DIOCESE OF UMZIMVUBU
Diocese formed in 1991, a division of the Diocese of St John.
Pro-Cathedral: Holy Trinity, Kokstad.
Afrikaans
Arms registered with the Bureau of Heraldry under Certificate No 2529 dated 24 November 1992. The blazon reads:
Per fess wavy abaissé Gules and Azure, a bar wavy abaissé Argent, surmounted by a Celtic cross Or; a chief dancetty Azure filleted argent.
Brownell[1] writes: “The Diocese of Umzimvubu was formerly the northern part of the Diocese of St Johns, which was established in 1873. It takes its name from the Mzimvubu River which rises in the Drakensberg near Mount Macdonald, near the point where the borders of the Eastern Cape, Lesotho and KwaZulu-Natal meet, and which then flows south and south-east to enter the Indian Ocean at Port St Johns.
“The chief dancetty alludes to the Drakensberg and the bar wavy to both the rivers of the Diocese and the sea. The Celtic cross refers to the role of the Episcopal Church of Scotland in establishing the Diocese of St John, from which Umzimvubu was taken. The form of this Celtic cross is based on that of Muireadach’s Cross in County Louth, where the two finest examples of Celtic high crosses in Ireland stand.”
Bishops:
The first Bishop of Umzimvubu was G F Davies, consecrated in 1991, who is still in office.
Afrikaanse blasoen:
Die wapen se blasoen lui:
Verlaagd golwend deursnede, rooi en blou, ’n verlaagde silwer golwende dwarsbalk, daaroorheen ’n goue Keltiese kruis; ’n blou hoekige skildhoof, silwer ondersteund.
