Thomas John Brown (born 16 August 1943) is a retired Anglican bishop in New Zealand. He is the former

Bishop of Wellington The Diocese of Wellington 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 bottom of the North Island of New Zealand up to the area of Mount Ru ...

. On 29 July 2011, Brown announced, with the support of the Primate, that he would retire in March 2012, effectively completing his duties at the end of February 2012. He retired as Bishop of Wellington during an evening service on 26 February 2012, which had the

Anglican Primate of Australia The Anglican Primate of Australia is the senior bishop and President of the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Australia The Anglican Church of Australia, formerly known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania, is a Chris ...

, who is also the

Archbishop of Brisbane In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...

, in attendance along with Archbishop David Moxon, the

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-equ ...

. Brown was educated at the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate ...

in New Zealand 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 ...

in 1972. After

curacies 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 ...

at St Matthew's in

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 Rive ...

, New Zealand, and St James the Greater, Leicester, England, he returned to New Zealand to become the

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 pre ...

Upper Clutha Upper may refer to: * Shoe upper or ''vamp'', the part of a shoe on the top of the foot * Stimulant, drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both * ''Upper'', the original film title for the 2013 found fo ...

in 1976. After further incumbencies at Roslyn and Lower Hutt he became the Archdeacon of Belmont in 1987. In 1991 he became the assistant bishop and the

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop' ...

in the Diocese of Wellington — he was consecrated a bishop on 23 February 1991ACANZP Lectionary, 2019
(p. 145) — and, seven years later, its diocesan bishop. After his retirement, Brown voluntarily gave up his right to officiate as a priest after he split with his wife and then began a relationship with the chaplain of

Samuel Marsden Collegiate School Samuel Marsden Collegiate School is a private composite girls school located in the Wellington suburb of Karori in New Zealand. It has a socio-economic decile of 10 - on a scale from 1 to 10, 1 reflecting the lowest socioeconomic communities - ...

, Kate Carey-Smith, who was married to Chris Carey-Smith, the chaplain at St Mark's Church School, both being priests of the

Anglican Diocese of Wellington The Diocese of Wellington 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 bottom of the North Island of New Zealand up to the area of Mount ...

. Brown said he surrendered his licence as a priest "to be loyal to the church and maintain the church's integrity".Blair Ensor, "Bishop ditches priesthood, runs off with chaplain", ''Stuff News'', 9 September 2012.
(Retrieved 23 October 2013)

References

1943 births Anglican bishops of Wellington University of Otago alumni Living people 20th-century Anglican bishops in New Zealand 21st-century Anglican bishops in New Zealand {{Anglican-bishop-stub