The
Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand (PCANZ) is the main Presbyterian church in
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
.
History
The Presbyterian Church of New Zealand was formed in October 1901 with the amalgamation of churches in
Synod of Otago and SouthlandThe Synod of Otago and Southland is a synod of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand . Originally independent, the Synod merged with the northern Presbyterian church in 1901 to form the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand.-History:...
with those north of the
Waitaki RiverThe Waitaki River is a large river in the South Island of New Zealand, some 110 km long. It is the major river of the Mackenzie Basin.It is a braided river which flows through Lake Benmore, Lake Aviemore and Lake Waitaki. These are ultimately fed by three large glacial lakes, Pukaki, Tekapo, and Ohau...
.
Presbyterians had by and large come to New Zealand as settlers from
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
,
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
and
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
.
DunedinDunedin , , is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the region of Otago. It has the largest council boundary area of any New Zealand city, and is the hub of the fifth-largest urban area...
and
WaipuWaipu is a small town in Bream Bay, in the Northland Region of New Zealand, with a Scottish heritage.The population was 1,491 in the 2006 Census, an increase of 222 from 2001.A highlight of the town's calendar is the annual Highland Games held at New Year....
were Presbyterian settlements, but significant numbers were found in other parts of the country including
ChristchurchChristchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area. It is one third the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of Christchurch.The city was named by...
, Port Nicholson (Wellington), and
AucklandThe Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with a population approaching 1.4 million residents, percent of the country's population. Demographic trends indicate that it will continue to grow faster than the rest...
. Ministers came with the first European settlers to Wellington, Otago and Waipu, but generally nascent congregations called ministers from Scotland. Missions to the
Māori peopleThe Māori are the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand . The group probably arrived in southwestern Polynesia in several waves at some time before 1300...
focused on the
Tuhoe peopleNgāi Tūhoe , a Māori iwi of New Zealand, takes its name from an ancestral figure, Tūhoe-pōtiki. The word tūhoe literally means "steep" or "high noon" in the Māori language...
and led to the establishment of Māori Synod, now known as Te Aka Puaho.
Ethnic diversity grew after World War II with the arrival of
DutchThe Dutch people are the dominant ethnic group of the Netherlands.Dutch people, or descendants of Dutch people, are also found in migrant communities world wide, notably in Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and the United States....
and European settlers and more recent
Pacific IslandPacific Islander , is a geographic term to describe the Austronesian inhabitants of any of the three major sub-regions of Oceania: Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia...
and
AsianAsian people or Asiatic people is a demonym for people from Asia. However, the use of the term varies by country and person, often referring to people from a particular region or subregion of Asia...
migrants. In 1969 the majority of
CongregationalCongregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
churches joined the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand. The word
"Aotearoa"Aotearoa is the most widely known and accepted Māori name for New Zealand. It is used by both Māori and non-Māori, and is becoming increasingly widespread in the bilingual names of national organisations, such as the National Library of New Zealand / Te Puna Mātauranga o...
was added to the title of the denomination in 1990, affirming the
treaty partnershipThe Treaty of Waitangi is a treaty first signed on February 6, 1840, by representatives of the British Crown, and various Māori chiefs from the northern North Island of New Zealand. The Treaty established a British governor in New Zealand, recognised Māori ownership of their lands and other...
between the indigenous Māori and the subsequent settlers.
Debate over ministers in non-marriage relationships
In 2003, the Church decided to allow ministers in sexual relationships other than marriage. This was overturned in 2004, and in a meeting of the General Assembly of the Church on 29 September 2006, this was confirmed by 230 votes to 124 (a 65% majority). This prevents people in de facto or gay relationships from becoming ministers in the church. It does not apply to people ordained before 2004.
International connections
- Christian Conference of Asia
The Christian Conference of Asia is a regional ecumenical organisation representing 16 National Councils and 95 denominations in Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia, Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan,...
(CCA)
- Council for World Mission
The Council for World Mission is a worldwide community of Christian churches. The 31 members are committed to sharing their resources of money, people, skills and insights globally to carry out God's mission locally....
(CWM)
- World Alliance of Reformed Churches
The World Alliance of Reformed Churches is a fellowship of more than 200 churches with roots in the 16th-century Reformation, and particularly in the theology of John Calvin...
(WARC)
- World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches is an international Christian ecumenical organization. Based in Geneva, Switzerland , it is a fellowship of about 340 churches of which 157 are members...
(WCC)
Breakaway groups
Several groups have broken away from the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand because of its
liberal theologyLiberal Christianity, sometimes called liberal theology, is an umbrella term covering diverse, philosophically informed religious movements and ideas within Christianity from the late 18th century and onwards...
. One group under George Mackenzie left in the 1960s and formed the
Orthodox Presbyterian Church of New ZealandThe Orthodox Presbyterian Church of New Zealand was a Christian denomination formed in New Zealand in the 1960s. It was organized by George Wallace, who lead it as a breakoff of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand because he felt that church had adopted too much liberal theology....
.
Often confused as a breakaway church is
Grace Presbyterian Church of New Zealand Grace Presbyterian Church of New Zealand is a Presbyterian denomination in New Zealand which was formed in 2002. It currently consists of 11 churches and 7 mission churches, which are congregations in the process of becoming fully established churches....
, which was actually a group of pre-existing independent churches that united into a new denomination. There is sometimes confusion because the church contains a significant number of former members of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand who have sought a more theologically conservative alternative.
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