George Selwyn (Bishop of New Zealand)
George Augustus Selwyn (5 April 1809 – 11 April 1878) was the first Anglican Bishop of New Zealand. He was Bishop of New Zealand (which included Melanesia) from 1841 to 1869. His diocese was then subdivided and Selwyn was Metropolitan (later called Primate) of New Zealand from 1858 to 1868. Returning to Britain, Selwyn served as Bishop of Lichfield from 1868 to 1878.[1]
"George Augustus Selwyn" redirects here. For the British politician, see George Augustus Selwyn (politician).
George Selwyn
1868 to 1878
Bishop of New Zealand (1841–1868)
Primate of New Zealand (1858–1868)
1833 (deacon)
1834 (priest)
17 October 1841
5 April 1809
11 April 1878 (aged 69)
Bishop's Palace, Lichfield, England
English
2 including John Selwyn
11 April
After his death, Selwyn College, Cambridge and Selwyn College, Otago were founded to honour his life and contribution to scholarship and the church. The colleges and other educational facilities uphold the legacy of the bishop.
Final years[edit]
In 1867, Selwyn visited England a second time to participate at the first Pan-Anglican synod of the Lambeth Conference, an institution which his own work had done much to bring about. While in England Selwyn accepted, with much reluctance,[1] the offer of the see of Lichfield.
Selwyn's election as the ninety-first Bishop of Lichfield was confirmed at St Mary-le-Bow on 4 January and he was enthroned at Lichfield Cathedral on 9 January 1868.[34] Later that year, he paid a farewell visit to New Zealand and resigned that See (and the Primacy with it) on (or slightly before) 20 May 1869.[35]
He governed Lichfield until his death, aged 69, on 11 April 1878. Earlier that year, Bishop Selwyn had consecrated a class of deacons, one of whom, John Roberts, is known for his missionary work in the Bahamas and Wyoming. Selwyn died at the Bishop's Palace, Lichfield, and was buried in the grounds of Lichfield Cathedral.[36]
Besides numerous sermons, letters, and charges, Selwyn was the author of:
His papers for the period 1831–72 are stored in the archives of Selwyn College, Cambridge.[42]