Identificatie
Soort entiteit
Instelling
Geauthoriseerde naam
Christ the King Anglican Church
Parallelle vormen van de naam
Gestandaardiseerde naamvorm(en) volgens andere regels.
Aandere naamsvormen
Identificatiecode voor organisaties
Beschrijving
Bestaansperiode
1935-
Geschiedenis
Christ the King Anglican Church was originally designed by Frank Flemming and built in 1935 in Sophiatown. The church is a simple but beautiful building and its most distinctive feature was a mural painted between 1939 and 1941 by Sister Margaret with the assistance of 12 apprentice students, who worked under patronage of the Gerhard Sekoto Foundation.
The church is closely connected to the anti-apartheid campaigner Archbishop Trevor Huddleston the forced removals around Sophiatown, which started in 1955. In 1967 the church was deconsecrated and sold to the department of community development, after which the building was badly vandalized including the beautiful mural. The Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk bought the building in the 1970s and used it for Sunday School. The Christ the King Church changed hands again when the Pinkster Protestante Kerk bought it and made significant changes to the building.
It was only in 1997 that the Anglican Church acquired the building again, and restored it as best as possible to its former state. The tower of the Christ the King Church was declared a national monument. In 2004 a mural was restored on the northern exterior wall of the church, depicting Archbishop Trevor Huddleston walking the dusty streets of Sophiatown with two children on each hand.