Frank Weston was Anglican Bishop of Zanzibar from 1908 until his death 16 years later.
Biography
Born into a clerical family, he was educated at
Dulwich CollegeDulwich College is an independent school for boys in Dulwich, southeast London, England. The college was founded in 1619 by Edward Alleyn, a successful Elizabethan actor, with the original purpose of educating 12 poor scholars as the foundation of "God's Gift". It currently has about 1,600 boys,...
and
Trinity College, OxfordThe College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope , or Trinity College for short, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It stands on Broad Street, next door to Balliol College and Blackwells bookshop,...
before being ordained
priestA priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
in 1906. After a
CuracyA curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
at
St Matthew's, WestminsterSt Matthew's Church, Westminster was built between 1849 and 1851 to the design of Sir George Gilbert Scott, assisted by his brother-in-law, George Frederick Bodley. Subsequently, Sir Ninian Comper added the Lady Chapel . The interior was greatly enriched by the work of Bodley, Charles Kempe, W.E....
he was to spend the rest of his life in Zanzibar. A staunch Anglo Catholic he was
ChaplainTraditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
then
PrincipalIn academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
of
St Andrew's College. before ascending to the
EpiscopateAn episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
Already known within the church as a man of principle he was involved in one of the deepest disputes within the Anglican communion. It stemmed from a conference at Kikuyu where representatives from many
ChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
churches in East Africa, mainly in the more evangelical Anglican Dioceses of Mombasa and Uganda discussed how to repel the perceived threat from non-Christian groups. The consensus seemed to be that a loose alliance of different groups (Methodist, Presbyterian etc.) was the best way of moving forward, which would have involved measures such as the "exchange of pulpits" and the
admission of non-Anglicans to CommunionIn Christian ecclesiology, full communion is a relationship between church organizations or groups that mutually recognize their sharing the essential doctrines....
in Anglican churches. During the
Kikuyu controversyThe Kikuyu controversy was an Anglican church controversy in 1913-1914.-History:In 1913 William George Peel, the Bishop of Mombasa; and John Jamieson Willis, the Bishop of Uganda attended an ecumenical communion at the Church of Scotland's parish in Kikuyu, in what is now Kenya...
, Weston accused the proponents )such as
William George PeelThe Rt Rev William George Peel, DD was an Anglican Bishop in Mombassa in what is now Kenya. He was accused of heresy in the Kikuyu controversy.-Biography:...
, the Bishop of Mombasa) of
heresyHeresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
. A report by the Archbishop's Commission later prohibited Anglicans from receiving Nonconformist sacraments, while stating that it was acceptable in exceptional circumstances for non-conformists to receive Communion in an Anglican church.
The onset of
warWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
caused the issue to fade from prominence and Weston himself served with distinction during the conflict, being awarded an OBE for his role as
MajorMajor is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
commanding the
Zanzibar Carrying Corps. The post-war years saw him become increasingly influential and he died, aged 63, much mourned and widely praised.
External links
- Documents by and about Weston from Project Canterbury
Project Canterbury is an online archive of material related to the history of Anglicanism. It was founded by Richard Mammana, Jr. in 1999, and is hosted by the non-profit Society of Archbishop Justus...