The Church of the Holy Sepulchre (), commonly known as Holy Sep and Te Mīhana Māori, is an historic

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

church located on Khyber Pass Road, Grafton, Auckland, New Zealand. Established in 1880 and built to a design from Edward Mahoney, the church is registered as a category 1 building with

Heritage New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust; in ) is a Crown entity that advocates for the protection of Archaeology of New Zealand, ancest ...

. The church is operated by Te Mīhana Māori and is overseen by Te Pīhopatanga o Te Tai Tokerau, the northern diocese of the Māori Anglican church.

History

The original church, now known as Old St Sepulchre's Church, was constructed in 1865 on

Symonds Street Symonds Street is a street in Auckland, New Zealand's most populous city. The road runs southwest and uphill from the top of Anzac Avenue (originally Jermyn Street), through the City Campus of University of Auckland, over the Northwestern Moto ...

as an Anglican chapel in the nearby

Symonds Street Cemetery Symonds Street Cemetery is a historic cemetery and park in central Auckland, New Zealand. It is in 5.8 hectares of deciduous forest on the western slope of Grafton Gully, by the corner of Symonds Street and Karangahape Road, and is crossed by t ...

Bishop Selwyn George Augustus Selwyn (5 April 1809 – 11 April 1878) was the first Anglican Bishop of New Zealand. He was Bishop of New Zealand (which included Melanesia) from 1841 to 1869. His diocese was then subdivided and Selwyn was metropolitan bishop ...

opened the church on 27 August 1865 but was never consecrated. Rapid population growth saw a

parsonage A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, pa ...

constructed in 1869 and the following year the church district was made a parish. The Reverend Benjamin Dudley was appointed vicar, a position he held for 36 years. The nave of the church was extended in 1874 so the church could fit more than 400. Shortly after it was decided to build a new church. Old St Sepulchre's was sold in 1903 to Baptists who relocated the church to

Mt Eden Mount Eden is a suburb in Auckland, New Zealand whose name honours George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland. It is south of the Central Business District (CBD). Mt Eden Road winds its way around the side of Mount Eden Domain and continues to weave ...

where it became the ''Grange Road Baptist Church'' until 1965 when it became used by St Alban's Boy Scouts. The foundation stone for the new church was laid in 1880 by Bishop William Cowie, the first Bishop of Auckland. Initially planned to be built in on Symonds Street, it was later decided to build on Khyber Pass Road due to the level of traffic and noise on Symonds Street. The architect was Edward Mahoney of the firm of E. Mahoney and Son, an architecture practice which specialised in designing gothic revival buildings in wood. The site was the top of a large ridge overlooking the parish and beyond and the structure incorporated a steeple that was considered to be the tallest in Auckland. The timber hall was moved to the Holy Sepulchre site in 1898, to the south of the church. It had been built in 1885 as a temporary place of worship and school for Auckland’s first church, St Paul’s, after their original building had to be demolished, and was designed by William Skinner. After some modifications for classrooms, a small lean-to kitchen and bathroom, the hall accommodated a

Sunday school ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...

of 325 children. In the 1930s a

Lady Chapel A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British English, British term for a chapel dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church (building), church. The chapels are also known as a Mary chape ...

was added to the main building. The parish was closed in October 1963, and the complex was taken over by the Auckland City Mission, and in 1969 the church became the Auckland Anglican Māori Mission, overseen by the Reverend

Kīngi Īhaka Sir Kīngi Matutaera Īhaka (18 October 1921 – 1 January 1993), known to his family as Matu Īhaka, was a New Zealand clerk, interpreter, Anglican priest, broadcaster and Māori Language Commissioner. Of Māori people, Māori descent, Īhak ...

, reflecting the movement of Māori from rural to urban centres during the 1950s and 1960s. In the early 2000s, during Canon Roger Hill’s term as Missioner and church manager, the main church building was fully restored for a cost of $480,000, including recladding the steeple in donated copper. Holy Sepulchre was used as a location for New Zealand's first

Māori language Māori (; endonym: 'the Māori language', commonly shortened to ) is an Eastern Polynesian languages, Eastern Polynesian language and the language of the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. The southernmost membe ...

full-length feature film The Maori Merchant of Venice in 2001. On 4 July 2009 the church hall was refurbished and rededicated as a

marae A ' (in Māori language, New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian language, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan language, Tongan), ' (in Marquesan language, Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan language, Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves reli ...

and named ''Tātai Hono'', which means ‘bound together’. The refurbishments included new entrance

whakairo Toi whakairo (art carving) or just whakairo (carving) is a Māori traditional art of carving in wood, stone or bone. History Timber was formed into houses, fencepoles, pouwhenua, containers, taiaha, tool handles and waka (canoe). Carving ...

by Bernard Makoare, community

tukutuku Tukutuku panelling is a distinctive art form of the Māori people of New Zealand, a traditional latticework used to decorate meeting houses (wharenui). Other names are Tuitui and Arapaki. Tukutuku flank the posts around the edge of the wharenu ...

panels and paintings by Theresa Reihana. On 28 May 2023, Rev'd Shona Pink-Martin was inducted as Māori Missioner, ''Te Mīhana Māori o Tāmaki Makaurau.''Service of Induction of The Rev'd. Shona Pink-Martin as the Māori Missioner, Te Mīhana Māori o Tāmaki Makaurau booklet, Te Pihopatanga o Te Tai Tokerau, 28 May 2023

Leadership

In 2025, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre / Te Ana Tapu is operated by Te Mīhana Māori (the Auckland Anglican Māori Mission / Te Mīhana Māori o Tāmaki Makaurau) led by the Missioner, Rev'd Shona Pink-Martin, and overseen by Te Pīhopatanga o Te Tai Tokerau, the northern (Auckland / Northland) diocese of the Māori Anglican church, under the leadership of Bishop Te Kitohi Pikaahu. There are 18 other clergy within the parish and a staff team of nine.

Gallery

References

External links

* {{Grafton, New Zealand Grafton, New Zealand

Holy Sepulchre The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also known as the Church of the Resurrection, is a fourth-century church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. The church is the seat of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Some ...

Heritage New Zealand Category 1 historic places in the Auckland Region Listed churches in New Zealand 19th-century Anglican church buildings in New Zealand 1880s churches in New Zealand Gothic Revival church buildings in New Zealand Wooden churches in New Zealand