Archbishop of Polynesia elected: The Church of England Newspaper, May 14, 2010 p 6.

Archbishop Winston Halapua of Polynesia

The Diocese of Polynesia has elected a native of Tonga, the Rt. Rev. Winston Halapua to serve as its next Archbishop.

On May 12, the General Synod of the Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia meeting in Gisborne, New Zealand announced it had affirmed the decision of the diocese’s electoral synod held in Fiji.  On April 29 the Diocese of Polynesia met in Suva to elect a successor to Archbishop Jabez Bryce, who died on Feb 11.  The results of the balloting were forwarded to the church’s archbishops, who will then polled the 120 members of synod, seeking their approval for the election

Bishop Halapua, 64, currently serves as one of three suffragan bishops of the far-flung diocese that covers Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, the Cook Islands and the Polynesian population resident in New Zealand and is based in Auckland.  Appointed suffragan bishop in 2005, Bishop Halapua served as a teacher and seminary dean before his consecration.

Seen as a liberal within Polynesia church circles, Bishop Halapua’s election marks a move closer to the positions held by New Zealand church on the issues facing the Communion today.  With his election, Archbishop Halapua becomes one of the co-primates of the province, along with Archbishop David Moxon of New Zealand and Archbishop Brown Turei of Aotearoa.