Archbishop of New Zealand

George Augustus Selwyn was the first bishop of New Zealand.

The Archbishop of New Zealand is the primate, or head, of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. However, since Whakahuihui Vercoe stepped down at the end of his two-year term as archbishop in 2006, the church has decided that three bishops shall share the position and style of archbishop, each representing one of the three tikanga, or cultural streams of the church: Te Pihopatanga o Aotearoa (the Bishopric of Aotearoa, serving Māori), the Dioceses in New Zealand (serving Pakeha) and the Diocese of Polynesia.

History

George Selwyn became Bishop of New Zealand in 1841. In his lifetime, as the Anglican ministry in New Zealand grew, his original single diocese was divided several times. By 1868, New Zealand had seven dioceses, and Selwyn's Diocese of New Zealand had been renamed as the Diocese of Auckland (the Diocese of Waikato was still then part of the Diocese of Auckland, and the Diocese of Melanesia was still part of the province). After Selwyn, the leadership of the church was chosen from among the diocesans, and occasionally used the style Archbishop of New Zealand. However, from the primacy of Churchill Julius in 1902, this title became usual for the head of the church. The archbishop could be bishop of any of the dioceses of the province, and remained a diocesan while carrying out the duties of archbishop.

Throughout the 20th century, the church in New Zealand developed an understanding for the different cultures within it. In 1925, the Diocese of Polynesia began as a missionary diocese of the church. In 1928, the first Bishop of Aotearoa, ministering to the Māori, was consecrated as suffragan bishop to the Bishop of Waiapu. In the 1970s, Melanesia became a separate ecclesiastical province from New Zealand, and the Bishop of Aotearoa became a full-ranking diocesan, with a diocese covering all of New Zealand. Under the primacy of Brian Davis, Polynesia became a fully fledged diocese and a review of church structures was begun. In 1992, the General Synod of the church set up five hui amorangi, or regional bishoprics, to serve under the Bishop of Aotearoa. The Church of the Province of New Zealand also adopted its current name, the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, to demonstrate its ownership by the three tikanga. There was also a move towards the use of the title presiding bishop for the head of the church rather than archbishop, and John Paterson, Davis' successor, became the first bishop so to be styled. Further changes to the office of primate were its limitation to a two-year term, to allow for greater participation in leadership, and its establishment as a triumvirate of bishops. Currently, Archbishop Brown Turei, who is Bishop of Aotearoa, is recognised as leader of the church, but he shares the style archbishop and the title Co-Presiding Bishop with Philip Richardson (Bishop of Taranaki and Archbishop of the New Zealand Dioceses)[1] and Winston Halapua (Bishop of Polynesia).

List of primates of New Zealand

Primate Bishops of New Zealand
From Until Incumbent Notes
1856 1867 George Selwyn, Bishop of New Zealand Sole bishop from 1841 until 1856.[2]
1867 1890 Henry Harper, Primate of New Zealand Also Bishop of Christchurch since 1856.
1890 1893 Octavius Hadfield, Primate of New Zealand Also Bishop of Wellington since 1870.
1893 1902 William Cowie, Primate of New Zealand Also Bishop of Auckland since 1869; died in office.
1904 1919 Samuel Nevill, Primate of New Zealand Acting Primate since 1902; also Bishop of Dunedin since 1871.
Primate Archbishops of New Zealand
1922 1925 Churchill Julius, Archbishop of New Zealand Also Bishop of Christchurch since 1890.
1925 1940 Alfred Averill, Archbishop of New Zealand Also Bishop of Auckland since 1914.
1940 1951 Campbell West-Watson, Archbishop of New Zealand Also Bishop of Christchurch since 1926.
1952 1961 Reginald Owen, Archbishop of New Zealand Also Bishop of Wellington since 1947.
1961 1971 Norman Lesser, Archbishop of New Zealand Also Bishop of Waiapu since 1947.
1972 1980 Allen Johnston, Archbishop of New Zealand Also Bishop of Waikato since 1969.
1980 1985 Paul Reeves, Archbishop of New Zealand Also Bishop of Auckland since 1979; afterwards Governor-General of New Zealand.
1986 1997 Brian Davis, Archbishop of New Zealand Also Bishop of Wellington since 1986.
1998 2004 John Paterson, Presiding Bishop of New Zealand Also Bishop of Auckland since 1994.
2004 2006 Whakahuihui Vercoe, Archbishop of New Zealand Also Bishop of Aotearoa since 1981.
2006 present Brown Turei, Co-archbishop of New Zealand Senior Bishop of the Māori Tikanga; also Bishop of Aotearoa since 2006.
2006 April 2013[3] David Moxon, Co-archbishop of New Zealand Senior Bishop of the New Zealand Dioceses; also Bishop of Waikato since 1993.
2006 2010 Jabez Bryce, Co-archbishop of New Zealand Pacific primate; also Bishop of Polynesia since 1975.
2010 present Winston Halapua, Co-archbishop of New Zealand Born 1945. Pacific primate; also Bishop of Polynesia since 2010.
1 May 2013[4] present Philip Richardson, Co-archbishop of New Zealand Archbishop of the New Zealand Dioceses; also Bishop of Taranaki since 1999.

References

  1. ↑ Anglican Diocese of Waikato and Taranaki – Meet the Bishops (Accessed 5 July 2013)
  2. ↑ Diocese of Auckland – History of the Anglican Church in NZ
  3. ↑ Anglican Communion News Service – Williams names Moxon to Holy See (accessed 4 December 2012)
  4. ↑ Anglican Taonga – New Archbishop 'a community visionary' (Accessed 5 July 2013)

External links

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