The diocese covers the same area as the provinces of Otago and Southland in the South Island of New Zealand; or approximately 65,990 square kilometres (25,480 sq mi), with a population 272,541 (in 2001). Anglicans are traditionally the third largest religious group in Otago and Southland after Presbyterians and Roman Catholics.
The Diocesan Seal (based on an 1871 seal of Bishop Nevill) was authorised by Synod in 1921 and commissioned on 15 October 1931. An official certificate was issued in 1949 to Bishop Fitchett confirming the crest i.e., a Gules, a Saltire between four Mullets Argent surrounded by an open Bible”. Gules describes a darker shade of red, mullet means a straight sided star with “argent” being the white border to the star. The stars most likely refer to the Southern Cross. Saltire refers to the Saint Andrew’s Cross or the crux decussata, a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross. The word comes from the Middle French sautoir, Medieval Latin saltatorial.
History
For the controversy surrounding the appointment of Henry Jenner in 1866, see Dunedin controversy.
In 1814 the Gospel first preached in Aotearoa at Oihi, Northland by Anglican missionary Samuel Marsden, in 1841George Selwyn consecrated and appointed Bishop of New Zealand (including Polynesia and Melanesia). In 1843 the first Anglican missionaries to come to Southland and Otago were Tamihana Te Rauparaha and Matene Te Whiwhi. In 1852 Rev. John Fenton arrives in Dunedin; he was the first Anglican priest to settle south of Lyttleton. In 1856 when the Diocese of New Zealand was subdivided, Southland and Otago were included in the Diocese of Christchurch. In 1866 Henry Lascelles Jenner selected and ordained by the Archbishop of Canterbury “into the office of a Bishop of the United Church of England and Ireland in the colony of New Zealand”, with the intention that he be Bishop of Dunedin. In 1869 the Diocese of Dunedin formed from the Diocese of Christchurch. The first meeting of Dunedin's synod rejected Jenner's claim to the See
1871 Samuel Nevill enthroned as 1st bishop of Dunedin.
The Diocese has declined in numbers in the 21st Century, leading to the closing and selling of many Churches, including the historic church in Clyde, which was sold against the wishes of the local community,[2] and the largest church in Invercargill,[3] among others. It is currently exploring new ways of connecting with remote and rural communities through a rural chaplaincy initiative,
Parishes and churchmanship
The diocese has a total of 30 parishes, deaneries, Cathedral District and local churches. The adaption of "Local Shared Ministry" has been a strategy by which local people are ordained to serve in a parish which cannot afford to support full-time professional clergy.
In 1990, the diocese made history by electing Penny Jamieson as their seventh bishop. Jamieson was the first woman to become a diocesan bishop in the Anglican Communion and only the second woman consecrated bishop, the first being Bishop Barbara Harris. The eighth bishop was the Right Revd George Connor, who became Bishop of Dunedin in 2005. The diocese gained some publicity in 2006 when (with the support of the Diocesan Standing Committee), Connor ordained an openly gay man to the diaconate. A moratorium on ordinations in the diocese was declared until the New Zealand church achieved a common mind on the full inclusion of homosexual persons at every level of ministry in the church. Connor retired in November 2009. The ninth Bishop of Dunedin, Kelvin Wright, was installed in February 2010 and retired in April 2017. He was succeeded by Steven Benford previously Vicar of The Church of St. Joseph the Worker in North London, who was consecrated and installed in September 2017 and will relinquish his charge in May 2024.
The following individuals have served as the Bishop of Dunedin, or any precursor title:
Selwyn College founded in 1893 is the oldest college for students at the University of Otago. There was a long debate within the Church about whether to sell the college, which was the subject of consultations, hui, and a special Synod. A decision to retain the college was made in 2020.[1]
Homes for the aged
St Barnabas Home, Dunedin
Parata Home, Gore
North Otago Anglican Homes for the Aged, Oamaru
Orphanage
In the past the diocese operated St Mary's Orphanage, Dunedin.
Religious orders
The Community of Sisters of the Church was active in the diocese from the end of the 19th century until the 1930s. They were invited by Bishop Nevill to found a school for girls. They founded St Hilda's Collegiate School.
Companion dioceses
Edinburgh
Eastern Zambia
References
^Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. "About". Retrieved 8 September 2011.
^Jacobs, Henry. "Diocese of Dunedin" (Part IV, Chapter III) in Colonial Church Histories: New Zealand (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1887) (Accessed at Project Canterbury, 25 June 2019)
