Te Pīhopatanga o Aotearoa is an

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 ...

regional

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

(), that covers the entire country of

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

(). The diocese is home to

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

Anglicans 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 ...

across

Aotearoa ''Aotearoa'' () is the Māori name for New Zealand. The name was originally used by Māori in reference only to the North Island, with the whole country being referred to as ''Aotearoa me Te Waipounamu'' – where ''Te Ika-a-Māui'' means N ...

(New Zealand), and is one of the three Tikanga (cultural streams) of the

Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, formerly the Church of the Province of New Zealand, is a Anglican province, province of the Anglican Communion serving New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, and the Cook Islands. Since 1992 ...

. The first Māori

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

was appointed in 1928, and the Pīhopatanga itself was established by General Synod as an autonomous body in 1978. According to the 2001 census there were approximately 75,000 Māori Anglicans in Aotearoa, which made it the largest Māori denomination. The Māori tikanga of the church is headed by Don Tamihere, Te Pīhopa o Aotearoa / Bishop of Aotearoa and Te Pīhopa o Te Tairāwhiti / Bishop of Tairāwhiti; Tamihere is the sixth Pīhopa o Aotearoa, succeeding the late Archbishop Brown Turei.

Episcopal units

The 1992 constitution of the church enabled Te

Rūnanga In tikanga Māori (Māori culture or practice), a (runaka in Southern Māori dialect) is a tribal council, assembly, board or boardroom. The term can also be a verb meaning "to discuss in an assembly". An iwi (tribe) can have one governing rū ...

(assembly, i.e. synod; later Te Rūnanganui / general assembly) o Te Pīhopatanga to create sub-units called Hui Amorangi (lit. leaders' gathering; similar to the English '

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

') and to provide bishops for these. From an original position where these hui were mere divisions of Te Pīhopatanga, they have developed to "Episcopal Unit" status not incomparable to the "New Zealand dioceses" (whereby each hui amorangi pīhopa is Licensing Bishop in her own right),p. 14
/ref> and have come to each be called Pīhopatanga in themselves. , Te Pīhopatanga o Aotearoa were made up of five pīhopatanga / regional bishoprics: * Te Manawa o Te Wheke (lit. the heart of the octopus, i.e. north island central region) * Te Tairāwhiti (lit. east coast) *

Te Tai Tokerau Te Tai Tokerau () is a New Zealand parliamentary Māori electorate that was created out of the Northern Maori electorate ahead of the first Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) election in 1996. It was held first by Tau Henare representing New Zea ...

(lit. north coast) * Te Upoko o Te Ika (lit. the head of the fish, i.e. the southern part of the north island; Wellington/Taranaki) * Waipounamu (South Island)

References

1978 establishments in New Zealand Aotearoa, Te Pīhopatanga o Christian organizations established in 1978 {{anglican-diocese-stub