Walking the path of faith and liberation
RETIRED Anglican Bishop Rubin Phillip grew up in a family where he had the option to believe in God or not.
Little did he know that he would dedicate his life to serving God or that he would meet the love of his life, Rosemary, through the church.
The 74-year-old Phillip’s formative years were spent in Clairwood, south of Durban, where he and his five siblings were encouraged to question everything and express themselves freely on all matters including religion.
His dad, who was a chef at the Edward Hotel in Durban and later resigned to run his own tearoom in South Coast Road, read widely and was agnostic.
Phillip said his dad challenged him to question things. However, it was his mom who had the “deepest and greatest influence” on his beliefs.
A home-maker and devout Christian, she first planted the seeds of spirituality in his heart.
He said his mom was baptised in the Catholic Church and occasionally took them to services.
There were many challenges while growing up. The family business was not a financial success because his parents had big hearts and shallow pockets.
“My dad had a great heart for the suffering of African people and would call it a crime. He said the government was unchristian,” said Phillip.
When customers did not have money to pay for items, his mom would often say: “Oh, just let them have it”.
The business eventually closed down. When his father’s health deteriorated, they left Clairwood, to live in the “white section” of Wentworth.
At that stage, the family would occasionally attend services at the Anglican Church in Merebank. This is where Phillip met his future wife, Rosemary.
Phillip said Rosemary immediately caught his fancy. She loved going to church and so he became a regular churchgoer. Eventually, he converted to Christianity.
Initially, Phillip attended services in Merebank, but because he wanted to be surrounded by people of all races, he switched to a church in Wentworth. St Gabriel’s Anglican Church in Austerville Drive became his spiritual home.
One day, Bishop (then father) Ross Cuthbertson called Phillip aside after service and suggested that he would be a good fit for the clergy.
Phillip said he had always wanted to do something academic but the idea of serving God took root and in 1969 he was ordained as a deacon. A year later, he became a priest.
Already a revolutionary at heart, it was during his time at theology college in the Eastern
Cape that he joined the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM). He went on to meet some of the people who would have a lasting impression on his life.
One of those people was Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who was his lecturer at the Federal Theological Seminary of Southern Africa in Alice, next to the University of Fort Hare.
Tutu taught the Old Testament and he was able to make the connection of faith and teaching the scriptures to socio-political issues. He did not divorce those two issues, said Phillip.
Tutu and his wife Leah became Phillip’s family. They would have a date night every Friday, and Phillip would babysit the children.
He said it was also a cover-up for them to speak about other matters.
“But I also had my motives; it was a chance to have a good meal,” he laughs.
In 1971, Phillip became involved in the BCM. He said he had met some radical folk at Fort Hare University.
They would go down to the river between Fort Hare University and Lovedale Hospital, and sit on the rocks while discussing political matters.
It was also where he met Steve Biko, although their relationship solidified when Biko went to medical school in the then Natal.
While at college, Phillip became the chairperson of the South African Students Organisation, essentially the student arm of the BCM. He later became the deputy president of the BCM.
“I must be honest and say apart from my own dad, Archbishop Desmond and Steve Biko had the biggest influence on my life.”
In 1973, Phillip was placed under house arrest for five years but it was lifted after three years mainly because of Tutu’s work in bringing international attention to the plight of black people in the country.
Phillip said when he was banned by the apartheid government, he could not meet with more than two people at a time.
“I was given permission to go to church and preach but could not meet the people after the service. I could preach and give people holy communion.”
It was when he and his wife moved to Natraj Centre in Merebank during his banning order that he started questioning God.
“I still ask questions. It’s who I am. It wasn’t so much about my personal suffering. It was the way it affected people who were already suffering. I asked how does a loving God allow this.”
During the interview, Philip laughed a lot. He joked and teased, and his light-heartedness was infectious. Yet, his eyes told a different story.
This is a man of the cloth who has witnessed a lot and suffered even more.
“In this profession, you have to see the funny side of life because we witness so much suffering and hear so many sad stories,” Phillip explains.
One of his biggest heartbreaks was when Tutu died, on December 26 last year .
“I was very broken,” said Phillip. He was aware that “the Arch” – as Tutu was fondly known – was ill but he was still devastated.
Just a few months before his death, Tutu phoned Phillip and asked him to come to Cape Town because he wanted to take him to lunch.
They spent a few hours at the harbour, chatting about life and old times. Later they were joined by Tutu’s wife, Leah. Phillip believes that Tutu had known it was the last time they would spend time together.
The two men had walked the path of faith and liberation together for many years.
“Nobody cared for me as much as he did when I was banned,“said Phillip.
“When Tutu was head of the Anglican Church in Southern Africa, which included Mozambique, Angola and some of the islands, I was his second in charge. He made me the Dean of the Province of Southern Africa.”
With moist eyes, he recalled Tutu’s last chat with him.
“He said: ‘I wanted to thank you for all that you did for the church and for society over the years. And I know why you were banned and beaten up by the police.’
“He was a real father to me.” Biko’s death in 1977 was also a major loss to him.
“He was a brother.”
Phillip recalled how they would crisscross the country taking turns to drive as they visited various people and campuses.
“The BCM had a strong presence in many of the universities. Priests then were quite radical. Today our guys are too inward-looking. We no longer have the kind of priest and pastors that we had in those days; radical people who were able to combine the faith with their action of transformation.”
There were lighter moments too with Biko when they played for opposing sports teams during Biko’s time as a medical student in Durban.
“Biko took a fancy to knocking me on the rugby field. But I learnt to sort
him out on the field. We had a beer together afterwards. It was good fun,” laughed Phillip.
Phillip and his wife have a son, Lance Phillip, who teaches music at the University of the Free State.
Two other sons, one named Steven after Steve Biko, died two years apart. Their deaths still weigh heavily on Phillip.
He says one of the most humbling moments of his life was when he was elected Bishop of the Natal Diocese.
He said the Anglican Church was large and diverse, and the majority of its members were black.
“Indians are a minority so it was quite something when the people elected me from a tiny group. I was very humbled.
“I think people wanted a bishop who would not only speak to the hearts of people about their religion, about their faith, but they also wanted someone who would address the issue of suffering in our country,” he said.
Although he only became Christian in his teens, Phillip said he always liked to live simply and that made him suitable to serve.
“I’m not by nature somebody who likes to accumulate wealth. I guess it’s one of the reasons I became a priest. I enjoy a very simple lifestyle. I thought it
was very close to God to live that simple lifestyle. I think that’s what most priests do whatever their religion.”
Phillip believes Rosemary is a much better bishop than him.
His voice brims with admiration when he described how involved she was in the ministries of compassion and how she served through a feeding scheme, podcasts, singing in the choir and teaching Sunday School.
“I’m proud of her. It’s a genuine expression of faith.”
Although retired, it is difficult to get an appointment with Phillip.
He serves on religious and political panels. He says he does not take any money for his work because it is the right thing to do.
Apart from serving on the president’s panel which focused on the July 2021 riots, and the KZN social cohesion council, Phillip is involved in Abahlali baseMjondolo, the shack dwellers’ movement.
“I am very close to Abahlali. I walk with them, I protest with them and I speak in defence of them regularly. I am happy to have tea with them. They are still experiencing a lot of oppression.”
Phillip said it was the duty of ordinary people to sow seeds of hope and spend time with young people to help shape their values.