, Rondebosch
St. James, St. James
St. Francis of Assisi, Coleridge Road, Salt River
Our Lady of Good Hope, St. Andrew’s Road, Sea Point
SS. Simon and Jude, St. George’s Street, Simonstown
St. Peter, Gordon’s Bay Road, Strand
St. Agnes, Dublin Street, Woodstock
Corpus Christi, Wittebome
St. Dominic, Wynberg
St. Anthony, Hout Bay

Congregational

The history of the Congregational Church in South Africa dates back to the year 1800, when the first settlement was established in Cape Town under the Reverend Mr. Reid, of the London Missionary Society. The Rev. Dr. Philip with whose name the establishment of the Congregational Church in Cape Colony is intimately associated, arrived at the Cape in the year 1819, and the first Independent church was definitely formed under his pastorate in the year 1820, principally for the congregationalists in the English Garrison stationed in Cape Town. The first Union Chapel was erected in Church Square in 1828, which was followed by the erection of the Caledon Square Church in 1859. This church however has been recently closed owing to the removal of the congregation to the suburbs of Cape Town, and the Congregational services are now carried on in the Union Church, Kloof Street. Congregational churches are established at Sea Point, Observatory Road, Claremont and Rondebosch.

Congregational Churches are at:
Main and Franklin Roads, Claremont
Wrensch Road, Observatory
Belmont Road, Rondebosch
Marais Road, Sea Point
Clarence Road, Wynberg
Lot, Harrington Street

Presbyterian

Another building worthy of a visit of inspection is St. Andrew’s Church on the Somerset Road, the foundation stone of which was laid in 1827, and the first service held there on May 24th, 1829. The services on that occasion were remarkable as bearing evidence of the extreme liberality and charitable feelings of the members of the Dutch Reformed Church to the Presbyterian cause.
“A deputation from the consistory of the Dutch Reformed Church attended divine service, bringing a letter of Christian sympathy and a contribution of £75 for the building fund.”
Since then St. Andrew’s has been, as it were, the Cathedral of Presbyterianism in the Cape. The building is regarded as one of the purest specimens of architecture in the city.

Other Presbyterian Churches are at Gardens and Rosebank, as well as:
Somerset Road
Hatfield Street
Upper Orange Street
Main Road, Kenilworth
Clyde Street, Woodstock
Cor. Main and Bisset Roads, Wynberg
Albert Road, Mowbray
Central Square, Pinelands
Lower Station Road, Maitland.

Baptist Church

The Baptist Church is situated in Wale Street, between Long and Burg Streets, having been erected in 1882 at a cost of 5,000, including site. The congregation have established a Mission Hall in Jarvis Street, off Somerset Road, and have erected a Mission Station at Mpotula, near Bolotwa in Kaffraria, where three missionaries are supported by the Cape Town Church.
Baptist Churches are at:
Wale Street – 9
Dane Street, Observatory
High Level Road, Three Anchor Bay
Grove Avenue, Claremont
Maynard Road, Wynberg

Metropolitan Wesleyan

 

Another ecclesiastical edifice worthy of a visit is the Metropolitan Wesleyan Church at the corner of Burg and Longmarket Streets. The foundation stone of that handsome structure was laid on May 6th, 1875, by the Governor, Sir Henry Barkly.
Services had been carried on prior to that in the old Burg Street Church, now known as the Metropolitan Hall, which served as the central church for the Methodists from 1822.
There are also Wesleyan churches at Sea Point and various parts of the Southern Suburbs.
The best-known Wesleyan Church is the Metropolitan facing Greenmarket Square.
Others are to be found at :

 

Sea Point
Woodstock
Observatory
Rosebank
Claremont
Wynberg
Retreat
Plumstead
Pinelands
Maitland
Parow
Fish Hoek
Simonstown
Muizenberg
Kalk Bay

Jewish Synagogues

The Jewish Synagogue in Government Avenue is also worthy the attention of visitors. It is situated near Avenue Street. It seats about 1,500 persons. Its exterior has a very bold effect towards the Avenue, with two towers and saucer dome over the centre of the main area.
The Synagogue of the New Hebrew Congregation is situated in Roeland Street, and there are other synagogues at Muizenberg, Claremont and Wynberg.
Synagogues include the Great Synagogue at Hatfield Street, (facing the Avenue), also:
Vredehoek
Sea Point
Muizenberg
Rondebosch
Wynberg – recently closed down
Jewish Reform Congregation Synagogue ( Temple Israel ), Portswood Road, Green Point.

Dutch Lutheran

 

The Lutheran Church in Strand Street enjoys a unique situation on the hill commanding a fine view of the city. It dates back to the-year 1780, and the first certified “predikant” was the Rev. Andreas Kohler, who arrived at the Cape in November, 1780. Its architectural design is both simple and severely strict.

 

Its pulpit is another good example of the skill of the wood carver, and the old specification and agreement with the carver Anthon Anreith, are preserved in the vestry of the Church. The organ loft is the work of the same artist. The old Dutch alms dishes of brass which stand in the vestibule are beautiful specimens of the brass-worker’s art, and the quaint Dutch silver-ware used for the communion service will be of considerable interest to lovers of early eighteenth century work.

 

The clock and belfry of this Church may be seen by visitors who care to climb the curious circular staircase in one of the buttresses.
St. Stephens Strand Street, Cape Town.
German Lutheran (St. Martin’s Church), Long Street, Cape Town.
Also at : Albert Road, Wynberg – Philippi, Cape Flats.

 

Church of Christ, Scientist

The First Church of Christ, Scientist, is in Grey’s Pass facing the S.A. College School cricket ground.

The Church of England in South Africa

This must not be confused with the Church of the Province of South Africa ) has its own places of worship, namely, at:
Holy Trinity Church, Harrington Street
Holy Trinity Hall, Vriende Street, Gardens.
St. Stephen’s Church, Belvedere Road, Claremont.

Christian Science

First Church of Christ, Scientist, corner of Orange Street and Grey’s Pass, Cape Town
Second Church of Christ, Scientist, 15, Main Road, Newlands
First Church of Christ, Scientist, Muizenberg; Albertyn Road, False Bay
Reading Rooms:
Southern Life Buildings-15, Main Road, Newlands
Masonic Building, Main Road, Muizenberg.

Mormons
Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints (Mormons)
South African Headquarters : Cumorah, Main Road, Mowbray
Meodowridge

Seventh Day Adventist Church

56, Roeland Street, Cape Town
Carr Hill, Wynberg
Grove Avenue, Claremont
York Street, Woodstock

Spiritualist

Cape Town Psychic Club, 203, Parliament Chambers, Parliament Street.

Society of Friends Meeting House (Quakers)
7, Green Street, Cape Town.

Theosophical Society

Room 816, 8th Floor, Groote Kerk Building, Adderley Street. Phone 2-9098.
Enquiries: Mrs. Mitford Barberton. Phone 4-2542.

Unitarian Church

(Free Protestant), Hout Street, Cape Town.
If you know of any other churches that may have been left out – please let us know and email us here

Image Source: National Archives Cape Town
Image Captions (from top): It was not until 1677 that land was set aside for the building of a church which was completed in 1703 and consecrated on 6th January 1704. Services were previously held in the Castle. The only remaining part of the original church is the steeple
The First Wesleyan Mission House Cape Town. Until a new church was completed in 1822 the Methodists held their services in a hayloft and later in an unoccupied wine store in Barrack Street. The church was open by Dr. Philip of the London Missionary Society. It is hidden behind the Mission House shown here.
The Lutheran Church, Sexton’s House and Pastorie in Strand Street.
St. Stephens Kerk, die eerste teatergebou in Suidelike Afrika wat in 1799 op Boerenplein (later bekend as Hottentotplein-die huidige Riebeeckplein), Kaapstad, gebou is. Die gebou is 1838 gekoop deur ds. G. E. Stegmann v.d. Lutherse Kerk wat sedert 1830 godsdiensonderrig aan slawe in een v.d. kelders gegee het. Hy het dit in ‘n kerk omgeskep en dit St. Stephens-na die eerste Christenmartelaar wat gestenig is-genoem omdat persone wat teen die opvoeding van slawe was, die gebou met klippe bestook het. Stegmann, bygestaan deur eerw. Adamson v.d. Presbiteriaanse Kerk, het dit as ‘n onafhanklike kerk bestuur tot 1857, toe die Kaapse Sinode v.d. N.G. Kerk op sy versoek dit oorgeneem het. St. Stephens is geen sendingkerk nie, maar die enigste N.G. Kerk vir Kleurlinge wat tot die Moederkerk behoort. Die gebou waaraan uitgebreide herstelwerk uitgevoer is, is in 1966 tot historiese gedenkwaardigheid verklaar.

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