Norman Alfred Lesser CMG (16 March 1902 – 12 February 1985) was an Anglican bishop and Archbishop of New Zealand from 1961 to 1971. He was the Bishop of Waiapu from 1947 to 1971.
Education and early ministry
He was educated at the Liverpool Collegiate Institution and Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. He began his ecclesiastical career with a curacy at St Simon and St Jude, Anfield, Liverpool. He then held similar posts at Holy Trinity, Formby and Liverpool Cathedral. In 1931 he became Vicar of St John, Barrow-in-Furness. From 1931 to 1939 he was Rector and Sub-Dean of Nairobi Cathedral and from then until his elevation to the Waiapu See its Provost.
Episcopal ministry
Lesser succeeded Archbishop Reginald Herbert Owen as Primate of the Anglican Church of New Zealand on his death in 1961. Norman Lesser Drive in Auckland is named after him.
In the 1971 Queen's Birthday Honours, Lesser was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, for services as Primate and Archbishop of New Zealand.
References
- “Who was Who” 1897-2007 London, A & C Black, 2007 ISBN 978-0-19-954087-7
- Lesser on the Waiapu Cathedral website
- The Times, Tuesday, Dec 24, 1946; pg. 7; Issue 50642; col B Ecclesiastical News New Bishop Of Waiapu
- Crockford's Clerical Directory1948 Oxford OUP 1947
- "No. 45386". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 12 June 1971. p. 5997.
External links
- Lesser's Papers in the Anglican Church Archive Collection in the John Kinder Theological Library
- Lesser's Papers in The National Archives
| Church of England titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byGeorge Cruickshank | Bishop of Waiapu 1947–1971 |
Succeeded byPaul Reeves |
| Preceded byReginald Owen | Archbishop of New Zealand 1961–1971 |
Succeeded byAllen Johnston |
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- 1902 births
- 1985 deaths
- People educated at Liverpool Collegiate Institution
- Alumni of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge
- Provosts of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia
- 20th-century Anglican archbishops in New Zealand
- Primates of New Zealand
- Anglican bishops of Waiapu
- New Zealand Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George
- New Zealand religious biography stubs
- Anglican bishop stubs