St. Stephen’s Church started as a moderately-sized church on Jackson Road made of timber and corrugated iron and was nicknamed “Tin Tabernacle”.
It was the first Anglican Church to be planted in Nairobi. Before it was built, worshipers held their services at the Railway Institute. Once enough money was gathered, they built the church near the National Assembly building which could seat 450. Bishop William George Peel laid the foundation stone in December 1903 and the Church was consecrated on St. Stephen’s Day in 1904.
The church became a thriving church in the city served by European clergy. Rev P. A Bennet was the first clergy who retired in 1904 and was succeeded by Rev William Marcus Falloon who served from 1905 to 1916. Rev Donald Haultain who served briefly at the church in 1916 observed that over 1200 faithful attended the various services the church offered. Haultain described the worshipers as reverent and said that when they shouted ‘amen’ it sounded like a distant peal of thunder.
Africans who served the church in the early period included Simeon Kalume who was a catechist and Elijah Gachanja, an evangelist who later became the first African Vicar. In the evenings, Gachanja would evangelise among workers and rickshaw operators in the city.
With an increasing number of worshipers, the wooden church was expanded three times. The congregation began putting up a larger church where the parliament is located. The foundation stone was laid on 23 June 1923 by Ernest Carr, wife of a contractor who built many churches for the Church Missionary Society. The completed church had architectural finesse with an imposing bell tower, high arches and rough dressed stones - a jewel in the city.
Relocation to Jogoo Road
The colonial government relocated St Stephen’s Church to Donholm Road (now Jogoo Road) to make way for the parliament buildings. The foundation stone for the Jogoo Road church was laid on December 26, 1952 by Reginald Percy Crabbe who was the Bishop of Mombasa Diocese. Since it was a government project, it took less than a year to build the church. Once it was completed, the colonial government demolished the church on Jackson Road using dynamite in 1953.
The church became the largest church in East and Central Africa with a sitting capacity of 1,200. The church was consecrated on September 27, 1953 by Bishop Reginald Percy Crabbe. Rev Canon Elijah Gachanja became the first African Vicar in 1957.
"Europeans were people who considered class important and they classified people as such. All Saint’s Cathedral was established as a church for the Whites while St Stephen’s was for Africans," Bishop Joel Waweru said.
The church became a significant landmark in Eastlands. It served a vibrant congregation made up of civil servants and workers from the East African Railways company who lived in various estates such as Makongeni, Government Quarters, Bahati, Mbotela, Landimawe, Muthurwa, ShauriMoyo, Makadara, and Maringo Estate. Eastlands was once a blue-collar neighbourhood with a solid middle-class that included African legislators, senior clerks and fresh university graduates from Uganda’s Makerere. By the standards of the 1950s, this congregation was considered quite elite.
Church ministry
St Stephen’s Church Jogoo Road became a Christian centre from where the transformational Gospel of Jesus Christ spread to people from all over Kenya.
“The Choir took the lead in glorifying God not only in the Church but also in the nation. St Stephen's Church was an unequalled voice championing for the rights of Kenyan workers. It also provided spiritual space for neighbouring institutions, especially Church Army Africa and Trinity College, and movements such as the East Africa Revival Fellowship, Tukutendereza,” Archbishop Emeritus Dr Benjamin Nzimbi said.
The church was also at the forefront of the revival movement among Anglicans. It formed the Anglican Renewal Kenya (ARK) Ministry in the 1980s spearheaded by Rev Gilbert Amimo who was the Vicar. ARK conducted evangelism, missions and conferences not only in the city but also across the country. As a result, it led to the formation of new churches and influenced many others.
"St. Stephen’s cathedral is a mother church because it planted many churches,” Canon Joshua Omungo said.
Some of the churches it established are in Kiambio, Kaloleni and Lungalunga. The congregation also purchased plots for the construction of churches in Nairobi. Several other parishes trace their origin to St Stephen’s Cathedral.
The making of a Cathedral
The provincial synod sitting in July 2000, passed a resolution to divide the Diocese of Nairobi into two sees - a small see carved out around All Saints’ Cathedral, for the Archbishop, and the residual Diocese of Nairobi created to serve the rest of the city.
The commission chaired by Amb John Mbugua recommended St Stephen’s as the Cathedral Church of the Diocese of Nairobi. Subsequently, Archbishop Dr David Gitari inaugurated the new Diocese and elevated the church to a Cathedral on September 1, 2002. He led a procession of clergy and synod members from Uhuru Park through city streets to Jogoo Road and later made the declaration.
"Uhuru Highway was the dividing line between All Saints Cathedral and Nairobi Diocese,” Bishop Emeritus Peter Njoka said.
In 2002, Peter Njoka was elected as the first Bishop of the new Diocese of Nairobi. After his retirement in July 2010, he was succeeded by Bishop Joel Waweru.
Canon John Ndungu Muriithi became the first provost of the cathedral. He was known as provost who was selfless and generous. In 2013, Canon Omungo was appointed Provost replacing Canon Ndung’u. He developed a Strategic Plan for the Cathedral and is credited with building a wall around the Cathedral and laying Cabro on the parking lot.
The Very Rev Canon Paul Kariuki Mwangi became the Provost of St Stephen's Cathedral in 2018 replacing Canon Omungo. He successfully steered the Cathedral through the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, laying the foundation of a digital church that began online church services. He also led the Cathedral in celebrating its Centenary in 2023.
"St Stephen’s is not just an Anglican cathedral, it is a national monument," Bishop Joel Waweru said.
St Stephen’s church has stood the test of time. From its humble beginnings on Jackson Road to its monumental presence on Jogoo Road, it has served generations of Christians well. It will remain a church with great sentimental value not only to Christianity in Kenya but also in the East African region.