Norman Alfred Lesser (16 March 1902 – 12 February 1985) was an

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 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 ...

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 ...

from 1961 to 1971. He was 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 ...

from 1947 to 1971.

Education and early ministry

He was educated at the Liverpool Collegiate Institution and

Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Fitzwilliam College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college has origins from 1869, with the foundation of the Non-Collegiate Students Board, a venture intended to offer academically excellent students of all ...

. He began 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 ...

at St Simon and St Jude,

Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...

, Liverpool. He then held similar posts at Holy Trinity,

Formby Formby is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, three manors are recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 under ...

and

Liverpool Cathedral Liverpool Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Liverpool, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Liverpool and is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool, diocese of Liverpool. The church may be formally re ...

. In 1931 he became

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

of St John,

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town and civil parish (as just "Barrow") in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the county of Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borou ...

. From 1931 to 1939 he was Rector and Sub-Dean of

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

Cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

and from then until his elevation to the Waiapu See its

Provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

Episcopal ministry

Lesser succeeded Archbishop

Reginald Herbert Owen Reginald Herbert Owen (25 May 1887 – 24 February 1961) was an Oxford don, public school headmaster and Anglican bishop. Life and career Born on 25 May 1887 he was educated at Dulwich College and Wadham College, Oxford. Alternating between s ...

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 ...

of the

Anglican Church 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 ...

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 ...

on his death in 1961. Norman Lesser Drive in

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 ...

is named after him. In the 1971 Queen's Birthday Honours, Lesser was appointed a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...

, for services as Primate and Archbishop of New Zealand.

References

External links

Lesser's Papers in the Anglican Church Archive Collection in the John Kinder Theological LibraryLesser's Papers
in

The National Archives National archives are the archives of a country. The concept evolved in various nations at the dawn of modernity based on the impact of nationalism upon bureaucratic processes of paperwork retention. Conceptual development From the Middle Ages i ...

1902 births 1985 deaths People educated at Liverpool Collegiate Institution Alumni of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Provosts of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia 20th-century Anglican archbishops in New Zealand Primates of New Zealand Anglican bishops of Waiapu New Zealand Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George {{Anglican-bishop-stub