Cape Town's oldest Anglican Church turns 70

Archbishop Desmond Tutu attended a special service to celebrate the 70th birthday of Cape Town's oldest Anglican Church today. Langa's St Cyprian's Church has a rich history of survival through the adversity of apartheid's Group Areas Act.

The church is older than the building itself. It was established in 1934. St Cyprian's Langa was forcibly removed in the 60s from Ndabeni in the city bowl. The church became a powerful symbol of unity for the people of Cape Town's oldest township.

Tutu the former Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, says even when apartheid was threatening to destroy people, they refused. He says they clung to the fact that they were a community and that their churches were not just the Anglican Church but all the churches were crucial in holding people together.

Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane, the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, says the church community is like glue in society. "People here suffered forced removals so the church played a vital role in the formation of communities," Ndungane said.

Both Tutu and Ndungane say churches still have an important role to play in uniting the South Africans.