Coverage

The Diocese of Christchurch is one of the thirteen dioceses and hui amorangi of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia

Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia

The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia is a church of the Anglican Communion serving New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, and the Cook Islands...

. The Diocese

Diocese

A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...

 covers the area between the Conway River and the Waitaki River

Waitaki River

The Waitaki River is a large river in the South Island of New Zealand, some 110 km long. It is the major river of the Mackenzie Basin.It is a braided river which flows through Lake Benmore, Lake Aviemore and Lake Waitaki. These are ultimately fed by three large glacial lakes, Pukaki, Tekapo,...

 in the South Island

South Island

The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...

 of New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

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History

The Diocese of Christchurch was established in 1856 by the subdivision of the Diocese of New Zealand. Bishop Harper, who arrived in Lyttelton

Lyttelton, New Zealand

Lyttelton is a port town on the north shore of Lyttelton Harbour close to Banks Peninsula, a suburb of Christchurch on the eastern coast of the South Island of New Zealand....

 on the Egmont on 23 December 1856, was the first bishop. The seat of the Bishop of Christchurch is at ChristChurch Cathedral in Christchurch

Christchurch

Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...

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Bishops

The incumbent bishop of Christchurch is the Rt Rev'd Victoria Matthews

Victoria Matthews

Victoria Matthews is Bishop of Christchurch in the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand, and Polynesia. At her ordination to the episcopate in 1994, she became the first ever female bishop in the Anglican Church of Canada.- Life :...

, who was installed on 30 August 2008. She was previously Bishop of Edmonton

Anglican Diocese of Edmonton

The Diocese of Edmonton is a diocese of the Ecclesiastical Province of Rupert's Land of the Anglican Church of Canada. The diocese comprises almost 78,000 square kilometres of the civil Province of Alberta, consisting of a band across the central part of the province, extending to the borders of...

, Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

 and Bishop-in-residence at Wycliffe College

Wycliffe College

Wycliffe College is an Anglican Church of Canada seminary federated with the University of Toronto. It is evangelical and Low church in orientation. On the other hand, the University of Toronto's other Anglican college, the University of Trinity College is Anglo-Catholic in outlook. While being an...

 in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

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The previous bishops were:

• Henry Harper (1856–1890)
• Churchill Julius
  Churchill Julius
  Churchill Julius was an Anglican cleric in England, then in Australia and New Zealand, becoming the first Archbishop of New Zealand.-Biography:...
  
   (1890–1925)
• Campbell West-Watson
  Campbell West-Watson
  Campbell West-Watson was successively an Anglican suffragan bishop, diocesan bishop and archbishop over a 40 year period during the first half of the 20th century....
  
   (1926–1951)
• Alwyn Warren (1951–1966)
• Allan Pyatt (1966–1983)
• Maurice Goodall (1984–1990)
• David Coles (1990–2008)

External links

• Diocese of Christchurch