The diocese of Dar es Salaam is the wealthiest diocese in Tanzania. It covers an area of. It includes the Dar es Salaam and Coast Regions. At its heart is the city of Dar es Salaam, the cultural and economic capital of Tanzania. On 11 July 2004 St Albans Cathedral Church became the Cathedral Church of the diocese.
History
Dar es Salaam was formerly within the Diocese of Zanzibar, which in 1963 was renamed the Diocese of Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam. This diocese was split and the new Diocese of Dar-es-Salaam inaugurated on 10 July 1965. John Sepeku had been serving as an assistant bishop of Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam. He was installed as the first diocesan Bishop of Dar es Salaam on the diocese's inauguration The Anglican Church of Tanzania was inaugurated in 1970 after the Province of East Africa was divided into the Province of Kenya and the Province of Tanzania. Sepeku remained bishop of the diocese of Dar es Selaam, retaining office while also Archbishop of Tanzania, until his death in 1983. On 1 April 1984 the Rt. Rev. Christopher Mlangwa was consecrated as Bishop of Dar-es-Salaam. He was known for his simplicity of life and his unifying influence. After he retired, his diocese had to find a house for him, since he had no money. Both Sepeku and Mlangwa were from Tanga Region. Mlangwa did not want to be succeeded by another priest from Tanga, but had not prepared anyone from another part of the country, so he remained in office after he reached retirement age. This caused conflicts in the diocese that lasted until Valentino Mokiwa was elected in 2002. Basil Mattiya Sambano was the third bishop, holding office from 1992 to 2001, when he retired. Valentino Mokiwa, a graduate of Virginia Theological Seminary, became bishop of Dar es Salaam in April 2002. He was elected Archbishop of Tanzania on 28 February 2008 and installed on 25 May 2008, replacing Archbishop Donald Leo Mtetemela. In 2013 there was a hard-fought election for the position of Archbishop of Tanzania. The contestants were the evangelicalJacob Chimeledya and the Anglo-Catholic incumbent archbishop of Tanzania and bishop of Dar es Salaam Valentino Mokiwa. Chimeledya won the election with the support of bishops from the Wagogo tribe. Mokiwa's supporters claimed that the electors had been bribed by foreigners who favored Chimeledya, but eventually Mokiwa accepted the result. Several of the Anglo-Catholic dioceses, including Dar es Salaam, withdrew support for the national church. In 2016 Chimeledya launched an investigation by the House of Bishops that found that Mokiwa had embezzled funds of his diocese, although Mokiwa claimed he was innocent and the charges had political motivation. On 7 January 2017 Chimeledya deposed Mokiwa. On 2 March 2017 Chimeledya licensed Augustino Ramadhani, a former Chief Justice of Tanzania, as a priest of the Diocese of Mpwapwa and appointed him to lead St Albans CathedralChurch in Dar es Salaam in place of Mokiwa. Ramadhani was episcopal vicar of the diocese until 4 Feb 2018 when the Right Reverend Jackson Sosthenes was consecrated bishop of the diocese. Sosthenes had been educated at the evangelical Trinity School for Ministry in the United States and was seen as a supporter of Archbishop Chimeledya.
