wfn.org | NEW ZEALAND: PRIMATE TO RETIRE

[a.whitefield@quest.org.uk]

March 7, 1997 
ANGLICAN COMMUNION NEWS SERVICE
Canon Jim Rosenthal, Director of Communications
Anglican Communion Office
London, England
Tel: [44] (0)171 620-1110   Fax: [44] (0)171 620-1070

97.3.1.2

NEW ZEALAND: PRIMATE TO RETIRE

(Anglican Media Services New Zealand) The Anglican Archbishop of
Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, the Most Revd Brian Davis,
announced his retirement this week. He will retire as Bishop of
Wellington on 1 July 1997, and his resignation as Primate of the
Anglican Church on Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia takes effect from
the same date. 

Archbishop Brian is at present recuperating following major surgery to 
remove a cancerous growth. He hopes to make a full recovery, and says
that a lifestyle change would enhance this. He also says that he "is not
the kind of person who can go happily on in a position of responsibility
at less than full capacity." Uncertainty about his ability to cope, he
says, would be destabilising for both the Diocese of Wellington and for
the wider Church. 

Brian Davis has been a bishop since 1980 when he was consecrated and 
installed as Bishop of Waikato. In 1986 he was chosen by General Synod,
the governing body of the Church, to succeed Paul Reeves as Primate and 
Archbishop of New Zealand. In 1986 he was translated from Waikato to 
Wellington, and he was installed as Bishop of Wellington on 20 September 
1986.
 
He has overseen major changes within the Church, including the adoption
of a new Prayer Book in 1989 and the wholesale revision of the Church's 
Constitution in 1992. Internationally known for his innovative work in 
Christian initiation and support for lay ministry, he is one of 36
Primates - heads of regional churches - in the Anglican Communion.

He plans to retire to Napier with his wife and daughter, following
farewells by the Church in the diocese and beyond.