The diocese of Rupert’s Land has elected a Winnipeg priest originally from Zimbabwe as its new bishop.
The Rev. Naboth Manzongo, incumbent of Winnipeg’s Holy Trinity Anglican Church, was elected May 31. The first Black bishop of Rupert’s Land and the first born in Africa, Manzongo succeeds Bishop Geoffrey Woodcroft, who in October 2024 announced his pending retirement effective June 1 after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Manzongo says he felt mixed emotions upon being elected. “I was just surprised and overwhelmed at the same time,” he says. “I became emotional and now I was asking myself in the head to say, ‘Is this what the Spirit has whispered to the people? What, for me?’ And then that turned into gratitude [for] the trust that the people have put in me.”
The diocese of Rupert’s Land encompasses parts of western Ontario and eastern Manitoba, including Winnipeg.
Ordained in 2008 as a deacon and in 2009 as a priest in the diocese of Harare, Zimbabwe, Manzongo first served in Harare as a deacon and curate at the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Avondale, then from 2010 to 2015 as rector of St. Joseph’s, Dzivarasekwa. He has a B.A. as well as a master’s degree in leadership and management from the University of Zimbabwe.
From 2015 to 2017, he earned a master’s degree in theological studies from Nashotah House Theological Seminary in Nashotah, Wisconsin, focusing on moral theology and ethics. During this time he worked as a supply priest for The Episcopal Church.
After returning to Harare for a stint as rector of St. Paul’s, Marlborough, Manzongo moved to Canada and in 2018 took over as incumbent of St. Luke’s Anglican Church in Dryden, Ont. In September 2024 he became incumbent of Holy Trinity Anglican Church in downtown Winnipeg, overseeing a diverse multiracial congregation. He is also currently working towards his doctorate of ministry in leadership from Tyndale University.
Plan to focus on building relationships, truth and reconciliation
Manzongo says that as bishop, he aims to prioritize “building bridges among the people, building trust and honouring history, but also embracing new opportunities.” That includes building relationships between clergy, between clergy and parishioners, between parishes, and between parishes and the diocese, while also addressing financial challenges.
“Everywhere you go, even in a parish or in a diocese, the first thing they tell you is that ‘We are broke, we don’t have money,’” Manzongo says. “So obviously we’ll be looking at that. But I believe in faith raising before fundraising … What is the place of discipleship for us in this diocese? How can we love each other before we can say we love Christ?”
To help build relationships, he plans to visit more remote parts of the diocese of Rupert’s Land, drawing on his own previous ministry in semi-rural areas. “I need to go to the places of our diocese in which sometimes the people there don’t even think that the bishop knows about [them],” Manzongo says.
The bishop-elect also stresses commitment to truth and reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.
“It’s not a new thing,” he says. “But it’s this continuing work that we have to do as a diocese to be there with our siblings of Indigenous or First Nations heritage, to say, how can we change from only acknowledging land with our lips to doing something that is meaningful?”
To that end, the latest synod tasked the diocesan council with examining a proposal that would put money from selling property within the diocese into a fund to benefit Indigenous people. “I’m committed to that, to see that direction that our synod should take, so that we can satisfy these issues of truth and reconciliation,” Manzongo says.
Rupert’s Land previously had a companion diocese relationship with the diocese of Central Buganda, part of the Anglican Church of Uganda. However, in March 2024 Archbishop of Uganda Stephen Kazimba and Bishop of Central Bugunda Micheal Lubowa severed all ties with the diocese of Rupert’s Land after Woodcroft wrote to Kazimba expressing concerns over the Anglican Church of Uganda supporting a law criminalizing homosexuality. On June 2, Manzongo marched in Pride Winnipeg’s annual parade and rally.
Having lived and worked in both Africa and North America, Manzongo hopes to draw upon that experience to help bridge divides within the Anglican Communion between the Global South and North. “I understand what goes on in the South because I was born in the South, but I also understand what’s going in the North because I’m minister in the North,” he says.
“To my diocese, there’s some things that I can put into perspective … Sometimes when we interpret things, we interpret with our ignorance because of what we know or what we are accustomed to,” he adds. “So maybe I may also be a voice to clear some of those things and say, ‘No, I think this is their perspective, or I think you have misinterpreted.’ So I see myself in that sense.”
Anglicans extended well wishes to Manzongo on Facebook following his election as bishop.
“Congratulations my dear brother,” the Rev. Wilson Akinwale, national president and board chair of Black Anglicans of Canada, said. “May you be blessed with wisdom.” A post from the Anglican diocese of Saskatoon read, “Praying blessings, strength, wisdom, and joy upon bishop-elect Naboth and his family! We are looking very forward to working with you, my friend.”
“Blessings and congratulations with prayers for the new bishop-elect and the people of Rupert’s Land,” retired bishop of Ontario Michael Oulton said. “Thank you to Bishop Geoff Woodcroft for his friendship and many years of faithful service to the diocese.”
Manzongo, 40, is married with three children. He will formally begin serving as bishop in September.
