Peter Geoffrey Atkins (29 April 1936 – 11 May 2022) was a New Zealand Anglican clergyman, who served as the

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, Taup ...

from 1983 to 1990.

Biography

Born on 29 April 1936, Atkins was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Crosby, and Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. He was ordained in 1963. He began his ordained ministry with a

curacy A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

Karori Karori is a suburb located at the western edge of the urban area of Wellington, New Zealand, 4 km from the city centre and is one of New Zealand's most populous suburbs, with a population of in History Origins The name ''Karori'' used ...

, after which he was a priest-tutor at St Peter's Theological College in the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...

. Later, he was vicar of

Waipukurau Waipukurau is the largest town in the Central Hawke's Bay District on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on the banks of the Tukituki River, 7 kilometres south of Waipawa and 50 kilometres southwest of Hastings. ...

, then diocesan secretary and registrar in the Diocese of Waiapu. He was archdeacon of Hawke's Bay from 1979 until 17 September 1983,ACANZP Lectionary, 2019
(p. 146) when he was ordained 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 ...

. In 1990, he was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal. After resigning his see, Atkins moved to

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

in 1991 where he was dean at St John's Theological College and a lecturer in liturgy and evangelism at the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

. He was also a senior research fellow at the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...

, and wrote a series of books on practical theology. Atkins died in Auckland on 11 May 2022, at the age of 86.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkins, Peter 1936 births 2022 deaths People educated at Merchant Taylors' Boys' School, Crosby Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge British emigrants to New Zealand Anglican archdeacons in New Zealand Anglican bishops of Waiapu 20th-century Anglican bishops in New Zealand Academic staff of the University of Auckland