Diocese of Polynesia
The Diocese of Polynesia, or the Tikanga Pasefika, headed by Archbishop Winston Halapua,[1] serves Anglicans in Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and the Cook Islands, within the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. The diocese's first bishop was consecrated in 1908. The diocese's cathedral is Holy Trinity Cathedral in Suva, Fiji.
Polynesia is a diocese, and its bishop is automatically accorded the style archbishop and the formal prefix Most Reverend. Under the new model of leadership now adopted by the Anglican Church in New Zealand, the Bishop of Polynesia is automatically one of the three co-presiding bishops and archbishops. Each of these three is metropolitan archbishop to his respective tikanga, and informally they also share the primacy, although in practice they are required to elect one of their number to be the formal Primate, and serve on the international Anglican Communion Primates' Meeting.
Bishops
Bishops of Polynesia
- 1908–1921: Clayton Twitchell
- 1922–1962: Leonard Kempthorne
- 1962–1968: John Vockler
- 1969–1975: John Holland
- 1975–2010: Jabez Bryce
- 2010–present: Winston Halapua
Suffragan bishops
The Archbishop of Polynesia is currently supported by one suffragan bishop: Apimeleki Qiliho serves as Bishop in Viti Levu West and in Vanua Levu and Taveuni; Qiliho previously served as Bishop in Vanua Levu and Taveuni until Gabriel Sharma resigned as Bishop in Viti Levu. There had previously been a third suffragan bishop, serving Polynesians in New Zealand, but this position had remained vacant since Winston Halapua became the new diocesan and archbishop.
References
- ↑ New archbishop for Anglican Church, Radio New Zealand News, 12 May 2010. Retrieved 13 May 2010.