George Vincent Gerard, (24 November 1898 – 14 January 1984) was the seventh

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Bishop of Waiapu The Diocese of Waiapu is one of the 13 dioceses and ''hui amorangi'' (Māori bishoprics) of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. The Diocese covers the area around the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand, includin ...

, serving from 1938 to 1944; and Assistant Bishop of Sheffield, 1947–1971. He served with distinction in both World Wars.

Early life and education

Gerard was educated at

Christ's College, Christchurch Christ's College, Canterbury is an independent Anglican secondary day and boarding school for boys, located in the city centre of Christchurch, New Zealand. Founded in 1850 by Reverend Henry Jacobs in Lyttelton as a school for early settlers, t ...

. He came to England in 1917 and joined the Inns of Court Regiment and was soon offered a commission with the East Kents (the Buffs). He served in France and earned a Military Cross. Gerard then obtained a degree at Brasenose College, Oxford and was ordained in 1923.

Ministry

He returned to New Zealand and embarked on his ecclesiastical career with a

curacy A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are ass ...

Timaru Timaru (; ) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to peo ...

. He was made deacon on 21 December 1922 and ordained priest on 23 December 1923, by Churchill Julius, Bishop of Christchurch and

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-equ ...

, at

ChristChurch Cathedral Christ Church Cathedral, also called ChristChurch Cathedral and (rarely) Cathedral Church of Christ, is a deconsecration, deconsecrated Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It was built between 1864 ...

."Gerard, George Vincent" in Blain, Michael. ''Blain Biographical Directory of Anglican clergy in the South Pacific — ordained before 1932'' (2023 edition) p. 787 (Accessed a
Project Canterbury
4 February 2023
archived
4 February 2023) Later he was Vicar of

Pahiatua Pahiatua () is a rural service town in the south-eastern North Island of New Zealand with a population of . It is between Masterton and Woodville, New Zealand, Woodville on New Zealand State Highway 2, State Highway 2 and along the Wairarapa Lin ...

, then

Petone Petone (Māori language, Māori: ''Pito-one'') is a large suburb of Lower Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand. It stands at the southern end of the Hutt Valley, on the northern shore of Wellington Harbour. Europeans first settled in Petone in Januar ...

, and finally (before his appointment to the

episcopate A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

) of St Matthew,

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. Gerard was elected Bishop of Waiapu and consecrated a bishop on 28 October 1938, by

Alfred Averill Alfred Walter Averill (7 October 18656 July 1957) was the second Anglican Archbishop of New Zealand, from 1925 to 1940. He was also the fifth Anglican Anglican Diocese of Auckland, Bishop of Auckland whose episcopate spanned a 25-year period durin ...

and Bishop of Auckland, at Napier Cathedral. He served as Senior Chaplain to the New Zealand forces when the Second World War broke out but was taken prisoner in 1941 and repatriated in 1943. He was appointed CBE in 1944 and resigned his See on 30 April that year. He was then Senior NZ Chaplain in the South Pacific until the War ended. By 1945 Gerard had renewed his acquaintance with Leslie Hunter, by then Bishop of Sheffield, with whom he had worked in Barking in the 1920s. Gerard was appointed vicar and rural dean of Rotherham that year and, in 1947, Assistant Bishop of Sheffield. He became 'a loved and honoured figure throughout the diocese'. Gerard resigned the vicarage and deanery in 1960, but remained Assistant Bishop until 30 September 1971 and was Chairman of the

Church Assembly The General Synod is the tricameral deliberative and legislative organ of the Church of England. The synod was instituted in 1970, replacing the Church Assembly, and is the culmination of a process of rediscovering self-government for the Church ...

's House of Clergy, from 1965 to 1970. He died in 1984.

References

*''Playing with Strife'', The Autobiography of a Soldier, Lt-Gen. Sir Philip Neame, V.C., K.B.E., C.B., D.S.O., George G Harrap & Co. Ltd, 1947. 1898 births People educated at Christ's College, Christchurch Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) officers New Zealand recipients of the Military Cross Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford British Army personnel of World War I Anglican bishops of Waiapu 20th-century Anglican bishops in New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 1984 deaths {{Anglican-bishop-stub