The Rt Revd Cleophas Lunga has been appointed as the new Chair for the Anglican Communion Safe Church Commission (ACSCC), succeeding Garth Blake from the Anglican Church of Australia. The ACSCC is composed of Anglicans from every region around the world, and works to promote the importance of safeguarding practices and building a culture of safety for all.

Dr Daphne Audsley, from the Scottish Episcopal Church, has also been appointed Deputy Chair of the Safe Church Commission. She is a longstanding member of the Commission and has contributed to its international safeguarding work.

Currently serving as the vicar of St Laurence, Catford in the Diocese of Southwark (Church of England), Bishop Cleophas was one of the founder members of the Safe Church Commission.  Bishop Cleophas will support the Safe Church commission in a voluntary capacity, alongside his full-time pastoral responsibilities.

Prior to taking up ministry with the Church of England, the Rt Revd Cleophas Lunga served as the Bishop of Matabeleland in Zimbabwe, in the Church of the Province of Central Africa. During that time, he worked with the Safe Church commission to run an international Safe Church leadership and capacity building conference, which was hosted in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, in September 2024.

Cleophas was also involved in safe church sessions during the Lambeth Conference in 2022, which led to the publication of the Lambeth Call on Safe Church.

A farewell service was held at St John the Baptist Cathedral in Bulawayo on 17 September 2026 for Bishop Cleophas and his wife, Soneni Lunga, who was Mothers’ Union President in the Diocese of Matabeleland. The service was presided over by the Most Revd Dr Albert Chama, Archbishop of the Province of Central Africa.

Speaking about his appointment as the new Chair of the Safe Church Commission, Bishop Cleophas shared: ‘The work of the Safe Church Commission in serving churches across the Anglican Communion is vital, as we strive to ensure churches are places of safety, respect and dignity for all. I am delighted to serve the ACSCC as Chair and give thanks for the important contribution that every member of the Commission makes to this work.’

About the Anglican Communion Safe Church Commission

The Safe Church Commission was established in 2016 at the sixteenth meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC-16) to help facilitate the implementation of the Charter for the Safety of People, which was agreed at ACC-15. This charter was a milestone moment in the international Anglican Church in committing to the safeguarding of people as an embedded priority of the Church.

The Commission’s role is to develop high-level standards and capacity development resources, and deliver capacity building programmes that enable every province to build a safe church, regardless of its location or resources.

More information

Learn more about the Anglican Communion Safe Church Commission.