Thomas John Brown (born 16 August 1943) is a retired Anglican bishop in New Zealand. He is the former

Bishop of Wellington ThDiocese of Wellingtonis one of the thirteen dioceses and ''hui amorangi'' (Māori bishoprics) of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. The diocese covers the area between the bottom of the North Island of New Zealand up to ...

. On 29 July 2011, Brown announced, with the support of the Primate, that he would retire in March 2012, effectively completing his duties at the end of February 2012. He retired as Bishop of Wellington during an evening service on 26 February 2012, which had the

Anglican Primate of Australia The Anglican Primate of Australia is the senior bishop and President of the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Australia The Anglican Church of Australia, originally known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania, is a Chr ...

, who is also the Archbishop of Brisbane, in attendance along with

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

David Moxon Sir David John Moxon (born 6 September 1951) is a New Zealand Anglican bishop. He was until June 2017, the Archbishop of Canterbury's Representative to the Holy See and Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome. He was previously the Bishop of ...

, the

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-eq ...

. Brown was educated at the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

in New Zealand and

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

in 1972. After curacies at St Matthew's in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, New Zealand, and

St James the Greater, Leicester St James the Greater, Leicester is a Grade II* listed parish church in the Church of England in Leicester, Leicestershire. It is located south of the city centre of Leicester, on the London Road ( A6), opposite Victoria Park. History The church ...

, England, he returned to New Zealand to become the

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 Upper Clutha in 1976. After further incumbencies at Roslyn and

Lower Hutt Lower Hutt () is a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Administered by the Hutt City Council, it is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropoli ...

he became the

Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...

of Belmont in 1987. In 1991 he became the

assistant bishop An assistant bishop in the Anglican Communion is a bishop appointed to assist a diocesan bishop. Church of England In the established Church of England, assistant bishops are usually retired (diocesan or suffragan bishop, suffragan) bishops – in ...

and the

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

in the

Diocese of Wellington ThDiocese of Wellingtonis one of the thirteen dioceses and ''hui amorangi'' (Māori bishoprics) of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. The diocese covers the area between the bottom of the North Island of New Zealand up to ...

— he was consecrated a bishop on 23 February 1991ACANZP Lectionary, 2019
(p. 145) — and, seven years later, its diocesan bishop. After his retirement, Brown voluntarily gave up his right to officiate as a priest after he split with his wife and then began a relationship with the chaplain of

Samuel Marsden Collegiate School Samuel Marsden Collegiate School is a private girls school located in the Wellington suburb of Karori in New Zealand. It has a socio-economic decile of 10 – on a scale from 1 to 10, 10 reflecting the highest proportion of students from high ...

, Kate Carey-Smith, who was married to Chris Carey-Smith, the chaplain at

St Mark's Church School St Mark's School is an independent Anglican co-educational school in Wellington, New Zealand for children aged from two (Early Childhood) to Year 8. The school is often seen on cricket match broadcasts from Basin Reserve. To its front is the mod ...

, both being priests of the Anglican Diocese of Wellington. Brown said he surrendered his licence as a priest "to be loyal to the church and maintain the church's integrity".Blair Ensor, "Bishop ditches priesthood, runs off with chaplain", ''Stuff News'', 9 September 2012.
(Retrieved 23 October 2013)

References

1943 births Anglican bishops of Wellington University of Otago alumni Living people 20th-century Anglican bishops in New Zealand 21st-century Anglican bishops in New Zealand {{Anglican-bishop-stub