Norman Alfred Lesser (16 March 1902 – 12 February 1985) 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 ...

and

Archbishop 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 ...

from 1961 to 1971. He was the Bishop of Waiapu from 1947 to 1971.

Education and early ministry

He was educated at the

Liverpool Collegiate Institution Liverpool Collegiate School was an all-boys grammar school, later a comprehensive school, in the Everton, Liverpool, Everton area of Liverpool. Foundations The Collegiate is a striking, Grade II listed building, with a facade of pink Woolton sa ...

and Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. He began his ecclesiastical career with a curacy at St Simon and St Jude,

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...

, Liverpool. He then held similar posts at Holy Trinity, Formby and Liverpool Cathedral. In 1931 he became

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 John,

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...

. From 1931 to 1939 he was Rector and

Sub-Dean {{Unreferenced, date=June 2019 A sub-dean is a person who acts as an assistant to a dean either in church circuit as a priest or minister or an academic institution. They are, however, not a vice-dean. A vice-dean is a person who can deputize a de ...

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

and from then until his elevation to the Waiapu

See See or SEE may refer to: * Sight - seeing Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Television * ...

its Provost.

Episcopal ministry

Lesser succeeded Archbishop

Reginald Herbert Owen Reginald Herbert Owen (25 May 1887 – 24 February 1961) was an University don, Oxford don, Public school (UK), public school headmaster and Anglican bishop. Life and career Born on 25 May 1887 he was educated at Dulwich College and Wadham Colle ...

Primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...

of the Anglican Church of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

on his death in 1961. Norman Lesser Drive 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 ...

is named after him. In the 1971 Queen's Birthday Honours, Lesser was appointed a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

, for services as Primate and Archbishop of New Zealand.

References

External links

Lesser's Papers in the Anglican Church Archive Collection in the John Kinder Theological LibraryLesser's Papers
in

The National Archives National archives are central archives maintained by countries. This article contains a list of national archives. Among its more important tasks are to ensure the accessibility and preservation of the information produced by governments, both ...

1902 births 1985 deaths People educated at Liverpool Collegiate Institution Alumni of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Provosts of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia 20th-century Anglican archbishops in New Zealand Primates of New Zealand Anglican bishops of Waiapu New Zealand Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George {{Anglican-bishop-stub