''Te Pīhopatanga o Te Waipounamu'' is an

episcopal polity An episcopal polity is a hierarchical form of church governance in which the chief local authorities are called bishops. The word "bishop" here is derived via the British Latin and Vulgar Latin term ''*ebiscopus''/''*biscopus'', . It is the ...

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 ...

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 ...

. Literally, the diocese is the Anglican

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 ...

of the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

of Aotearoa,

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 ...

; also known as the

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, ...

(or in ). ''Te Pīhopatanga'' encompasses the South Island in its entirety and also

Stewart Island / Rakiura Stewart Island (, 'Aurora, glowing skies', officially Stewart Island / Rakiura, formerly New Leinster) is New Zealand's third-largest island, located south of the South Island, across Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island wit ...

and the

Chatham Islands The Chatham Islands ( ; Moriori language, Moriori: , 'Misty Sun'; ) are an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about east of New Zealand's South Island, administered as part of New Zealand, and consisting of about 10 islands within an approxima ...

. Its headquarters are based at premises at 290 Ferry Road,

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

. According to the 2001 census there were approximately 15,000

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 ...

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 ...

s within this area. ''Te Waipounamu'' is one of five ''pīhopatanga'', or episcopal units, that comprise ''

Te Pīhopatanga o Aotearoa Te Pīhopatanga o Aotearoa is an Anglican regional bishopric or diocese (), that covers the entire country of New Zealand (). The diocese is home to Māori Anglicans across Aotearoa (New Zealand), and is one of the three Tikanga (cultural stream ...

'', the Māori Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

Ministry

There are seven Ministry units in ''Te Waiponamu'': *

Archdeaconry An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that of mo ...

of Te Tau Ihu o Te Waka: Picton and Nelson * Archdeaconry of Whakatu: Blenheim * Archdeaconry of

Motueka Motueka is a town in the South Island of New Zealand, close to the mouth of the Motueka River on the western shore of Tasman Bay. It is the second largest in the Tasman Region, with a population of as of The surrounding district has a numb ...

: Motueka * Archdeaconry of Te Tai Poutini: Takaka and Hokitika * Archdeaconry of Otautahi * Archdeaconry of

Otepoti Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

: Dunedin * Archdeaconry of

Murihiku Murihiku is a region of the South Island in New Zealand, as used by the Māori people. Traditionally it was used to describe the portion of the South Island below the Waitaki River, but now is mostly used to describe the province of Southland. ...

: Mataura and Invercargill

Structure

''Te Pīhopatanga'' is governed by the ''Hui Amorangi'', a representative synod that meets annually. The executive committee meets four times a year, as well as the meeting of the ''Hui Amorangi'' Trust Board. ''Te Pīhopatanga'' comes under the episcopal leadership of ''Te Pīhopa o'' (the Bishop of) ''Te Waipounamu''.

Bishop

The first ''Pīhopa o'' (Bishop of) ''Te Waipounamu'' was John Gray, who was consecrated bishop in 1996 and died in November 2015. Richard Wallace was nominated at the Electoral College of 23–25 September 2016 to be the second ''Pīhopa o'' (Bishop of) ''Te Waipounamu''. He was duly consecrated on 21 January 2017ACANZP Lectionary, 2019
(p. 145) and installed that month.Anglican Taonga — Bishop Richard, installed
(Accessed 22 February 2017)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waipounamu, Te Pīhopatanga o Te Anglican dioceses in New Zealand 1992 establishments in New Zealand Christchurch