![Waite Hockin Stirling](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Waite_Hockin_Stirling.jpg)
Waite Hockin Stirling (1829 – 19 November 1923) was a 19th-century
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
with the
Patagonian Missionary Society (later known as the South American Missionary Society) and was the first
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 ...
Bishop of the Falkland Islands The Bishop of the Falkland Islands was historically a bishopric in the Church of England; as the ordinary of the Diocese of the Falkland Islands, the bishop had responsibility for chaplaincies across South America, before national metropolitical pr ...
. He was brother-in-law to
Thomas Phinn
Thomas Phinn, QC ( – 31 October 1866) was a British barrister and Liberal Party politician.
He held various positions in the Admiralty of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century.
Life
Born in Bath, Somerset, Phinn was educa ...
. He was also a grandnephew of
Sir Thomas Stirling, 5th Baronet of Ardoch.
In the mid-19th century, the Patagonian Missionary Society suffered several major losses and setbacks in the project for the
Yaghan people
The Yahgan (also called Yagán, Yaghan, Yámana, Yamana or Tequenica) are a group of indigenous peoples in the Southern Cone. Their traditional territory includes the islands south of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, extending their presence int ...
at
Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of the Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main island, Isla G ...
archipelago. In 1851 Captain
Allen Gardiner
Allen Francis Gardiner (1794–1851) was a British Royal Navy officer and missionary to Patagonia.
Biography
Gardiner was the fifth son of Samuel Gardiner of Coombe Lodge, Oxfordshire, by Mary, daughter of Charles Boddam of Capel House, Bull's ...
and his companions at Spanish Harbour on
Picton Island died of starvation. In 1859 the Yahgan massacred a group of missionaries at
Wulaia,
Navarino Island
Navarino Island () is a Chilean island located between Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, to the north, and Cape Horn, to the south. The island forms part of the Commune of Cabo de Hornos, the southernmost commune in Chile and in the world, belong ...
.
In 1854, the Society re-established its missionary base at
Keppel Island
Keppel Island ( es, Isla de la Vigia) is one of the Falkland Islands, lying between Saunders and Pebble islands, and near Golding Island to the north of West Falkland on Keppel Sound. It has an area of and its highest point, Mt. Keppel, is hi ...
in the Falkland Islands; Stirling became secretary of the mission in England. In 1861 he went to Keppel Island as the mission superintendent. From there, he re-established contacts with the Yaghan of Tierra del Fuego. In January 1869 he served as a lone missionary at
Ushuaia
Ushuaia ( , ) is the capital of Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur Province, Argentina. With a population of nearly 75,000 and a location below the 54th parallel south latitude, Ushuaia claims the title of world's southern ...
in Tierra del Fuego.
[ Bridges, E. L. (1948). ''The Uttermost Part of the Earth'' Republished 2008, Overlook Press ]
Whilst serving at Ushuaia as "God's Lonely Sentinel", as Stirling called himself, he was summoned to
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
to be consecrated on 21 December 1869 in
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
as "
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
of the Falkland Islands." It was contemporary practice to name overseas
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 ...
s after one of
Her Majesty's possessions. Seven consular
chaplain
A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...
cies in
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
and several private company chaplains were placed under Stirling's
jurisdiction
Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels.
Jur ...
. He spent his first few years establishing his authority over recalcitrant clergy and congregations. They resented this Episcopal "upstart" and thought they still owed allegiance to the
Bishop of London
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
, previously responsible for the supervision of overseas Colonial and Consular Chaplaincies.
The Anglican mission at Ushuaia was expanded by
Thomas Bridges and George Lewis, who lived there with their families starting in 1871. Later relocated within the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, the mission was continued by other ministers until 1916.
On 14 January 1872, Bishop Stirling was assigned his "Throne and Episcopal Chair" by the Colonial Chaplain, the Reverend
Charles Bull. His enthronement was to take place in the Exchange Building in
Port Stanley
Stanley (; also known as Port Stanley) is the capital city of the Falkland Islands. It is located on the island of East Falkland, on a north-facing slope in one of the wettest parts of the islands. At the 2016 census, the city had a popula ...
; however, Stirling refused to be enthroned in "half a commercial building" because it was not a
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 ...
. After a wall of the Exchange Building was destroyed in 1886, the present Stanley Cathedral was built, and consecrated in 1892.
Bishop Stirling resigned from the Falklands diocese in 1900 to become a Canon and Assistant Bishop at
Wells Cathedral
Wells Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England, dedicated to St Andrew the Apostle. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, whose cathedra it holds as mother church of the Diocese of Bath and Wells. Built as a ...
in England. He served there for 20 years until his retirement at the age of 91.
See also
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Martin Gusinde Anthropological Museum
The Martin Gusinde Anthropological Museum is an anthropology museum in Puerto Williams, Isla Navarino, in southernmost Chile. It is the southernmost museum of the world. The museum hosts artifacts, maps and photographs related to the 10,000-year hi ...
, the history of the
''Stirling House''
SAMS Pamphlets by Waite Stirling:
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Books by Waite Stirling:
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Works concerning Waite Stirling:
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References
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External links
Sermon preached at the consecration of Waite Hockin Stirling1870
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stirling
Anglican bishops of the Falkland Islands
English Anglican missionaries
Anglican missionaries in Argentina
1829 births
1923 deaths
Anglican mission in Tierra del Fuego
Anglican missionaries in Chile