St John’s Anglican Seminary

Support St John the Evangelist’s Seminary to nurture the future leaders of the church in Zambia.

Cacious Banda, a second year student at the Seminary, tells us about his life at the seminary and the role played by the Anglican Church in Zambia.

“I’m the second born in a family of five (three girls and two boys). We are all Anglicans. I thank God that both my parents are alive and my brothers and sisters too. I was born on 23 March 2002 at Fiwila Mission in Mkushi district. I’m of the Nsenga tribe from Eastern Province of Zambia, although I grew up among the Lala people. I was an altar server for more than 10 years and through that I was inspired to join the priesthood. I am part of the Diocese of Central Zambia under Bishop Dr Derrick Garry Kamukwamba.

“In my family of five I’m the only one who managed to complete school. My sister dropped out of school when she was in grade nine due to lack of money to pay school fees and she decided to become a subsistence farmer. However, she encouraged me to focus on my studies and supported me, as well as my mother, until I completed my grade twelve. I’m not married yet.

“I have been at St John the Evangelist Anglican Seminary for one year. In my first year, things at the seminary were not what I expected, so I got confused and it was not easy for me to endure. When I looked at the seniors who are now Reverends it was even giving me a headache and I was thinking I had made the wrong decision. But when the seniors noticed how I was looking, some of them gave me good counseling and have helped me to survive up to where I am today in second year.

“One of my favourite courses in the first year was homiletics because I learnt a lot about how to prepare sermons and other things. I have also studied pastoral care and counseling, introduction to New Testament, introduction to Old Testament, African traditional religion, and Doctrine. There are a lot of benefits in studying at St John’s Anglican Seminary, including learning self-discipline and knowledge for ministry. In addition to academic training, St John’s is also the centre of our formation, teaching fiscal discipline, how a priest should live and behave in community, and how a priest should live a life of prayer. The things that excite me about parish ministry are the ministry of altar servers, pulpit ministry, liturgy, and pastoral visitation. These things make me feel excited and proud of being an Anglican.

“The Anglican church plays a very important role in Zambia, such as helping the less privileged in the communities, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God, nurturing new believers, challenging violence of every kind, and pursuing peace and reconciliation. I feel proud to be part of the Anglican Church because I know that even if I go to other countries, I will find my brothers and sisters in Christ who are Anglicans although the culture and language may vary from one country to the other.

“Over the years, the Anglican church in Zambia has been actively participating in significant moments for our country, such us the liberation struggle, democratization efforts, and the fight against social injustice.

“I’m expecting to be ordained deacon in the church of God in 2026 after completing my theological studies. The Diocesan Bishop will then decide where to send me. Please pray for us students and for the seminary as well as the management, as we pray for you.”

A donation to St John’s contributes to its annual operating grant, supporting the funding of things like staff salaries, visiting lecturers, the student library, Information and Communications technology, and further development of the degree program.