Dunstan Ainani
Dunstan Ainani | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Southern Malawi | |
| Church | Church of the Province of Central Africa |
| Diocese | Southern Malawi |
| In office | 1981–1986 |
| Predecessor | Donald Arden |
| Successor | Nathaniel Aipa |
| Previous post(s) | Suffragan bishop, Diocese of Southern Malawi (1979–1981) |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1967 (priesthood) |
| Consecration | 17 June 1979 by Donald Arden |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1919–1925 |
| Denomination | Anglicanism |
| Spouse | Agnes |
Dunstan Daniel Ainani (born c. 1920–1925) was a Malawian Anglican bishop and hymnwriter. From 1981 to 1986, he was the bishop of Southern Malawi.
Early life and ordination
[edit]Ainani was born c. 1920–1925.[a] He came from a Muslim background and served in the King's African Rifles in Rhodesia.[4]: 65 [3]: 438 He also worked as a storekeeper and clerk and ran a fishing business prior to entering ministry in middle age, in the 1960s, after training as a lay catechist in the Anglican church at Mpondas, Mangochi District.[1][3]: 373–374 Under the leadership of Bishop Donald Arden, Ainani composed and popularized indigenous Malawian hymns.[4]: 65
Episcopacy
[edit]In 1979, Ainani was elected suffragan bishop of the Diocese of Southern Malawi. He was consecrated a bishop at Chilema, Malosa on 17 June 1979. In 1980, Arden was set to retire as diocesan bishop, and Ainani won the election to succeed him on the first ballot, outpacing future bishops Bernard Malango and Nathaniel Aipa. Ainani was considered the presumptive favorite due to his prior service as suffragan bishop. He was enthroned on 26 April 1981 in Malosa.[3]: 444–446
As bishop, Ainani continued Arden's work of erecting churches, schools, clinics and rectories for the growing diocese. He also followed Arden's evangelical churchmanship, which contrasted with the Anglo-Catholicism of the former Universities' Mission to Central Africa churches in northern Malawi.[4]: 65 However, unlike Arden, who translated English Anglican hymns into Chewa, Ainani composed original hymns in Chewa set to popular Malawian tunes. According to church historian Henry Hastings Mbaya, Ainani's hymns outpaced Arden's in popularity and were eventually incorporated into a new Malawian prayer book and hymnal.[3]: 446–448
The second half of Ainani's episcopate was dominated by a conflict with his diocesan secretary, Andrew Hamisi. Hamisi accused Ainani of "incompetence and maladministration," while Ainani viewed Hamisi as insubordinate. Both parties traded accusations of financial impropriety. Eventually, Ainani fired Hamisi and the conflict came to a head in 1986 with a diocesan standing committee meeting at St. Paul's Cathedral in Blantyre attended by other bishops of the Province of Central Africa. Archbishop Walter Khotso Makhulu prevailed upon Ainani to retire, which he did by the end of 1986.[3]: 449–453
Later life
[edit]After retirement, Ainani relocated to his home region of Sani, Nkhotakota, where he died a few years later.[2]: 8 He was married and had eight children and, at the time of his election as suffragan bishop, six grandchildren.[1] Ainani's widow, Agnes, reached the age of 93 before her death in 2020.[5]
Notes
[edit]- ^ According to The Living Church, Ainani was 58 at the time of his election as suffragan bishop, setting his birth date at 1920 or 1921.[1] According to James Tengatenga, Ainani was "about 60" when he was elected suffragan bishop in 1979.[2]: 7 According to church historian Henry Hastings Mbaya, Ainani applied for theological school in 1968 at the age of 43, setting his birth year around 1925.[3]: 438
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Suffragan Elected in Southern Malawi". The Living Church. 24 June 1979. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
- ^ a b Tengatenga, James, ed. (2010). The UMCA in Malawi: A History of the Anglican Church, 1861-2010. Kachere. ISBN 9789990887655. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f Mbaya, Henry Hastings. "THE MAKING OF AN AFRICAN CLERGY IN THE ANGLICAN CHURCH IN MALAWI WITH SPECIAL FOCUS ON THE ELECTION OF BISHOPS (1898-1996)" (dissertation). Pietermaritzburg, South Africa: University of KwaZulu-Natal. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
- ^ a b c Tucker, Richard (2022). Together in Mission: The Anglican Church in Malawi and the Church of England Birmingham, 1966-2016. Mzuzu, Malawi: Mzuni Press. ISBN 9789996060694.
- ^ "DEATH ANNOUNCEMENT: MRS. AGNES AINANI (1927 - 2020)". Facebook. Anglican Diocese of Upper Shire. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
