Christchurch Bishop N.Z. Anglican Leader

Northern Advocate, 21 February 1940, Page 2

Christchurch Bishop N.Z. Anglican Leader

[Per Press Association. Copyright . 3 NELSON. This Day. AS WAS ANNOUNCED YESTERDAY, THE BISHOP OF CHRISTCHURCH (THE RT. REV. C. W. WAS ELECTED PRIMATE AND °F THE PRO „ INCE OF NEW ZEALAND TO SUCCEED ARCHBISHOP AVERILL, WHO IS RETIRING AFTER HOLDING THE PRIMACY FOR 15 YEARS. When the Synod assembled, the senior clerical member, Atchde;icou 11. A. Hawkins, of Auckland, moved that the bishops be roquesled to nominate one of their mini her to fill the vacancy.

Tlie Ivislmps left the synod in camera, by ballot, they nomin

liall for a separnir room. Hiorp, itod Bishop West-Watson. 3 At the same time the lay members •and the clergy sat as separate houses, to which the nomination was submitted. The respective orders voted by ballot, and on. the results being notified to the Archbishop, the Synod reassembled* and Ihe result of the election was announced. Replying to the congratulations offered him, the Archbishop-elect said that it had always been his fortune to follow men who had filled thenpositions with distinction. As a dean he had followed the present Archbishop of Sydney, In Christchurch he had followed Archbishop Julius. Now, he was following Archbishop Averill. . Scholastic Brilliance. Bishop West-Watson, who in the son of a Liverpool merchant, gave early promise of high scholastic attainment, and this was amply borne out by his brilliant career at Cambridge. He took double first-class honours, winning the first-class classical as well as the first-class theological tripos. He was ordained deacon in 1902, and priest in 1903. From 1905 to 1920. he was examining chaplain to the Bishop of Carlisle, whose suffragan he became when he was consecrated Bishop of Barrow-in-Furness in 1909. Bishop West-Watson was translated to the See of Christchurch in 1926, following the retirement of Archbishop Julius.