The Diocese of Polynesia, or the Tikanga Pasefika serves Anglicans in Fiji,

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

and the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

, 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 Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

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 Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians ( monkeys and apes, the latter including ...

, and serve on the international Anglican Communion Primates' Meeting.

Bishops

Bishops of Polynesia

* 1908–1921:

Clayton Twitchell Thomas Clayton Twitchell (1864–1947) was an English Anglican bishop in the 20th century. He was educated at King's College London and ordained in 1889. His first posts were curacies at St George's, Barrow-in-Furness and St Peter's, Cranley Gar ...

* 1922–1962: Stanley Kempthorne * 1962–1968: John Vockler * 1969–1975: John Holland * 1975–2010: Jabez Bryce (also: Acting

Primate of New Zealand Primate of New Zealand is a title held by a bishop who leads the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. Since 2006, the Senior Bishop of each '' tikanga'' (Māori, Pākehā, Pasefika) serves automatically as one of three co-equal ...

, 1997–1998; Co-Presiding Bishop / Pīhopa Aporei (Pasefika), 1998 2008; Primate / Pīhopa Mātāmua and Archbishop, 2008 onwards) * 2010–2018: Winston Halapua (also Primate / Pīhopa Mātāmua and Archbishop) * 2019–2021 (d.): Fereimi Cama (also Primate / Pīhopa Mātāmua and Archbishop)

Suffragan bishops

Anglicanism first came to Samoa around 1890; in 1897,

Alfred Willis Alfred Charles Willis (3 February 1836 – 14 November 1920) was an Anglican missionary bishop and author in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Biography Born the son of a physician, he was educated at Uppingham and St John's College, Oxf ...

, Bishop of Honolulu, visited

Apia Apia () is the capital and largest city of Samoa, as well as the nation's only city. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō'') of Tuamasaga. ...

to baptise eight and confirm eleven people; he retired to

in 1902 and was licensed assistant bishop in Tonga by Twitchell in 1913. On 27 August 1967, Fine Halapua was consecrated a bishop, to serve as an assistant bishop of the diocese and called suffragan Bishop of Nukuʻalofa; he retired at the end of 1977. On

Lady Day In the Western liturgical year, Lady Day is the traditional name in some English-speaking countries of the Feast of the Annunciation, which is celebrated on 25 March, and commemorates the visit of the archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary, durin ...

(25 March) 1994, Viliami Halaʻapiʻapi was consecrated Assistant Bishop of the diocese; called Father Bill, he died in office in early 2003. Between 2004 and 2006, the diocese created six "units": three Episcopal Units (i.e. led by bishops) and three Archdeaconry Units (i.e. led by archdeacons). By 2006 these were: Northern (the Bishop in Vanua Levu and Taveuni); Vitu Levu West; and the Archdeaconries of Suva & Ovalau, of Tonga, of Samoa, and of American Samoa; the diocese's Episcopal Units Act 2008 founded three units: in Vanua Levu and Taveuni, in Viti Levu West and in New Zealand. On 10 April 2005, three assistant bishops were consecrated for the diocese: Halapua, who served Polynesians in mainland

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

until 2010;

Apimeleki Qiliho Apimeleki Nadoki Qiliho is an indigenous Fijian from the Province of Nadroga-Navosa in the Fiji Islands and a retired Anglican bishop. Consecrated a bishop on 10 April 2005, he became "Bishop in Vanua Levu and Taveuni" in the Diocese of Polynesi ...

, Bishop in

Vanua Levu Vanua Levu (pronounced ), formerly known as Sandalwood Island, is the second largest island of Fiji. Located to the north of the larger Viti Levu, the island has an area of and a population of 135,961 . Geology Fiji lies in a tectonically ...

and

Taveuni Taveuni (pronounced ) is the third-largest island in Fiji, after Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, with a total land area of . The cigar-shaped island, a massive shield volcano which rises from the floor of the Pacific Ocean, is situated to the east of ...

(until 2017), in

Viti Levu Viti Levu (pronounced ) is the largest island in the Republic of Fiji. It is the site of the nation's capital, Suva, and home to a large majority of Fiji's population. Geology Fiji lies in a tectonically complex area between the Australian ...

West (2014–2017), and an Assistant Bishop (2017–18); and

Gabriel Sharma Gabriel Sharma is an Anglican Bishop in Fiji. On 1 May 2005, he became the first Indo-Fijian to be consecrated as an Anglican Bishop, the first ethnic Indian Bishop in the Province of Aotearoa, of which Fiji forms a part, and the first Bish ...

, Bishop in Viti Levu West (until 2013 and again 2017–present).ACANZP Lectionary, 2019
(p. 145) On 17 September 2017, ʻAka Vaka was consecrated a bishop; he served as "Bishop in Tonga", overseeing the newly constituted

episcopal area An episcopal area in the United Methodist Church (UMC) is a basic unit of this denomination. It is a region presided over by a resident bishop that is similar to a diocese in other Christian denominations. Each annual conference in the UMC is wi ...

; he retired effective 23 July 2019. Henry Bull was consecrated bishop on 3 December 2017 to serve as Bishop in Vanua Levu and Taveuni.

Other notable people

Taimalelagi Fagamalama Tuatagaloa-Leota Taimalelagi Fagamalama Tuatagaloa-Leota is a Samoan Anglican archdeacon in the Anglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. She served as the UN Observer for the Anglican Communion from 2001 to 2006. Before being ordained as a priest ...

, also known as Archdeacon Tai

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diocese Of Polynesia

Polynesia Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...

Anglicanism in Fiji Anglicanism in New Zealand Anglicanism in Samoa Christianity in American Samoa Christianity in the Cook Islands Anglicanism in Tonga