The Hui Amorangi ki Te Waipounamu has entered a four-month journey of prayer, reflection and careful discernment towards choosing its next bishop.

Māori Anglicans across the South Island have been without a bishop since their previous shepherd Bishop Richard Rangi Wallace died unexpectedly in January 2024, after seven years as Pīhopa. 

With the initial mourning period passing, the Hui Amorangi ki Te Waipounamu can now benefit from two years of wānanga and research that has gone into new guidelines for mātauranga-Mihinare informed episcopal leadership. The new guidelines ratified by Te Rūnanganui 2025 were prepared by the Māori Anglican Church's ten-member 'Amorangi ki Mua' Commission on Episcopal leadership.

The new roadmap for Hui Amorangi episcopal elections integrates insights from mātauranga Mihinare (Māori Anglican wisdom and experience) in conversation with the wider Church's canons, as well as with iwi, hapu and other leadership models beyond the Church.

As Archbishop Don Tamihere announced the vacancy formally open on 16 January 2026, Te Pīhopatanga o Aotearoa affirmed the sanctity of discerning who will shepherd the Māori Anglican church of the south into the future. 

"The election of a Pīhopa is no mere formality; it is a sacred act of discernment, a communal search for God’s will."

"Guided by prayer, wairuatanga, and the quiet insistence of Te Wairua Tapu ...under newly adopted guidelines, the Electoral College will convene not to fill a role, but to affirm a lifelong vocation: a shepherd called to teach, to lead, and to serve." 

Also on 16 January Te Pīhopatanga o Aotearoa notified the following timeline for Te Waipounamu over the next four months. 

2026 Timeline for Te Waipounamu

9 February: Nomination and screening forms are made available
2-22 February: Three Sundays' prayer and reflection on the spiritual task of discerning a new bishop
23 February: Formal call for nominations, which must be made by local or regional groupings within Te Hui Amorangi ki te Waipounamu (ie. pāriha, pastorates, church vestries or kōmiti tiaki)
4 March: Nominations close at 5pm
5-26 March: Screening and vetting of candidates takes place
27 March: Candidates announced publicly, Electoral College members confirmed
17-18 April: Electoral College convenes

June: Date TBC: New +Te Waipounamu ordained and installed

For more information visit Te Pīhopatanga o Aotearoa.