The Diocese of Christchurch is one of the thirteen dioceses and hui amorangi of the

Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia ( mi, Te Hāhi Mihinare ki Aotearoa ki Niu Tīreni, ki Ngā Moutere o te Moana Nui a Kiwa; formerly the Church of the Province of New Zealand) is a province of the Anglican Communion serv ...

. The

Diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

covers the area between the Conway River and the

Waitaki River The Waitaki River is a large braided river that drains the Mackenzie Basin and runs some south-east to enter the Pacific Ocean between Timaru and Oamaru on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It starts at the confluence of the � ...

in the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

of New Zealand.

History

The Diocese of Christchurch was established in 1856 by the subdivision of the Diocese of New Zealand. Henry Harper, who arrived in Lyttelton on the ''Egmont'' on 23 December 1856, was the first bishop. The seat of the Bishop of Christchurch is at

ChristChurch Cathedral ChristChurch Cathedral, also called Christ Church Cathedral and (rarely) Cathedral Church of Christ, is a deconsecrated Anglican cathedral in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It was built between 1864 and 1904 in the centre of the city, ...

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

. Before the Christchurch diocese was founded, it was intended that a bishop for the South Island would have his See at Lyttelton; see

Thomas Jackson (Bishop-designate of Lyttelton) Thomas Jackson (1 September 1812 – 18 March 1886), was an English Anglican clergyman appointed in 1850 as Bishop Designate of the newly founded settlement of Lyttelton in New Zealand. After disagreements with the New Zealand colonists, Jackso ...

List of bishops

Archdeacons

The Archdeaconry of Christchurch dates to 1866 when

Henry Jacobs Henry Sandy Jacobs (October 9, 1924 – September 25, 2015) was an American sound artist and humorist. Early life and education Jacobs was born in Chicago, Illinois. After a tour in the Air Corps —during which time he acquired some broadcast ex ...

became the first (apparently sole)

Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...

of the diocese Jacobs resigned in May 1889 and was succeeded by Croasdaile Bowen, a brother of Charles Bowen. Bowen did not serve for long, as he had a stroke in November 1889 and died in January 1890. :Archdeacons of Christchurch *1902–1909 (res.):

Alfred Averill Alfred Walter Averill (7 October 18656 July 1957) was the second Anglican Archbishop of New Zealand, from 1925 to 1940. He was also the fifth Anglican Bishop of Auckland whose episcopate spanned a 25-year period during the first half of the 20th ...

, Vicar of St Michael and All Angels, Christchurch and Canon The Archdeaconry of Akaroa dates back to at latest 1855, when

Octavius Mathias Octavius Mathias (27 February 1805 – 18 June 1864) was a pioneering Anglican priest in New Zealand in the mid-nineteenth century. Mathias was born at Mundham in 1805. Mathias was educated at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge and ordained in ...

was collated. :Archdeacons of Akaroa *1909–1910 (res.): Alfred Averill, Vicar of St Michael and All Angels, Christchurch and Canon (became

Bishop of Waiapu The Diocese of Waiapu is one of the thirteen dioceses and hui amorangi of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. The Diocese covers the area around the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand, including Tauranga, Tau ...

) The Archdeaconry of Rangiora existed in the second half nineteenth century, when the whole country had one

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

"The Clergy List" 1864 p268 which was then split in 1856 by the subdivision of the Diocese of New Zealand. In 1887, there were four archdeaconries: Jacob (by then also

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

) was still Archdeacon of Christchurch; Henry Harper was

Archdeacon of Timaru and Westland The Diocese of Christchurch is one of the thirteen dioceses and hui amorangi of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. The Diocese covers the area between the Conway River and the Waitaki River in the South Island of New Ze ...

; Benjamin Dudley of Rangiora and

Edward Lingard Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sax ...

of AkaroaProject Canterbury
/ref> :Archdeacons of Timaru *1945–1953 (res.):

Walter Averill Walter Wootton Averill (12 May 189518 November 1955)Blain, Michael. ''Blain Biographical Directory of Anglican clergy in the South Pacific — ordained before 1932'' (2019) pp. 53–5 (Accessed aProject Canterbury 25 June 2019) was an eminent Angli ...

, Vicar of St Mary's, Timaru

References

External links

Diocese of Christchurch
{{authority control Religious organizations established in 1856

Anglican dioceses established in the 19th century Christianity in Christchurch 1856 establishments in New Zealand