Ko wai mātou?
Hangaia te hapori karaitiana
Te Hui Amorangi ki te Te Manawa o Te Wheke is one of five Hui Amorangi episcopal units within Te Pihopatanga o Aotearoa, the indigenous Tikanga Māori cultural stream of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia.
We are a Christian community that spans the three waka of Tainui, Te Arawa, and Mataatua. Inclusive of worship centres within pāriha and marae settings.
Owing to the Māori Missionaries, our whakapapa and history date back to the arrival of the Christian Gospel in the many kāinga of our people from the early 1800s. These Kaiwhakaako and Mihana, adamant about sharing the Good News of the Gospel amongst their people, were not only instrumental in the spiritual revival of many of our tūpuna and communities but also found the origins of our Hui Amorangi in this part of Te Ika a Māui.
Due to the expanse of the Hui Amorangi which encompasses many lands and people, it is likened to the outreaching heart of the wheke, a creature of mana in our traditional knowledge which, like Christ, extends its heart to the far reaches of the world.
Ko Mokau ki runga,
Ko Tamaki ki raro,
Ko Mangatoatoa ki waenganui,
Pare Hauraki, Pare Waikato, Te Kaokaoroa o Patetere.
Mai ngā Kurī a Whārei ki Tihirau.
Mai Maketu ki Tongariro.
Ko Te Manawa o te Wheke tēnei!
The arrival of Te Rongopai to the shores of Aotearoa, heralded a new way for many tupuna Maori, who by the revelation of Christ, felt called to share this Good News with their whanau and iwi. It is by the work of tupuna like Ihaia Te Ahu, Heta Tarawhiti, Wiremu Ngakuku, Manihera, Kereopa, and many others, that the seed of Te Rongopai me ōna tikanga was planted in the soils of Te Manawa o te Wheke.
Since the arrival and establishment of a more Colonial Church in Aotearoa, and its influence upon our people, the journey for Mana Motuhake within the church has been a long journey. Such led to the ordination of the first Bishop of Aotearoa, Pihopa Frederick Augustus Bennett of Ngāti Whakaue, in 1928.
In 1992 with a constitutional change and the now full independence of Te Pihopatanga o Aotearoa, Te Hui Amorangi ki te Manawa o te Wheke was formally established within Te Haahi Mihingare ki Aotearoa, Niu Tireni, me ngā Moutere o te Moana nui a Kiwa: The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. Pihopa Whakahuihui Vercoe (who was also Te Pihopa o Aotearoa) assumed episcopal responsibility for the Hui Amorangi. He led Te Hui Amorangi ki te Manawa o Te Wheke until his election as Te Pihopa Mātāmua (Primate) in 2004.
Upon this vacancy, in 2005, Pīhopa Ngarahu Katene was duly elected and Consecrated as Bishop in 2006, becoming the first elected Bishop of Te Manawa o Te Wheke.
Today, the many Minita-a-iwi, Pirihi, Rīkona, and Kaikarakia of Te Manawa o te Wheke provide pastoral ministry to the many whānau, hapū, iwi, marae and hāpori of the Amorangi. They carry on the legacy of those who planted the seeds of Ihu Karaiti.
Pictured: The Right Reverend Ngarahu Katene (incumbent Pīhopa)
