William Alfred Orange (9 August 1889 – 28 June 1966) was a New Zealand Anglican clergyman. He was a leader of the

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

movement in New Zealand.

Early life

Orange was born on 9 August 1889 in

Woolston Woolston may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Woolston, Cheshire, a village and civil parish in Warrington * Woolston, Devon, on the list of United Kingdom locations: Woof-Wy near Kingsbridge, Devon * Woolston, Southampton, a city suburb in Ham ...

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, the second of eleven children of Albert Edward Orange, a wool-classer, and his wife, Helen Brenda Hinkley, a nurse. He grew up in Christchurch, where he attended

Christchurch Normal School Cranmer Court, the former Christchurch Normal School, was one of the most significant heritage buildings in Christchurch, New Zealand. Its demolition, due to some damage in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, was controversial. History The Canter ...

, and then in Kaikoura.

Career

After an unhappy time working in shops and serving briefly in the army at Featherston, Orange studied for the ministry at

Canterbury College Canterbury College may refer to: * Canterbury College (Indiana), U.S. * Canterbury College (Waterford), Queensland, Australia * Canterbury College (Windsor, Ontario), Canada * Canterbury College, Kent, England * Canterbury College, Oxford, England ...

. He completed his studies and was ordained priest in 1923, was acting vicar of

Fendalton Fendalton is a suburb of Christchurch, in the South Island of New Zealand. History Fendalton was originally known as Fendall Town, named after the original settler of the land, Walpole Chesshyre Fendall (1830–1913). Fendall emigrated from Y ...

(1923–1924) and then in 1924 vicar of

Waikari Waikari is a small town in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. Its Anglican parish church is the Church of Ascension, 79 Princes Street, Waikari, where William Orange was vicar in the 1920s. The New Zealand Ministry for Cul ...

. He developed an increasingly fundamentalist, evangelical theology. Orange was vicar of Sumner from 1930 to 1946, working with Sumner School for Deaf Children and expanding the Evangelical Union at Canterbury College, as well as the Crusader Movement of New Zealand,

Scripture Union Scripture Union (SU) is an international, interdenominational, evangelical Christian organization. It was founded in 1867, and works in partnership with individuals and churches across the world. The organization's stated aim is to use the Bible t ...

and the

Inter-Varsity Fellowship Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF) is a UK-based charity that was founded in 1928 as the Inter-Varsity Fellowship of Evangelical Unions. UCCF's dual aims are: #To advance the evangelical Christian faith amongst students, gr ...

of Evangelical Unions. It was during this time that he became a leader of the

movement in New Zealand. In 1946 he was appointed the first warden of an evangelical conference centre, Tyndale House. He left the following year after disagreement with its founder. He went to

ChristChurch Cathedral ChristChurch Cathedral, also called Christ Church Cathedral and (rarely) Cathedral Church of Christ, is a deconsecrated Anglican cathedral in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It was built between 1864 and 1904 in the centre of the city ...

as acting

precentor A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...

and took that role in 1949. He was an honorary canon of the cathedral from 1951. For the six years from 1954 to 1960, he was chaplain of Cathedral Grammar School, which is closely connected to the cathedral.

Later life

Upon his retirement in 1963, he became the first warden of

Latimer House Latimer House is a large country house at Latimer, Buckinghamshire. It is now branded as De Vere Latimer Estate and functions as a countryside hotel used for country house weddings and conferences. Latimer Place has a small church, St Mary Magdale ...

, then a new evangelical library and study centre connected to College House at the University of Canterbury, which had just moved from the

Christchurch Central City Christchurch Central City or Christchurch City Centre is the geographical centre and the heart of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is defined as the area within the Four Avenues (Bealey Avenue, Fitzgerald Avenue, Moorhouse Avenue and Deans Avenue ...

to the suburb of Ilam. He died at Christchurch on 28 June 1966, leaving his sermon manuscripts and most of his library's 15,000 volumes to Latimer House. Orange's work of promoting evangelical churchmanship is continued by the Latimer Fellowship.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orange, William Alfred 1889 births 1966 deaths People from Christchurch 20th-century New Zealand Anglican priests University of Canterbury alumni People from Kaikōura New Zealand military personnel