DATE ITEM 27 February 2026 Extract from ACSA Synod of Bishops statement February 2026 revised
Advisory Board on Theological Education
Bishop Vikinduku Mnculwane suggested amendments to Canon 18 and Act 6 of our Canons requiring that bishops should have at least a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology or an equivalent National Qualifications Framework 7 Theology qualification; also that transitional deacons should have a Bachelor of Theology from an institution recognised by Synod; and that qualifications for permanent deacons should be set in consultation with the Commission for Permanent Deacons.
Such amendments would need to be submitted to Provincial Synod’s drafting committee, who would present a motion for Provincial Synod to consider.
Individual exceptions to new requirements would need to be approved by the Metropolitan in consultation with his Executive.
26 September 2024
The Provincial Synod of the Anglican Church of Southen Africa passed the following motion on the diaconate:
"THE DIACONATE
Whereas:
1. The Provincial Standing Committee’s in 2022 called on all dioceses to nurture and promote the ministry of distinctive deacons within ACSA.
2. This Synod is thankful to the Archbishop for the report of the Archbishop’s Commission on the Ministry of the Distinctive and Permanent Diaconate which has clarified the distinctiveness of the ministry of deacons, in relation to the other two orders, and in relation to the crisis-ridden context of our times.
3. This Synod believes God is calling upon us to revitalize the diaconal order.Synod resolves to endorse the following based on recommendations of the Commission:
1. There should be a concerted effort to remove any prejudice and discrimination against the diaconate at various levels, and this also applies to how transitional deacons are treated.
2. Ordination services of deacons and priests should be separated as far as possible.
3. Consideration should be given to lengthening the period of the transitional diaconate so that transitional deacons can be trained for, and have a genuine experience of, the diaconate, rather than only be treated as apprentice priests.
4. Information and study materials about the nature of diakonia and the distinctive diaconate should be produced.
5. Relevant vocational discernment and training information, processes and resources that take the distinctive diaconate into account should be created.
6. Representatives from theological training institutions and diocesan training programmes should be asked to take forward the report’s suggestions on a curriculum and programme for the education and training of deacons.
7. ACSA should endeavour to deal with the inevitable changes that a true restoration of the distinctive diaconate would require: canonical, liturgical, and synodal, and the support needed to develop an effective network for the diaconate (the Fellowship of Deacons).Proposer: Bishop Charles May
Seconder: Revd Prof John Aitchison"
