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

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

and the

Cook Islands The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ...

, within the

Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, formerly the Church of the Province of New Zealand, is a Anglican province, province of the Anglican Communion serving New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, and the Cook Islands. Since 1992 ...

. The diocese's first bishop was consecrated in 1908. The diocese's cathedral is Holy Trinity Cathedral in

Suva Suva (, ) is the Capital city, capital and the most populous city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rew ...

. 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: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

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 is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...

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

Bishops

Bishops of Polynesia

* 1908–1921: Clayton Twitchell * 1922–1962: Stanley Kempthorne * 1962–1968: John Vockler * 1969–1975: John Holland * 1975–2010: Jabez Bryce (also: Acting Primate of New Zealand, 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) * 2023–present: Sione Uluʻilakepa (also Primate / Pīhopa Mātāmua and Archbishop; nominated November 2022; sanctioned December; and consecrated 11 March 2023)

Suffragan bishops

Anglicanism first came to Samoa around 1890; in 1897, Alfred Willis, Bishop of Honolulu, visited

Apia Apia () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Samoa. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō'') of Tuamasaga. The Apia Urban A ...

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 common name in some English-speaking and Scandinavian countries of the Feast of the Annunciation, celebrated on 25 March to commemorate the annunciation of the archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mar ...

(25 March) 1994,

Viliami Halaʻapiʻapi Viliami is a given name. Notable people with the given name include: *Viliami Fehoko (born 1999), American football player *Viliami Fifita (born 2001), Australian rugby league player *Viliami Fine (born 1997), Tongan rugby union player *Viliami Ha ...

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 () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

until 2010; Apimeleki Qiliho, Bishop in Vanua Levu 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 east of Vanua ...

(until 2017), in

Viti Levu Viti Levu (pronounced ; ) is the largest island in Fiji. It is the site of the country's capital and largest city, Suva, and home to a large majority of Fiji's population. Geology Fiji lies in a plate tectonics, tectonically complex area betwe ...

West (2014–2017), and an Assistant Bishop (2017–18); and Gabriel Sharma, 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; 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, also known as Archdeacon Tai

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diocese Of Polynesia

Polynesia Polynesia ( , ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in ...

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