Wilfred Allen Subritzky (20 November 1925 – 23 December 2015) was a New Zealand lawyer and property developer, active from the mid-1950s until the mid-1980s. His company, Universal Homes, mass-produced houses in standard designs, and sold 14,000 houses over the 30-year period of Subritzky's involvement.

Biography

Subritzky was born in 1925, and lived in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. In 1971 he became involved in the

charismatic movement The charismatic movement in Christianity is a movement within established or mainstream Christian denominations to adopt beliefs and practices of Charismatic Christianity with an emphasis on baptism with the Holy Spirit, and the use of spirit ...

, and became an independent evangelist and healer. Subritzky's

faith healing Faith healing is the practice of prayer and gestures (such as laying on of hands) that are believed by some to elicit divine intervention in spiritual and physical healing, especially the Christian practice. Believers assert that the healing ...

ministry, Dove Ministries, distributes pamphlets, books and videos of his teaching and his evangelistic healing meetings. He was a charismatic

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

but the style of his ministry was more similar to

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

s such as the late

Derek Prince Peter Derek Vaughan Prince (14 August 1915 – 24 September 2003) was a Bible teacher whose daily radio programme, ''Derek Prince Legacy Radio'', is broadcast around the world in various languages. Marriage and the growth of his ministry Derek ...

. Subritzky was a proponent of the

Toronto Blessing The Toronto Blessing, a term coined by British newspapers, refers to the Christian revival and associated phenomena that began in January 1994 at the Toronto Airport Vineyard church (TAV), which was renamed in 1996 to Toronto Airport Christian F ...

and its introduction into New Zealand. He frequently attributes problems, whether physical, spiritual, emotional or psychological, to the influence of

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, ani ...

s, which he claims to "cast out". He also claims to have insight through the " word of knowledge" into people's sins, which have made them vulnerable to demonic influence. Skeptics have questioned his claim that he has ability to cure ailments such as asthma, arthritis and cancer; stating that he uses

psychological manipulation Manipulation in psychology is a behavior designed to exploit, control, or otherwise influence others to one’s advantage. Definitions for the term vary in which behavior is specifically included, influenced by both culture and whether referring t ...

to make people feel as though they are healed. Subritzky was a friend to the controversial Nigerian "prophet"

T.B. Joshua Temitope Balogun Joshua (12 June 1963 – 5 June 2021), popularly known as T. B. Joshua, was a Nigerian charismatic pastor, televangelist, and philanthropist. He was the leader and founder of Synagogue, Church of All Nations (SCOAN), a Chris ...

and publicly supported him amidst criticism that Joshua's "miracles" were not of God. In 1986, Subritzky and other conservative Christians helped establish the

Coalition of Concerned Citizens The Coalition of Concerned Citizens was a New Zealand Christian conservative pressure group, and one of several attempts to form pro-censorship, anti-abortion, anti-gay and sex education opponents into a comprehensive social conservative politica ...

, a right-wing Christian pressure group formed to oppose the socially-liberal policies of the

Fourth Labour Government The Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand governed New Zealand from 26 July 1984 to 2 November 1990. It was the first Labour government to win a second consecutive term since the First Labour Government of 1935 to 1949. The policy agenda o ...

. He was married to Lucy Patricia (Pat), who died in 2011. Subritzky later married Kaylene. In the

1991 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1991 were appointments by Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by people of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. They were published on 28 December 1990 for the United Kingdom, N ...

, Subritzky was awarded the

Queen's Service Medal The Queen's Service Medal is a medal awarded by the government of New Zealand to recognise and reward volunteer service to the community and also public service in elected or appointed public office. It was established in 1975 and is related to ...

for community service. Subritzky published his autobiography ''On the Cutting Edge: The Bill Subritzky Story'' in 1993. In 2014, Subritzky's estate in

Lynfield Lynfield is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is under the local governance of Auckland Council. The suburb is located on the southwestern Auckland isthmus bordering the Manukau Harbour, much of which is densely forested with native forest. L ...

, Mount Roskill was sold to

Ryman Healthcare Ryman Healthcare Limited is a New Zealand retirement village and rest home operator. It is listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange and is one of the largest companies listed on the NZX 50 Index. Ryman Healthcare has 38 operational villages ac ...

with an estimated market value of $16.2 million. The property was developed by Subritzky and his first wife, Pat, in 1960 and featured several homes, a pool, tennis court, sheds and a separate office wing from where Subritzky ran his businesses. Subritzky died on 23 December 2015.

References

External links

Dove Ministries
{{DEFAULTSORT:Subritzky, Bill 1925 births 2015 deaths New Zealand exorcists Faith healers New Zealand Charismatics New Zealand evangelical leaders New Zealand anti-abortion activists Religious leaders from Auckland New Zealand people of Ukrainian descent Recipients of the Queen's Service Medal