Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia
| Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Classification | Protestant and Catholic |
| Orientation | Mainline |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Primates |
vacant (Aotearoa) Philip Richardson (New Zealand) Winston Halapua (Polynesia) |
| Region | New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, and the Cook Islands |
| Headquarters | Wellington, New Zealand |
| Members | c. 580,642 |
| Official website | anglican |
The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia is a province of the Anglican Communion serving New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, and the Cook Islands. Since 1992, the church (formerly known as the "Church of the Province of New Zealand") has consisted of three tikanga or cultural streams: Aotearoa, New Zealand, and Polynesia. The church's constitution says that, among other things, it is required to "maintain the right of every person to choose any particular cultural expression of the faith". As a result, the church's General Synod has agreed upon the development of the three-person primacy based on this three tikanga system. The church has three primates (leaders), each representing a tikanga, who share authority.
The Anglican Church is an apostolic church, tracing its bishops back to the apostles via holy orders. The Book of Common Prayer (BCP) and its companion, A New Zealand Prayer Book (ANZPB), containing traditional rites, blessings and liturgies, are central to the church's worship. Since the 1960s and 1970s, the church has pursued a decidedly more liberal course and is LGBT-affirming.
The church has decided that three bishops shall share the position and style of archbishop, each representing one of the three tikanga. The three archbishops sharing the title of Archbishop of New Zealand are: one vacancy for the head of Te Pīhopatanga o Aotearoa which oversees churches for the indigenous Māori people of New Zealand (following the death of Brown Turei, Bishop of Aotearoa); Philip Richardson, Bishop of Taranaki, representing the dioceses in New Zealand; and Winston Halapua, Bishop of Polynesia.
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