The South African religious leader Desmond Tutu was affiliated with which church?

Desmond Mpilo Tutu (October 7, 1931 - December 26, 2021) was a South African Anglican archbishop and theologian, known for his longstanding advocacy as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop of Cape Town from 1986 to 1996, in both cases being the first black African to hold the position.

Theologically he tried to fuse black theology with African theology. Black theology attempts to help those of African descent overcome oppression, focusing on injustices and is akin to liberation theology. African theology was influenced by western forms of Christianity brought to South Africa by European colonization.

He was ordained a deacon in 1960 and then a priest the following year. In 1962 he moved to the United Kingdom to study theology at King’s College London. Four years later he returned to South Africa and taught at the Federal Theological Seminary, and then the University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland.

From 1978 to 1985, Tutu was General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches, emerging as one of the most prominent opponents of apartheid, maintaining a position of non-violence protest and foreign economic pressure to bring about universal suffrage.

In 1986, he oversaw the introduction of female priests and four years later when Nelson Mandela (1918-2013) was released from prison, the pair led negotiations to end apartheid and introduce multi-racial democracy.