Archbishop Names New Representative to the Holy See

Tuesday 4th December 2012

Archbishop David Moxon is currently the Bishop of Waikato, Senior Bishop of the New Zealand Dioceses, and an Archbishop of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia.  He succeeds the Very Revd Canon David Richardson, previously Dean of Melbourne and of Adelaide (Australia).  Canon Richardson will retire at Easter, and Archbishop Moxon will take up his appointment in the early summer.  He will remain co-chairman of ARCIC.

Archbishop Rowan Williams congratulated Archbishop David on his appointment:

“I am personally delighted that Archbishop David Moxon has agreed to take up the joint post of Archbishop’s Representative to the Holy See and Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome.  There can be few people in the Communion so well qualified for this work.  Archbishop David has done distinguished service to the Anglican – Roman Catholic dialogue both locally and globally, and brings to this post both a wealth of experience and a range of profound friendships across the confessional frontiers.  I wish him every blessing in his new role.”

Bishop Stephen Platten, the Bishop of Wakefield and chairman of the Governors of the Centre, said,

“I am delighted that Archbishop David Moxon is to be the new Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome.  He brings a lifetime of commitment to Christian unity together with his experience as chair of ARCIC-3, a role he will continue to hold.  Archbishop David will build upon a strong foundation at a time when the Centre is already a key part of Anglicanism’s contribution to worldwide ecumenism.”

Archbishop David Moxon responded:

“I feel humbled to be called to the role of Archbishop of Canterbury’s Representative to the Holy See and Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome.  My predecessor Canon David Richardson, together with Margie his wife, has carried out an extraordinary ministry, taking the Centre on a quantum leap forward.  It is a pleasure and a privilege to build on what they have achieved. 

This appointment occurs at a time when ‘receptive ecumenism’ is making its presence felt as an opportunity to engage in honest dialogue about our two churches’ respective wounds, needs and opportunities.  Already there is considerable interest in the potential of such an approach as commended by phase three of the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC-3).  This appointment also occurs at a time when the International Anglican Roman Catholic Commission on Unity and Mission (IARCCUM) has been restarted.  The atmosphere of our relations in these commissions is positive and hopeful:  we are, I believe, on the cusp of a new kind of engagement and relationship which will focus on attending to each others’ deepest needs and working in solidarity with each others' greatest mission challenges.  Jesus’s prayer that we all be one will come about through increasing degrees of communion borne of increasing degrees of companionship and prayer.

The Anglican Centre has been—and will continue to be—an embodiment of these hopes and a place where this vision can be nurtured and demonstrated more and more.  Dialogue that leads to shared mission projects can only facilitate the coming in of the Kingdom of God, which is why we journey in hope together.  I look forward to being part of this quest and believe it is a privilege to work on behalf of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s ministry and the Anglican Communion as whole in the time ahead.”

Biography of Archbishop David Moxon

The Most Reverend David Moxon is currently the Bishop of Waikato, Senior Bishop of the New Zealand Dioceses, and an Archbishop of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia.

David was born and raised in Palmerston North, New Zealand.  He then went on to tertiary study at College House at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, graduating with a BA in Education and Psychology in 1974, before studying at Massey University, Palmerston North, where he graduated with an MA (Hons) in Education and Sociology in 1976.  He went on to the University of Oxford Honours School of Theology, St Peter's College, Oxford, where he graduated with a BA (Hons) in 1978 and MA in 1982.  David also has a Certificate in Maori Studies from Waikato University and an LTh (Aotearoa).

Before training to become a priest, David served a term as a youth worker with Volunteer Service Abroad in Fiji, and then worked as a tutor in the Education Department at MasseyUniversity.  In 1978 Moxon was appointed curate at Havelock North, and in 1979 he was ordained as a priest in the Diocese of Waiapu.  He remained at Havelock North until 1981, and was then appointed Vicar at GatePa, Tauranga, where he served for six years.  In 1987 David was appointed Director of Theology Education by Extension, a position he held until 1993.  During this time he edited ‘An Education for Liturgy Kit’, a Christian Initiation Resource Kit and a Bi-cultural Education Resource Kit.  He was also a member of the Commission which produced A New Zealand Prayer Book: He Karakia Mihinare o Aotearoa.

On 13 August 1993, David was consecrated Bishop in Hamilton, the youngest New Zealand Bishop, replacing Roger Herft as Bishop of Waikato.  In 2006 he was appointed Co-presiding Bishop of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and the Pacific, as part of New Zealand's new tripartite model of Anglican episcopacy.  He works alongside William Brown Turei (Maori) and Winston Halapua (Polynesia).

He has contributed to the Church House Publishing (UK) series ‘Reflections for Daily Prayer’.  He is the author of A Once and Future Myth (an Applied Theology of J R R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, and The Waikato Cathedral of St Peter: a prayerful walk on a sacred hill as well as author of Wings of the Morning: Messages of hope from Aotearoa in a new millennium.

David is the Anglican Chair of the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC-3); was the Chair of the recently completed ‘The Bible in the Life of the Church’ project for the Anglican Communion which produced the document Deep Engagement, Fresh Discovery; Convenor of the Conference of Anglican Religious Orders in Aotearoa New Zealand (CAROANZ); a Patron of A Rocha, New Zealand, the Christian environment action group; and Chair of the Hamilton-based Mahi Mihinare Anglican Action, a ‘justice through service’ agency; a fellow of St Margaret’s College in the University of Otago; and an honorary fellow of St Peter’s College in the University of Oxford; and a Governor of the Anglican Centre in Rome.  He is the Liaison Bishop for Anglican Religious in Aotearoa New Zealand and Polynesia, and also represents the Bishops on the Tikanga Pakeha Anglican Care Network.

David is married to Tureiti, who has Ngati Kahungunu and Ngati Tahu links.  Tureiti was trained in early childhood education, and then in law, and is currently the Director of Hamilton primary health provider Te Kohao Health.  David and Tureiti have four adult children.

The Archbishop’s Representation and a Centre for Anglican Studies and Dialogue

The Representation in Rome was first established in the months following Archbishop Fisher’s December 1960 visit to Pope John XXIII:  the first such visit in modern times.  The connection with Rome, once established, would be continued, in the words of Cardinals Willebrands, ‘by sending a representative of the two sees of Canterbury and York to follow very closely the preparatory work of the [Second Vatican] Council.’  The position has been known as the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Representative to the Holy See since the time of the Council.

Alongside this Representation, in 1966, with the encouragement of Archbishop Michael Ramsey and Pope Paul VI, the Anglican Centre in Rome was founded.  The Archbishop’s Representative has also been Director of the Centre since that time.  The Centre’s vision is ‘to promote Christian unity in a divided world’, and it seek both to enable Anglican – Roman Catholic dialogue at every level and to encourage the formation of friendly and informed relationships between Roman Catholics and Anglicans.  The Centre gives opportunities for Roman Catholics to learn more about the Anglican tradition and Anglicans to learn about the Roman Church.  A place of study, for groups and individuals, the Centre offers hospitality, dialogue and prayer in the search for unity.

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