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Organ music from Holy Trinity Cathedral,
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Brief History of the Anglican Church in New Zealand.
The Early Years
Prior to being colonised from Europe, New Zealand and Australia were part of an
Archdeaconry of the Diocese of Calcutta,
India.
The first Christian service in New Zealand
was held on Christmas Day 1814 at Oihi,
Rangihoua Bay, Bay of Islands. The Revd
Samuel Marsden's sermon was translated
by Ruatara, who had been befriended and
cared for by Marsden in earlier years.
Marsden came to New Zealand at the
prompting of the Church
Missionary
Society. The site was marked in 1907
with a Celtic Cross of the type favoured
by Marsden. In 1815 he performed the
first Baptism in New Zealand. The original
record is held in the Archives of the
Auckland Diocese.
The Reverends Henry and William Williams
arrived in 1823 and 1826 respectively as
missionaries of the Christian Missionary
Society, establishing a mission in the Bay
of Islands. Eight hundred of their
descendants gathered from all over the
world in April 1998 to celebrate the
175th anniversary of the arrival of
Henry. The Mission building still stands,
close to the oldest church in New
Zealand, Christ Church, Russell. Both
are listed (protected) historic buildings.
Maori Bible (Paperu Tapu): The Revd
William Williams translated the New
Testament into Maori, and later became
the first Bishop of Waiapu (1859). Dr
Robert Maunsell completed translation
of the Old Testament in 1847, as well
as the Book of Common Prayer.
Foundation of the Anglican Church
in N.Z.: George
Augustus Selwyn
arrived as Bishop of New Zealand in
1841 and established the Church in
New Zealand. By his efforts the
Constitution of the Church of the
Province of New Zealand was
signed in St Stephen's Chapel,
Judges Bay, Auckland, on 13 June
1857. He became Metropolitan
(Primate) in 1858 when he created
the Diocese of Christchurch, followed
in 1858-59 by the Dioceses of
Wellington, Nelson and Waiapu.
Dunedin followed in 1863.
Maori Priesthood: Bishop Selwyn's
requirements for ordination to the
priesthood, including ability to read
the New Testament in Greek,
caused long delays for Maori to attain
the priesthood. Rota Waitoa spent
ten years working with Bishop Selwyn
in a range of roles before becoming
the first Maori to become an Anglcan priest, being ordained in 1860 by the Bishop of Waiapu.
Diocese of Melanesia: John Coleridge Patteson was consecrated Bishop of Melanesia in 1861, and
was killed 10 years later, having
developed upon Bishop Selwyn's
earlier ministry into the region. He
was succeeded by Bishop John
Richardson Selwyn, son of Bishop
G.A. Selwyn.
Auckland Diocese divided: In
1926 Archbishop
Averill created
the Diocese of Waikato, based in
Hamilton, by dividing off the
southern area of the Auckland
Diocese. He also supported the
formation of the (Maori) Bishopric
of Aotearoa, and changes to the
Church Constitution to enable full
autonomy for the Church in New
Zealand.
*Aotearoa ("Land of the Long White Cloud")
is the Maori name for our Islands.
Click here for Later History of the Anglican Church in N.Z. |