Donald Steven Tamihere (born 1972) is Te Pīhopa o Te Tairāwhiti (

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of Te Tairāwhiti). He was ordained as a bishop in March 2017, succeeding Archbishop Brown Turei. Since April 2018, Tamihere has also served as the

Te Pīhopatanga o Aotearoa Te Pīhopatanga o Aotearoa is an Anglican regional bishopric or diocese (), that covers the entire country of New Zealand (). The diocese is home to Māori Anglicans across Aotearoa (New Zealand), and is one of the three Tikanga (cultural stream ...

, the Bishop of the Maori Anglican Church and Primate and

Archbishop 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, tikanga'' (Māori people, Māori, Pākehā, Diocese of Polynesia, Pa ...

. Before his election as bishop, Tamihere was Tumuaki (Dean) of Te Rau College and Ministry Educator for Te Pīhopatanga o Te Tairāwhiti.

Early life

Tamihere was born in Gisborne in 1972 to Don and Catherine Tamihere. His early childhood was spent in Te Puia Springs and

Ruatoria Ruatoria () is a town in the Waiapu Valley of the Gisborne Region in the northeastern corner of New Zealand's North Island. The town was originally known as Cross Roads then Manutahi and was later named Ruatorea in 1913, after the Māori Mast ...

, and his teenage years in

Tokomaru Bay Tokomaru Bay is a small beachside community on the remote Gisborne District, East Coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is 91 km north of Gisborne, New Zealand, Gisborne, on State Highway 35, and close to Mount Hikurangi (Gisborne), Moun ...

. At age 12 Tamihere was

confirmed In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on of hands. Catholicis ...

by Bishop

Peter Atkins Peter William Atkins (born 10 August 1940) is an English chemist and a Fellow of Lincoln College at the University of Oxford. He retired in 2007. He is a prolific writer of popular chemistry textbooks, including ''Physical Chemistry'', ''Ino ...

Mangahanea Marae Mangahanea Marae is a marae (traditional Māori meeting house) located in the East Coast township of Ruatoria in New Zealand. The marae is the within the land catchment of the descendants of Māori tribes Ngāti Porou and Ngāti Uepohatu, throug ...

in Ruatoria. He began teaching Bible in schools at the age of 15. At 19, Tamihere left Tokomaru Bay to study at the Apostolic Church's Te Nikau Bible College in

Paraparaumu Paraparaumu is a town in the south-western North Island of New Zealand. It lies on the Kāpiti Coast, north of the nation's capital city, Wellington. It is also known to residents as Pram or Paraparam. Like other towns in the area, it has a ...

. In 2001 he graduated from Saint John's Theological College with a master's degree in theology.

Ordained ministry

Tamihere was

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

ed at St Mary's Church, Tikitiki, on 23 March 2003, and

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

ed at Holy Trinity Gisborne on 5 December 2004. In October 2016, following Brown Turei's resignation as Bishop of Te Tairāwhiti, Tamihere was nominated to succeed Turei at an electoral college held in Toko Toro Tapu church in Manutuke. Tamihere was ordained and installed as second bishop of Tairāwhiti at Porourangi Marae in Ruatoria on 11 March 2017.

Personal life

Tamihere met Temukisa Saifiti while studying at Te Nikau Bible College and they married in 1994. The marriage was officiated by Archdeacon Hone Kaa. Tamihere has three children. Tamihere's two younger brothers are also involved in the Anglican church, the Ven Michael Tamihere succeeded his brother as Dean of Te Rau College, while Andrew is the Diocesan Registrar for Te Pīhopatanga o Te Tairāwhiti.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tamihere, Donald 21st-century Anglican bishops in New Zealand New Zealand Māori people Primates of New Zealand Anglican bishops of Aotearoa 1972 births Living people 21st-century Anglican archbishops in New Zealand Anglican bishops of Te Tairāwhiti