Henry John Chitty Harper (28 December 1893) was an

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 ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

in the second half of the 19th century.

Life

Harper was baptised on 9 January 1804, educated at

The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its pred ...

and

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

in 1832. He was

Chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

until December 1840 then

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

of St Mary's,

Stratfield Mortimer Stratfield Mortimer is a village and civil parish, just south of Reading, in the English ceremonial county of Berkshire and unitary authority area of West Berkshire. Parish geography The south and south-east half of the parish consists of farms ...

. In 1856 he was appointed to the

episcopate A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

as Bishop of Christchurch. Harper and his family arrived on 23 December 1856 in Lyttelton on the ''Egmont''. At the 4th General Synod, 14 October 1868, he was elected and upon receiving in July 1869 notice of Selwyn's resignation, he became

Primate of New Zealand Primate of New Zealand is a title held by a bishop who leads the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. Since 2006, the Senior Bishop of each '' tikanga'' (Māori, Pākehā, Pasefika) serves automatically as one of three co-equal ...

; he resigned the Primacy on 5 September 1889 and his See on 31 March 1890, in ill-health. He died on 28 December 1893 and is buried at Barbadoes Street Cemetery.

Family

On 12 December 1829 at St Maurice, Winchester, Harper married Emily Wooldridge. They had 15 children. His eldest daughter, Emily Weddell Harper married the politician John Acland. Two of his other daughters married

Charles Blakiston Charles Robert Blakiston (6 July 1825 – 1 September 1898) was a New Zealand politician. Biography Blakiston was born in 1825. His parents were Sir Matthew Blakiston, 3rd Baronet and Lucy Mann (granddaughter of Horatio Mann) of Ashbourne, Derb ...

, son of Matthew Blakiston; and

Charles George Tripp Charles George Tripp (1 July 1826 – 6 July 1897) was a pioneering sheep farmer in South Canterbury, New Zealand. Together with his friend and business partner John Acland, he was the first to use the Canterbury high country for sheep farming. ...

. A son, Leonard Harper, became a member of

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, and Arthur Paul Harper was his grandson. Another son, Charles John Harper, owned various large farms and unsuccessfully stood for election to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

in the electorate in .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Henry John Chitty 1804 births Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford Anglican bishops of Christchurch 19th-century Anglican archbishops Primates of New Zealand 1893 deaths Burials at Barbadoes Street Cemetery

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...