The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia (ANZP)
The Revd Samuel Marsden’s arrival in 1814 brought Christianity to Aotearoa/New Zealand. The beginning of organised European settlement coincided with the first chaplain being sent by the SPG (now USPG) in 1840. The SPG supported the first Bishop, George Augustus Selwyn, who arrived in 1842, along with endowments and grants for clergy. The Maori people were vigorous evangelists among their own people. The Anglican Church in the Islands of Polynesia was established as an associated missionary diocese in 1925 and became a full diocese in 1990.
Established as an autonomous church in 1857, the province covers 11,270,500 km2 and includes Fiji, New Zealand, Samoa and Tonga plus American Samoa and The Cook Islands. USPG held its international consultation in Fiji in 2016.
The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia is made up of three equal elements: three cultural streams known as the Three Tikanga – the Maori, the Polynesian and the Pakeha (or European-decent) strands. There is a General Synod but each church has its own languages, ways of governing, decision-making, ministerial training and liturgy. The Church has three Primates representing these three strands.
Website: https://www.anglican.org.nz/