25 Years a Bishop—Archbishop Averill's Jubilee

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume 25, Issue 5, 1 May 1935, Page 2

25 Years a Bishop— Archbishop Averill's Jubilee

From the following note m the clergy list of Auckland Diocese it will be seen that His Grace 'the Primate of New Zealand was Bishop of Waiapu from January 16th, 1910, to February 10th, 1914, when he was translated to the Bishopric of Auckland. During his episcopate m Waiapu, His Grace endeared himself to his clergy and laity alike, and it was here that he manifested those qualities of untiring energy, zealous leadership, and effective oratory which have enabled him to fill his present exalted position with such conspicuous success. The congratulations of his old Diocese on the attainment of his Silver Jubilee as a Bishop are offered with the utmost sincerity and affection. His Grace has recently endeavoured to retire, but by the commendable wisdom of his Synod, "he has been let hitherto." The burdens of office may offer strong personal reasons to His Grace for such a step, but the Church's reasons for his continuance m office have so far proved weightier, and we trust that for 'many years to come the Church will have the benefit of his experience and wise counsel. BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE. "The Bishop and Primate and Archbishop.—AVEßlEL, Alfred Walter. Translated Auckland February 10th, 1914. Primate and Archbishop of New Zealand, '25. Chaplain of St. John of Jerusalem m England, 1924. St. John's Col. Oxon., B.A. (2nd cl. Theo. Scho.) '87, M.A., '91, D.D., '12. Ely Coll. '88, D. '88 P. '89 (Lond.) C. St. George's, Hanover Sq., '88. C. H. Trin., Dalston, '91. V. St. Mich. A.A., Chch. '94. Chap. Chch. Hosp. '95. Canon Chch. Cath. '02-'O9. Archn. of Akaroa '03-'O9. Archdn. of Christchurch '09-'lO. Consecrated Bishop of Waiapu January 16th, 1910." A notable life and career is covered by that brief statement. As, this year, His Grace celebrates the twenty-fifth year of his consecration to the episcopate, the twenty-first year of his translation to the Diocese of Auckland and the tenth of his elevation to the Primacy, the clergy and the laity of the Diocese are honouring His Grace m a manner befitting such notable anniversaries.

Archbishop Averill was born at Stafford, England, m 1865, and it has been written of him that he 'expresses m his person latent power.' Hiy appearance indicates physical and mental strength and the 'brows that make a rugged penthouse for his eyes/ might, had he taken sword instead of cassock, have been crowned with the laurel wreath instead of the clerical headgear that so becomes His Grace. In the course of his long career m the episcopate, His Grace has "laid hands" on thousands of lay-people m confirmation, has ordained hundreds of men to the office of Deacon and Priest, and has consecrated all the other occupants of the episcopal bench m New Zealand with the exception of the Bishop of Christchurch, who, previously, had been Bishop suffragan m England. All parishes, together with the various Church schools, are visited annually. The greatest number confirmed m any one year was over 2000, and it is estimated that no fewer than 25,000 lay-people have received the gift of confirmation at the hands of the Primate. AT LAMBETH. The attendance of Bishops of the Anglican Communion from all parts of the world at the Lambeth Conferences, which are held every ten years, invests these great gatherings with a character and an influence which is almost unique m the world at the present day. They have almost the dignity of Ecumenical Councils and their reports and resolutions on spiritual, social, ethical and racial problems exercise a profound influence on Christendom. It has been Archbishop Averill's privilege to attend the last two Conferences, held m 1920 and 1930, and to take part m their deliberations. In the first one, he was chosen a member of two important committees. One dealt with the missionary work of the church and the other with social and industrial questions. It was impossible for him, he found after a time, to attend to the business of both committees satisfactorily, and he therefore devoted himself to the conferences on the first subject. At the Conference of 1930, His

Grace took an active and leading part on the very large and important committee, which dealt with the subject of the Unity of the Church. An indication of the strenuous nature of the meetings is given by the fact that he was m constant attendance at Lambeth for a period of over five weeks. During the first fortnight, the subjects for consideration were brought before the whole Conference. For the next three weeks, the Committee on Unity, under the chairmanship of the Archbishop of York, met every clay, morning and afternoon at Lambeth, and important decisions regarding our relationships with the Orthodox Eastern Church, the old Catholics, the Churches of the East, a.nd the Church of Sweden were arrived at. The appeal, which had been made m 1920 to the NonEpiscopal Churches on the subject of the unity of the church, was re-issued by the 1930 Conference. A FEW REMINISCENCES. When asked ttf recall memorable services m which he had taken part, Archbishop Ayerill selected, as standing out vividly m his memory, a confirmation service, which he had taken years ago m the Waiapu Diocese m a small country school on the slopes of the Ruahine Ranges. A lady of remarkably fine character had prepared six or seven "young men for the confirmaton, he said. They had very good reason for not attending the service, for the little settlement was surrounded by bush-fires on the day and their homes were endangered. But they were all there, with their horses, still saddled, tied to the wire fence. During all the time of the service, not once did they show any signs of uneasiness. Smoke filled the little schoolroom; it increased m volume as the service proceeded; yet the candidates gave no indication that the thought of the possibility of the destruction of their homes had entered their minds. But immediately the service was over they made a dash for their horses, and galloped off to their homes, uncertain as to their fate. The only means of transport which has not been made use of by the Archbishop is the aeroplane. "I do not like to look down upon my flock," the

Archbishop said with a smile. Some of His Grace's most moving experiences have been connected with the confirmations, which he has held m the gaols of the Dominion. It affords him great opportunities. "Those unfortunate men," he said m an interview, "have time to think. They are confronted by the grim realities of life and they are compelled to think. Only this morning, I received a letter from an ex-convict whom I confirmed some years ago at a gaol confirmation. That man made a complete change m his life then, and he writes to say that, by God's grace, he is going to continue m the new way until his lifes' end.' To have, as members of a small congregation, representatives of no less than seven nations was the experience of Archbishop Averill, when taking a service on the gum-fields m the Far North some years ago. It was at the little settlement of Hohoura, and no doubt m an area, which was generally devoid of all excitement and where unrelieved toil was the common lot, the advent of a Bishop would be the stimulus for the attendance of such a mixed congregation. ALL LETTERS BY HAND. The heads of big business firms almost invariably have clerical help m the answering of correspondence. It may occasion some surprise to know that the Archbishop has been without the services of a secretary or a resident chaplain — except for a short period on one occasion — throughout the whole of his episcopal career and that he personally answers all his considerable correspondence. Letters, which, m some cases, demand long and careful replies, come from various parts of the world m a never-ending stream. Every day he receives some fifteen to twenty letters. In answer to a question, as to whether he used a typewriter, the Archbishop replied, "No! I answer all my correspondence by hand." DEFINITION OF PRIMATE. A story told by Archbishop Averill when he was elevated to the primacy, lingers m the memory of those who heard it. The Archbishop said that curiosity had lead him to the dictionary to see what it had to say concerning the word "primate." As he expected, he had found a definition applicable to a high position m the church, but It was somewhat of a shock to find that it had another secondary

zoological meaning, "primates" being the highest order of mammals, consisting of man and the apes, monkeys, marmosets and lemurs. PRESBYTERIAN CONGRATULATIONS. Tlh|ei Presbytery of Auckland has placed on record the following minute of congratulation regarding Archbishop Averill ,of Aucklanjd: — "The Presbytery of Auckland tenders hearty congratulations to Archbishop Averill on the 'attainment of 21 years as Bishop of the Auckland Miocese, during nearly ten years of which he has been Primate, and Archbishop of New Zealand. The Presbytery rejoices m the catholicity of spirit manifested by the Archbishop, and m the friendly relations existing between the Anglican and Presbyterian Churches. It prays that the Divine Blessing may richly rest upon the Archbishop and the Church, of which he is the head." SILVER JUBILEE. Opportunity to honour the silver Jubilee of the elevation of Archbishop Averill to the episcopate and the 10th anniversary of his election to the Primacy of the Province of New Zealand will be afforded the citizens of Auckland on Tuesday, April 30. On that morning at 7 o'clock, there will be celebration of Holy Communion at St. Mary's Cathedral, Parnell, when His Grace will be the celebrant. It is expected that there will be more than a usually strong gathering of the faithful at the Lord's Table, there to offer thanks for the life and work of the Archbishop. In the evening there will be a community function at the Town Hall, commencing at 8 o'clock. Here again, a very large assembly is expected, for, although Archbishop Averill is first and foremost our own Anglican bishop, it is a very pleasant fact that he holds the esteem and respect of the public as a whole, irrespective of creed. That being the case, it is to be expected that members of other creeds will desire to be present. Arrangements for the function are being finalised by a committee of the diocese and when these are completed, they will be made known to vicars of parishes. It has been decided to issue tickets of admission, and these will be obtainable from vicars. Supper, provided by the ladies of the various parishes, will be served m the Concert Chamber.

EDITORIAL. . The Rev. E. E. Bamford, 'M.A., L.Th., sub-warden of St. John's College, Auckland, has been appointed editor of "The Church Gazette" m succession of the Rev. Canon R. H. Hobday. A decided forward move m Church journalism was made with the April issue of "The Church Gazette," the official organ of the Auckland Diocese. The size of the pages has been exactly doubled, representing a clear gain of ten pages of the previous issues. The articles are attractively set out, and exctellently printed. We congratulate the editor and managers on their enterprise, and wish their effort every success. Perhaps one further word may be allowed. The readers of the "Church Gazette" m its new form must surely have the hope raised m their minds that the day will come when our Church will produce a "New Zealand Church Weekly." The road from the one to the other, though admittedly difficult, is at least worth surveying. It is with special pleasure- that we reproduce the photo of His Grace the Archbishop of New Zealand on our cover this month, together with articles on His Graces' silver jubilee. The photo is by Deighton Studios, Napier, and the block by courtesy of "The Church Gazette."