The Waiapu Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist, Napier, is the formal name of the

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 ...

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 ...

of the

Diocese 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, Ta ...

. It is more commonly called either Waiapu Cathedral or Napier Cathedral. The Waiapu cathedral is situated at the north end of the central business district of

Napier, New Zealand Napier ( ; mi, Ahuriri) is a city on the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Hawke's Bay Region, Hawke's Bay region. It is a beachside city with a Napier Port, seaport, known for its sunny climate, esplanade lin ...

. Construction of the present building was completed 1965, and the cathedral was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

on 8th October 1967. It is built in an

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

style. The church has the unusual distinction of hosting the cathedrae of both 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, Tau ...

and of ''Te Pihopa o Aotearoa''/Bishop of Aotearoa (currently Don Tamihere). This is a distinctive aspect of Waiapu Cathedral (differing from St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast, which also serves two dioceses but is the seat of neither).

History

St John's Cathedral, Napier (21282677775)

The present-day building replaced an earlier cathedral that was destroyed by the

1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Si ...

. Begun in 1886, consecrated in December 1888, and largely complete by 1890, the original cathedral of St John was a brick construction designed by Christchurch architect

Benjamin Mountfort Benjamin Woolfield Mountfort (13 March 1825 – 15 March 1898) was an English emigrant to New Zealand, where he became one of the country's most prominent 19th-century architects. He was instrumental in shaping the city of Christchurch's unique ...

. Two lives were lost in the cathedral as a result of the 1931 earthquake. Edith Barry was trapped beneath fallen beams, and was euthanized as flames from the post-earthquake conflagration approached the building. Kate Williams died the following day of injuries sustained in the quake. Following the total destruction of the first cathedral a temporary building was erected on the site, standing from 1931 until it was closed in 1960. The current building is widely regarded as a fine example of

architecture. The design was largely drawn up by Napier architect Kingwell Malcolm, of the firm Malcolm and Sweet, following the untimely death of the selected architect R. S. D. Harman. The stained glass windows were designed by Wellington artist

Beverley Shore Bennett Beverley Doris Shore Bennett (born 1928) is a portrait artist and glass artist from New Zealand. Her work is included in the collection of the New Zealand Portrait Gallery and she is a Fellow of the British Society of Master Glass Painters. B ...

. The previous Dean was The Very Rev'd Dr Michael Godfrey, who was installed by

David Rice (bishop) David Rice was the 15th Anglican Bishop of Waiapu. He was consecrated on 7 June 2008. An American, he was previously Dean of Dunedin. Born in Lexington, North Carolina, he was educated at Lenoir-Rhyne University and Duke University. Initially ...

in October 2013. Godfrey was dismissed by Bishop Hedge in May 2016, following allegations that he had committed adultery twenty five years previously. Godfrey did not deny the allegations, but appealed the dismissal, and was reinstated by order of the national Anglican Appeals Tribunal. Bishop Hedge formally apologized to Dr Godfrey and his family but Godfrey elected not to return to the position. Godfrey went on to be Ministry Educator and an archdeacon in the Anglican Diocese of Dunedin.

List of vicars and deans

(from 1889 the Vicar of Napier was also Dean of Waiapu) * 1859-1863 The Rev'd H. W. St. Hill * 1863 The Rev'd Dr C. J. Abraham Locum tenens while also Bishop of Wellington; see

Charles Abraham (bishop of Wellington) Charles John Abraham (18144 February 1903) was the first Anglican Bishop of Wellington. He married Caroline Palmer who became a noted artist.

* 1864-1867 The Rev'd Dr L. Saywell * 1867-1877 The Rev'd J. Townsend * 1878-1905 The Very Rev'd de B. Hovell * 1906-1929 The Very Rev'd F. Mayne * 1929-1944 The Very Rev'd J. B. Brocklehurst * 1944-1961 The Very Rev'd O. S. O. Gibson * 1961-1963 The Very Rev'd E. W. R. Guymer * 1964-1973 The Very Rev'd H. A. Childs * 1973-1980 The Very Rev'd B. N. Davis (later

Brian Davis (bishop) Brian Newton Davis (28 October 1934 – 22 June 1998) was the Anglican Bishop of Waikato from 1980 to 1986 and Archbishop and Primate of New Zealand and Bishop of Wellington from 1986 to 1997. Biography Childhood and education Davis was born ...

Bishop of Waikato, Bishop of Wellington, and Archbishop of New Zealand) * 1980-1984 The Very Rev'd Dr D. J. Coles (later

David Coles (bishop) David John Coles was Bishop of Christchurch in the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia from 1990 to 2008. He was born on 23 March 1943 and educated at Auckland Grammar School and the University of Auckland. He was ordained i ...

Bishop of Christchurch * 1984-1991 The Very Rev'd M. J. Mills (later

Murray Mills (bishop) Murray John Mills (born 29 May 1936) was the 13th Anglican bishop of Waiapu from 1991 to 2002. He was educated at the University of Auckland and ordained in 1961. He embarked on his ecclesiastical career with a curacy at Papakura. After a simil ...

Bishop of WaiapuClerical Directory * 1991-2003 The Very Rev'd N. A. Hendery * 2004-2013 The Very Rev'd Dr H. E. Jacobi (first female dean of a New Zealand cathedral) * 2013–2017 The Very Rev'd Dr M. J. H. Godfrey * 2017- 2021 The Very Rev'd I. P. Render * 2022- The Very Rev'd Di Woods

Music team

Waiapu Cathedral hosts a choir, and one of the finest pipe organs in New Zealand, which has recently undergone a complete restoration. It is the fifth organ on the site, and has received a major re-build by the

South Island Organ Company The South Island Organ Company is a manufacturer of pipe organs in Timaru, New Zealand. The company, in business since 1968, has manufactured and restored over 300 pipe organs throughout New Zealand, Australia and Oceania. Founders South Island O ...

in 2012/3. The organ, featuring more than 3700 pipes, is now the largest church organ in New Zealand. Gary Bowler, who was New Zealand's longest serving Anglican cathedral organist, served as Director of Music from April 1981 to December 2014. Mr James Mist took up the position of Director of Music in July 2015, but left early in 2017.

References

Sources

External links

* {{coord, -39.4889, 176.9170, type:landmark_region:NZ, display=title Buildings and structures in Napier, New Zealand Napier 1960s architecture in New Zealand