The Church of England in New Zealand had its beginnings with the arrival of the Rev. Samuel Marsden at the Bay of Islands in 1814, when on Christmas Day he preached the first sermon in New Zealand. Towards the close of 1838 Bishop Broughton, who had been consecrated Bishop of Australia on 14 February 1836, paid a visit to the Bay of Islands in response to an earnest request from the Church Missionary Society, and while there held confirmations in English and Maori. After this, Bishop Broughton reported to the society that the appointment of a bishop for New Zealand was a matter of urgent necessity. The Secretary of State of the Colonies (Lord John Russell) considered this impossible because New Zealand was not part of the British Dominions. The Proclamation of the Queen's sovereignty in New Zealand on 21 May 1840 by Captain William Hobson, after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi on 6 February 1840, was followed by the appointment, by Royal Letters Patent dated 10 October 1841, of George Augustus Selwyn as Bishop of New Zealand. He was consecrated at Lambeth on 17 October 1841. Through a drafting error in the Patent, Bishop Selwyn accepted his boundaries literally and claimed authority over a part of what now forms the field of the Melanesian Mission. The various islands of Polynesia (mainly Fiji and Tonga groups) were considered to be under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of London, but became associated with the New Zealand church by a statute of General Synod dated 6 February 1925. Bishop Selwyn's original diocese of New Zealand was reduced in the first place by the resignation by the bishop of the area included in the diocese of Christchurch by Royal Letters Patent dated 31 July 1856, and then by the constitution by Royal Letters Patent dated 27 September 1858 of the dioceses of Waiapu, Wellington, and Nelson. This left an area which was changed from the diocese of New Zealand to the diocese of Auckland when Bishop Selwyn returned to England to become Bishop of Lichfield in 1868. The diocese of Auckland was divided when General Synod created the diocese of Waikato in 1925. The diocese of Dunedin was originally part of the diocese of Christchurch and was created a separate diocese as from 1 January 1869 by General Synod on 17 October 1868. These seven dioceses in New Zealand, Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Nelson, Waiapu, Waikato, and Wellington and the two associated missionary dioceses of Melanesia and Polynesia make up “the Church of the Province of New Zealand (commonly called the Church of England)” the correct title as defined by a canon of General Synod. By an Act passed by the Parliament of New Zealand in 1955 the General Synod has power to define the extent, nature, and terms of association of missionary dioceses with the Church of the Province of New Zealand.
Autonomy was established on 13 June 1857, when the first Constitution was formulated in the historic St. Stephen's Chapel, Auckland, at a Conference of Bishops, Clergy, and Laity. This first Constitution was revised in 1865 at the third General Synod. Certain of the clauses of the Constitution are termed fundamental and it is not within the power of the General Synod or any diocesan synod to alter, add to, revoke or diminish any of them. Non-fundamental clauses, however, can be altered by General Synod. There is full communion with the Church of England but the ancient see of Canterbury and the Archbishop of Canterbury have no jurisdiction over the Church of England in New Zealand. The Anglican communion throughout the world is held together by common ties and traditions in much the same way as the British Commonwealth of Nations is held together. Under a fundamental clause of the Constitution the management of the affairs of the Church rests with a representative governing body (General Synod) consisting of three distinct orders; viz., the Bishops, the Clergy, and the Laity, the consent of all orders being necessary to all acts binding upon General Synod or diocesan synods.
The first clause of the Constitution binds the Church to the Book of Common Prayer (1662) and to the Authorised Version of the Bible, and General Synod has no power to make any alteration in these In order to give the Church freedom and to protect the sanctity of trusts of property which is the sole concern of the State, the General Synod promoted a Bill in the New Zealand Parliament in 1928 to give power to General Synod to alter, add to, or diminish the formularies of the Church or to permit the use of any version of the Bible other than the Authorised Version. The result was the passing of the Church of England Empowering Act 1928 under which any person, who feels that the General Synod, in making an alteration, is departing from the doctrine and sacraments of Christ as defined in the Constitution, may appeal to a tribunal which the Act sets up for the purpose. The decision of the tribunal, which consists of the bishops and clerical and lay members appointed by General Synod, is final. In 1958 the General Synod authorised the use in a diocese, with the permission of the bishop of the diocese, of certain parts of the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.
The controlling body of the province is the General Synod which meets once every two years, although there is provision for meeting more often for special purposes if necessary. The membership of General Synod comprises the bishops of the province, three clerical representatives elected by the clergy of each diocesan synod, and four lay representatives elected by the laymen of each diocesan synod. The associated missionary dioceses are represented by two clergymen and two laymen who are appointed by the bishop in the case of the diocese of Melanesia and by the diocesan synod in the case of the diocese of Polynesia. Each diocese has its own synod which must meet at least every year. These diocesan synods consist of the clergy who hold a licence from the bishop of the diocese and of laymen elected by the various parishes at the annual meeting of parishioners. A diocesan synod is empowered by the General Synod to exercise powers and make regulations for the order and good government of the Church in the diocese, but these may not be repugnant to the Constitution or a canon or regulation of General Synod. Each diocese is divided into a number of parishes or parochial districts, of which there are 128 and 200 respectively throughout New Zealand with 901 churches, while services are taken in 794 other places which are not solely churches. In addition, there are 38 native pastorates which are all in the four North Island dioceses. The affairs of a parish or parochial district are controlled by a vicar's churchwarden and a people's churchwarden together with a vestry elected at the annual general meeting of parishioners. Vestrymen must be communicant members and over 21 years of age, although to vote at a parish meeting it is only necessary to be over 18 years of age, baptised, and on the parish roll. On the whole the clergy and laymen work in close cooperation in the running of the parishes in all matters although the clergy have the general oversight of spiritual ministrations. Laymen, however, assist a great deal with visiting and through the efforts of lay readers, of which there are 854 in New Zealand, services especially in country areas are maintained at regular intervals.
The Primate and Archbishop is elected by General Synod after nomination by the bishops. The nomination must be confirmed both by clerical and by lay representatives. If, after a second nomination, no election is made, the senior bishop, other than the bishop of a missionary diocese, becomes Acting Primate until General Synod elects a Primate. Provision was made by General Synod in 1952 for the Primate and Archbishop to have an assistant bishop. The Archbishop presides at meetings of the General Synod and meetings of the bishops, and is authorised to exercise all such powers of a Metropolitan as may be defined by General Synod. Such powers, however, have not yet been defined and his jurisdiction is, therefore, restricted to the diocese of which he is also bishop. The first Primate and Archbishop was the Most Rev. Churchill Julius (1922–25), Bishop of Christchurch, followed by the Most Rev. A. W. Averill (1925–40), Bishop of Auckland, the Most Rev. C. W. West-Watson (1940–51), Bishop of Christchurch, and the Most Rev. Reginald H. Owen (1952–60), Bishop of Wellington. The present occupier of the office is the Most Rev. Norman A. Lesser, Bishop of Waiapu, who was elected in 1961. Prior to 1922 there was a Primate without the title of Archbishop, the holders of this office being the Right Rev. H. J. C. Harper, Bishop of Christchurch (1869–89), the Right Rev. O. Hadfield, Bishop of Wellington (1890–93), the Right Rev. W. G. Cowie, Bishop of Auckland (1895–1902), and the Right Rev. S. T. Nevill, Bishop of Dunedin (1904–19).
The bishop of a diocese is chosen by the diocesan synod, but it may delegate its right of selection to others. The bishops of the province are called upon to state whether they have reason to disapprove of a nomination and, before the person nominated to be bishop is advised, his nomination must be confirmed by the standing committee of each diocese or by the General Synod if in session. The Consecration of a bishop-elect must take place within the Province of New Zealand. There is also provision for the appointment of assistant bishops and such appointments are made on the nomination of the bishop of the diocese.
Each diocese has a board of nomination which deals with the appointment of vicars, of whom there are over 300 assisted by about 100 other clergy. The board consists of the bishop as chairman and two priests elected by the clergy and two laymen elected by the laymen of the diocesan synod. When a vacancy occurs in a parish, the board of nomination and nominators elected by the vestry of the parish meet together and nominate a priest to the bishop to become vicar. Appointments to parochial districts as distinct from parishes are made by the board of nomination without any representation from the parochial district. The vicar of a parish can only be removed therefrom for an ecclesiastical offence and upon a decision of some competent tribunal constituted by the General Synod, but the licence of the vicar of a parochial district can be revoked by the bishop with the consent of one-half of the other members of the board of nomination.
The Church has always carried out a vigorous work among the Maoris both in the pastoral and educational sphere, the foundation for this having been laid by Henry and William Williams. In many parts of New Zealand there are separate Maori churches in approximately 38 native pastorates with Maori pastors approximately 26 in number; but there is nevertheless integration so that there have been cases where Maori clergymen have been appointed vicars of parishes. Most of the dioceses have special Maori mission funds, but the Maoris themselves raise considerable sums of money for the support of their own churches. There are three Church secondary schools for Maori girls (Queen Victoria School, Auckland; Hukarere School, Napier; and Te Wai Pounamu College, Christchurch) and two secondary schools for Maori boys (St. Stephen's School, Bombay; and Te Aute College, Pukehou), the total roll numbers being approximately 400. In many instances scholarships are provided.
A member of the Maori race is appointed by the bishops of the dioceses of the North Island as Bishop of Aotearoa and he is suffragan bishop to the Bishop of Waiapu, in whose diocese the greatest number of Maoris live. Bishops of other dioceses may also give the Bishop of Aotearoa episcopal supervision of members of the Maori race in their own dioceses. The first Bishop of Aotearoa (The Right Rev. F. A. Bennett) was consecrated in 1928 and died in 1950. The Right Rev. W. N. Panapa succeeded him in 1951. In 1964 the General Synod amended the Church Canon to give the Maori people direct representation at its deliberations.
There are three theological colleges (St. John's College, Auckland; Christchurch College, Christchurch; and Selwyn College, Dunedin), the latter two taking students of other faculties as well. Many of the students take arts and other degrees of the New Zealand universities before sitting for the Licentiate of Theology under examinations conducted by the Board of Theological Studies which was constituted by General Synod. These latter examinations are also open to laymen and extra-mural students. Some candidates for the ministry take degree and theological courses outside New Zealand.
The ecumenical movement is given full support, the Church being a member of the National Council of Churches in New Zealand and of the World Council of Churches. The Most Rev. Campbell West-Watson, Primate and Archbishop from 1940 to 1950, played a prominent part in the foundation of the National Council of Churches in New Zealand in 1941 and attended the First Assembly of the World Council of Churches at Amsterdam in 1948. There was also representation at the Second and Third Assemblies at Evanston and New Delhi.
The overseas mission work is coordinated under the New Zealand Anglican Board of Missions with the main emphasis placed on work undertaken by the dioceses of Melanesia and Polynesia and the New Zealand Church Missionary Society. In 1963 church people contributed just over £100,000 for this work. Many recruits, both clergy and laymen, are supplied for work in the mission field.
Social service work claims full attention and the various dioceses provide children's homes, old people's homes, city missions, and hostels for students, etc. There has been a recent change in the method of caring for children, with the institutional orphanage slowly being replaced by cottage homes, each with a limited number of children. Arrangements are also made for foster home care.
There is at present a period of expansion due mainly to the need for establishing the Church in new housing areas. Fund-raising campaigns of various sorts have resulted in the total income of the Church being increased from £677,000 in 1955 to 1,683,000 in 1963. A new cathedral at Napier in the diocese of Waiapu was dedicated in 1960 and new cathedrals are being built at Auckland and Wellington. There are plans for extending the Christchurch Cathedral by adding new vestries on the north and south sides of the chancel.
In the educational field, apart from Maori schools and schools in the missionary dioceses of Melanesia and Polynesia, there are 30 colleges and schools associated in varying degrees with and under the general control of the Church. These are secondary, and primary schools for boys and/or girls, in many cases with boarding facilities. The total roll numbers of these schools at the end of 1963 was 7,186. Because few of these schools have endowments, it is a constant problem to maintain their financial stability. As the main source of income is from fees, this often presents problems for parents who desire their children to attend Church schools. Sunday schools, with about 5,290 teachers, provide religious education for 66,000 children and there are 17,100 secondary school children with 970 leaders attending Bible classes.
The largest movement among women is the Mothers' Union, which has about 14,700 members in 429 branches. A development in recent years has been the establishment of Young Wives' Groups. Many parishes have men's groups of various descriptions, including the Church of England Men's Society.
According to Government statistics (1961) there are 835,434 people in New Zealand who claim allegiance to the Church of England. This represents 34.6 per cent of the population. The denominational paper is Church and People, published monthly.
by Laurie Henry Wilson, formerly Secretary and Treasurer of the Church of England in the Province of New Zealand, Christchurch.