Our Vision
The Diocese through this decade is working on Regeneration. We dream of each of our ministry units being populated with new generations of believers. We pray for each of our churches to have a spread of generations in its congregations.
Our focus is on making disciples, strengthening families and building communities.
Come and join us!
Our Story
In 1850 Christchurch and the Canterbury plains and foothills were settled with migrants from Great Britain, many of whom were members of the Church of England. Anglican churches were founded. Anglican missioners shared the Good News with local Māori.
In 1856 the Diocese of Christchurch was established, Christchurch was declared a city by Queen Victoria, and Bishop Henry Harper arrived as our first bishop.
Nearly 170 years later we are onto our ninth bishop. The Diocese incorporates all of Canterbury, Westland and the Chatham Islands, divided into 54 parishes and one Cathedral ministry unit in the centre of Christchurch.
Safeguarding and Complaint Process
Safeguarding is about prevention of harm and early intervention to minimise the opportunity for the child, young person or vulnerable adult to be harmed.
If you wish to make a complaint about an office bearer in the Anglican Church (for example, a priest, deacon, bishop, licenced lay minister, trustee, etc) we encourage you to put it in writing and send it directly to the independent Registrar, either by email or post.
News and Announcements
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Read more: The Anglican Diocese does not control a property empire
The Anglican Diocese does not control a property empire
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Read more: Primatial Announcement: Bishop-elect Announced for Te Hui Amorangi ki Te
Primatial Announcement: Bishop-elect Announced for Te Hui Amorangi ki Te
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Read more: Christ Church Cathedral lit to honour NZ servicemen and women
Christ Church Cathedral lit to honour NZ servicemen and women
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Read more: Holy Week and Easter Services
Holy Week and Easter Services
Anglican e-Life
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Read more: Anglican e-Life | 15 July 2026
Anglican e-Life | 15 July 2026
Dear Friends,
It has been lovely over the past few days to learn of ways in which churches in our Diocese have creatively and thoughtfully celebrated Matariki. Attending a secular celebration of Matariki on Saturday, I noticed and have reflected on an emerging tendency as we embrace Matariki to write into the concept of Matariki what we wish, including investing in these stars certain powers to influence the course of the year ahead. As Christians, let’s always proclaim that it is the Creator who made the stars who rules the universe and not the stars themselves.
On a cold, wet winter’s night last Wednesday it was wonderful to share with parishioners of Temuka-Te Ngawai and visitors in the Induction of the Reverend Sue Paton as the new Vicar of the Parish of Temuka-Te Ngawai. Please pray for Sue and Josh, her husband as they settle into life and ministry in this parish.
Remaining in South Canterbury: I am very pleased to announce that the Reverend Brett Roberts, Vicar of Balclutha, will be the next Vicar of St Mary’s, Timaru, beginning on Sunday, 4 October. Please pray for Brett and Ella, and their children as they prepare to move to this new appointment.
I am also very pleased to report that the Reverend Tim Handley, our Missioner Priest in the Parish of Westland, has been re-appointed to this post for a further three years. Please pray for Tim and Kathryn as they continue their missional and ministry leadership in this large parish which runs from just south of Kumara to Jacksons Bay.
The Abbey begins at Living Springs, this Friday 17 to Sunday 19 July. Please pray for safe travelling for those attending, for speakers and workshop leaders, and for the music ministry team, and that all participants will be spiritually blessed through this gathering.
A final notice about the Christchurch part in an NZ speaking tour for widely-respected Palestinian Christian Theologians Dr Lamma Mansour and Dr Yousef Khoury in July. All are welcome to the following public events: Christchurch Transitional Cathedral-7pm, Sun 19 July; Oxford Terrace Baptist Church-7pm, Mon 20 July. During the weekend 17-19 July, Yousef will preach at St Aidan’s, Bryndwr’s 10am Sunday service, and Lamma will be speaking at The Abbey, at Living Springs.
An important pastoral care course, previously advertised in e-Life takes place on Saturday 25 July. This Pastoral Care course takes place 9.30am to 4pm, Saturday 25 July 2026 at St Timothy’s, Burnside. The course is suitable for pastoral carers, ministers, chaplains, youth workers, small group leaders, community ministries, and anyone wanting to extend skills in this area. Registrations close this Monday, 20 July. Places are still available. Further details can be found in this e-Life at Pastoral Care 101: Pastoral Conversations.
The Reverend Canon Bosco Peters has published an updated, 2026 version of his latest liturgical work, Book of Prayers in Common Today. This publication provides collects for Sundays and other important days which are common to (at least) Anglican and Catholic worship traditions. It is available for access and/or downloading on his website.
Last Thursday evening it was good to take part in Leave No Voice Uncounted, a workshop run by Common Grace Aotearoa Co-Director Kate Day. An important “work on” from this event is this: we can all gently and quietly encourage people we know—family members, friends, fellow parishioners—to make sure they are enrolled to vote in this year’s election. Recently, rules about enrolment were changed by our government, so that enrolment on election day itself is no longer possible. Enrolments must take place before the election voting period begins, that is, by midnight Sunday 25 October 2026.
Some links to reading relevant to recent or continuing matters of our day:
On the recent Anglican Consultative Council meeting in Belfast.
On AI, an “Anglican” view is offered here.
This coming Sunday, 19 July 2026 is Ordinary 16 and the Gospel is Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43. What is the kingdom in view here? A strong clue seems to be in verse 38, ‘the field is the world’. Jesus has the whole world in view here and the spread of the kingdom of heaven through it. More than church congregational life is being considered in this parable. Life in the world, lived under the rule of God involves the children of the kingdom and the children of the evil one mixing together societally. The parable and its interpretation is a specific command for the kingdom children to refrain from attempting to carry out God’s judgment. What are children of the kingdom to do? The application of the passage is, in the end, plain for us: remain faithful to our calling as children of the kingdom, bearing grain (i.e. living fruitful lives for God), avoid becoming “weeds”, refrain from playing the role of God as judge, and patiently endure the presence of evil people in the world.
Arohanui,
+Peter.
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Read more: Anglican e-Life | 8 July 2026
Anglican e-Life | 8 July 2026
Dear Friends,
As we approach our Matariki holiday this Friday, we give thanks to God for ordering the heavens and the earth, including seasons on earth, and recall that God is sovereign over the course of history and of our lives within the unfolding story of humanity (Job 9:9; 38:1; Amos 5:8). May we all “seek the Lord and live” at this time (Amos 5:6).
This week’s news is most locally dominated by the terrible flooding taking place as I write in the Kaikōura and neighbouring districts. Please pray for those whose homes and livelihoods have been devastated by the flooding and for emergency responders and local authorities as they assist people and places in distress.
All are welcome this evening, Wednesday 8 July 2026, at 6pm to the induction of the Reverend Sue Paton as the new Vicar of the Parish of Temuka-Te Ngawai. This service takes place in St Alban’s church, 20 Harris Street, Pleasant Point, South Canterbury. Clergy robe with alb and red stole.
It has been a privilege during the past week to be on Chatham Island and to participate in worship at St Augustine’s church, Te One. A very big thank you to the congregation there for warm and generous hospitality.
The Reverend Ann Lloyd has died and her funeral service is at 1pm this Saturday, 11 July 2026 at St Bartholomew’s church, 23 Cass Street, Kaiapoi. Ann was deaconed and priested in 1999, serving first in the Parish of Tinwald, and then since 2009 in the Parish of Kaiapoi. We thank God for her faithful ministry and pray with her family as they prepare for her funeral on Saturday.
Thank you for praying for preparations for The Abbey, at Living Springs, Friday 17 to Sunday 19 July. Please continue to pray for our Diocesan staff, Paul Hegglun, Azaria Brooker and the Reverend Sammy Mould as they contribute local leadership to this important event for youth and young adult leaders in our church in these islands.
An updated reminder of Christchurch details for a NZ speaking tour for widely-respected Palestinian Christian Theologians Dr Lamma Mansour and Dr Yousef Khoury in July. All are welcome to the following public events: Christ Church Transitional Cathedral—7pm, Sun 19 July; Oxford Terrace Baptist Church—7pm, Mon 20 July. During the weekend 17-19 July, Yousef will preach at St Aidan’s, Bryndwr’s 10am Sunday service, and Lamma will be speaking at The Abbey, at Living Springs.
On Sunday 19 July 2026, the Parish of Hororata celebrates its 150th anniversary with a service at 10.30am in the little wooden church. Following the service the cemetery gate will be open for a walk around the historic cemetery. The lunch begins at 1pm in the community hall. There will be a speaker about historic Hororata, photos, displays kapa haka and a celebratory meal for a koha. (As this is a catered lunch, please Rsvp via email.)
To assist all NZ voters in understanding the importance of making their voice as well as their vote count, a Christian social action organization, Common Grace, has arranged the following event in the Transitional Cathedral, Christchurch, tomorrow evening, 7pm to 9 pm, Thursday 9 July, to which I encourage readers of e-Life to participate in: Leave No Voice Uncounted: Common Grace’s invitation to churches for the 2026 general election. This event is for church leaders, home group/youth group leaders, and other people keen to respond to this challenge. Over dessert and hot drinks, come and hear from Common Grace Aotearoa Co-Director Kate Day about how we are organising to enrol people to vote and to remind them to follow through and vote this election, and how you and your faith community could be involved. We won’t be told which parties or candidates to vote for. Rather, together, we can help ensure that thousands of voices that might otherwise get shut out of our democracy, get heard this election.
This coming Sunday, 12 July 2026 is Ordinary 15 and the Gospel is Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 (The Parable of the Sower and its Interpretation) but I would like to draw attention to the Epistle, Romans 8:1-11 which reminds us that the power of God working within us, the Holy Spirit, is the power of the one and same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead. May we have confidence in the power of the Holy Spirit to likewise transform us.
Arohanui,
+Peter.
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Read more: Anglican e-Life | 1 July 2026
Anglican e-Life | 1 July 2026
Dear Friends,
It’s that time of year again: not only are frosts on the ground and snow is on the mountains, but the Christchurch City Council’s KidsFest is also happening, 4-19 July 2026, with many activities taking place (details from CCC website). All are welcome at the Transitional Cathedral’s annual KidsFest service at 10am this Sunday 5 July. Also at the Transitional Cathedral this week is a recital by Schola Cantorum from Aquinas College, Perth, at 1pm on Thursday 9 July.
Theology House is advertising its next courses. In the mix are the English Reformation, Jesus, John and the Trinity, Revelation and Mission, Exodus and Salvation, Christians in Science. Check out the link for specific details including how to register.
It was a privilege on Sunday morning to confirm Daniel, Robert and Hayley at St Christopher’s, Avonhead, and on Sunday afternoon to share with Archdeacon Katrina Hill in leading the induction service for the Reverend Simon Green, at St. Mark’s Church, Opawa, as he became the Vicar of the Parish of Opawa-St Martins.
Thank you for praying for preparations for The Abbey, at Living Springs, Friday 17 to Sunday 19 July. Please continue to pray for our Diocesan staff, Paul Hegglun, Azaria Brooker and the Reverend Sammy Mould as they contribute local leadership to the event.
A warm invitation is extended to all, to the 150th anniversary service of the little wooden church in Hororata Parish at 10.30am on Sunday 19 July 2026. Following the service the cemetery gate will be open for a walk around the historic cemetery. The lunch begins at 1pm in the community hall. There will be a speaker about historic Hororata, photos, displays kapa haka and a celebratory meal for a Koha. (As this is a catered lunch, please Rsvp via email.)
To assist all NZ voters in understanding the importance of making their voice as well as their vote count, a Christian social action organization, Common Grace, has arranged the following event in Christchurch, to which I encourage readers of e-Life to participate in:
Leave No Voice Uncounted: Common Grace’s invitation to churches for the 2026 general election
When: Thursday 9 July, 7pm – 9pm
Where: Christchurch Transitional Cathedral, 234 Hereford Street, Christchurch
For: Church leaders, home group / youth group leaders, and other people keen to respond to this challenge. Over dessert and hot drinks, come and hear from Common Grace Aotearoa Co-Director Kate Day about how we are organising to enrol people to vote and to remind them to follow through and vote this election, and how you and your faith community could be involved.
We won’t be telling you or your community which parties or candidates to vote for. Rather, together, we can help ensure that thousands of voices that might otherwise get shut out of our democracy, get heard this election.
A reminder of some Christchurch details for a NZ speaking tour for widely-respected Palestinian Christian Theologians Dr Lamma Mansour and Dr Yousef Khoury in July! All are welcome to the following public events:
Christchurch Transitional Cathedral—7pm, Sun 19 July
Oxford Terrace Baptist Church—7pm, Mon 20 July
It is likely that one of the theologians will preach at St. Aidan’s, Bryndwr on Sunday morning 19 July, that both will likely speak at The Abbey, and there will be an opportunity for ministry leaders to meet with them over morning tea on Monday 20 July 2026 (invitations will be issued soon).
This coming Sunday, 5 July 2026 is Ordinary 14 and the Gospel is Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30. A common thread to these two parts of the chapter is wisdom. On the question of whether John or Jesus as the Son of Man have come from God, one being noted for asceticism, the other for participation in dinners and feasts, Jesus declares that “God’s wisdom, however, is shown to be true by its results” (v. 19, GNB). Both John and Jesus produced fruit/results for their respective ministries. On the question of understanding who Jesus truly is, the Son in intimate relationship with the Father, Jesus thanks his Father because “you have shown to the unlearned what you have hidden from the wise and learned” (v. 25, GNB). Here human wisdom – our intelligence, our knowledge, our power to cleverly argue against what we do not want to accept – is opposite to God’s wisdom which is revealed through Jesus to the world. Part of that revelation concerns the grace of God in Jesus Christ, who wishes to share the burdens of our lives rather than add to them (vv. 28-29).
Arohanui,
+Peter.
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Read more: Anglican e-Life | 24 June 2026
Anglican e-Life | 24 June 2026
Dear Friends,
The latest e-edition of our Diocesan magazine, AnglicanLife, is available online and the PDF version for printing from our website with the theme of ‘Rooted in Christ’.
The Reverend Simon Green‘s Induction Service when he will become the next Vicar of the Parish of Opawa-St. Martins is at 3pm this Sunday 28 June 2026 in St. Mark’s Church, 101 Opawa Road, Christchurch. All are welcome to this service. Clergy robing, red stoles please.
Please pray for preparations for The Abbey, a national Anglican hui for people involved in youth work and young adult ministries, which this year is being held at Living Springs, Friday 17 to Sunday 19 July. In particular pray for our Diocesan staff, Paul Hegglun, Azaria Brooker and the Reverend Sammy Mould as they contribute local leadership to the event.
Last Friday the Cathedral Reinstatement Project was privileged to receive a gift of $250,000 from the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints (LDS). This is the second gift to the Project from inter-faith partners, the first being from NZ Buddhists. We are grateful for all support this Project receives, acknowledging that the Diocese of Christchurch cannot fund the ReOpening of the cathedral from its own resources. LDS leaders from Australia and New Zealand gathered with us last Friday, marking the fact that this gift comes from the whole of the South Pacific region of this church.
The Reverend Les Memory will be Interim Priest-in-Charge of the Parish of Addington from early August 2026.
The Venerable Ruihana Paenga, currently Archdeacon of Leadership for Te Pīhopatanga o Aotearoa and Archdeacon of Te Tairāwhiti, will be the next Dean of St. John’s Cathedral, Napier, in the Diocese of Waiapu. This cathedral hosts the cathedrae of both Te Pīhopa o Aotearoa and the Bishop of Waiapu, and the announcement of this appointment has been made jointly by Archbishop Don Tamihere and Bishop Andrew Hedge. Ruihana presided at the eucharist when Bishop Susan Wallace was ordained earlier this month in the Transitional Cathedral. Ruihana will be installed on 1 August 2026.
This year we can scarcely escape news that it is election year. There seems to be a new poll every week! To assist all citizens in understanding the importance of all voters making their voice as well as their vote count, a Christian social action organization, Common Grace, has arranged the following event in Christchurch, to which I encourage readers of e-Life to participate in:
Leave No Voice Uncounted: Common Grace’s invitation to churches for the 2026 general election
When: Thursday 9 July, 7pm – 9pm
Where: Christchurch Transitional Cathedral, 234 Hereford Street, Christchurch
For: Church leaders, home group / youth group leaders, and other people keen to respond to this challenge. Over dessert and hot drinks, come and hear from Common Grace Aotearoa Co-Director Kate Day about how we are organising to enrol people to vote and to remind them to follow through and vote this election, and how you and your faith community could be involved.
We won’t be telling you or your community which parties or candidates to vote for. Rather, together, we can help ensure that thousands of voices that might otherwise get shut out of our democracy, get heard this election.
I am pleased to announce some Christchurch details of an NZ speaking tour for widely-respected Palestinian Christian Theologians Dr Lamma Mansour and Dr Yousef Khoury in July! All are welcome to the following public events:
Christchurch Transitional Cathedral – 7pm, Sun 19 July
Oxford Terrace Baptist Church – 7pm, Mon 20 July
It is likely that one of the theologians will preach at St. Aidan’s, Bryndwr on Sunday morning 19 July, that both will likely speak at The Abbey, and there will be an opportunity for ministry leaders to meet with them over morning tea on Monday 20 July 2026 (invitations will be issued soon).
Later this week the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) meets in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Among its agenda items is discussion of the Nairobi-Cairo Proposals which set out a possible new way forward for the organisation and leadership of the Anglican Communion. Rather than give you links to what these proposals are about and how they are being viewed in the run up to the meeting, I invite you to Google “Nairobi-Cairo Proposals.” You will not be short of articles to read!
This coming Sunday, 28 June 2026 is Ordinary 13 and the Gospel is Matthew 10:40-42. There is something profound in this short reading. Where we go as Christians has impact. We might be shunned and rejected. We might be accepted and welcomed. When people respond to us, they are responding (whether they understand or not) to Jesus within us and to the God who has sent Jesus into the world. That is a lot to ponder as we make our way through our daily lives as disciples of Jesus and encounter many people along the way.
Arohanui,
+Peter.
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What is faith?
Is Christianity true?
What happens when I die?
Finding faith in a busy world.
Coming soon: We talk to 5 people with fresh stories of finding faith & community.
Our Purpose
To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom
To teach, baptise and nurture new believers
To respond to human need by loving service
To pursue peace and reconciliation
Protect the integrity of creation, sustain and renew the life of the earth