Edward Craig Stuart (1827 – 15 March 1911) was the second Anglican Bishop of Waiapu,[1] whose episcopate spanned a 16-year period[2] during the second half of the 19th century.[3] Stuart served as a missionary under the auspices of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) in London , which had appointed him to serve in India and later in New Zealand.


Edward Stuart
Bishop of Waiapu
Edward Stuart
ProvinceEast Coast of the North Island of New Zealand
DioceseAnglican Diocese of Waiapu
PredecessorWilliam Williams
Personal details
Born
Edward Stuart

1827
Died15 March 1911(1911-03-15) (aged 83)
England
SpouseAnne Alicia de Courcy (married, 1851)
OccupationAnglican bishop

Early life

edit

He was born in Edinburgh, the son of Alexander Stuart and Mary McKnight. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin,[4] and ordained in 1850.[5] With his great friend Valpy French[6]

Vocation

edit

Stuart worked in India[7] as a CMS missionary for 21 years, first at Agra and latterly (until his appointment to the episcopate) at Jalalpur. Recruited from came from India in 1874, Stuart, previously the Secretary of the Church Missionary Society at Calcutta, went to New Zealand for his health, and remained there, proving to be a valuable helper and adviser. At this time William Williams was Bishop, but on March 25, 1876, he was stricken with a paralytic stroke on the fiftieth anniversary of his arrival in New Zealand, which forced him to hand in his resignation as Bishop of Waiapu, where he lived for two more years. The Diocese, having the power of election under the constitution of the Church, chose Stuart to be Williams' successor. Williams was subsequently consecrated as Bishop on December 9, 1877, just twelve days before his prior fellow missionary in India in 1850, T. Valpy French, was consecrated first Bishop of Lahore.[8][9]

At a meeting on March 24, 1885, Stuart proposed that a Gordon Memorial Mission be built in the Eastern Soudan in honor of Major-General Charles George Gordon, killed by the Ansar at Khartoum in January. Stuart's proposal was met with cheers and overwhelming support by the hundreds of people present.[10]

Later life

edit

On 31 January 1894 he resigned and his last calling was as a CMS missionary in Julfa, Ispahan, Persia, for 15 years from 1894.[11][12] Stuart died on 15 March 1911,[13] having at some point become a Doctor of Divinity (DD).

Citations

edit
  1. ^ Barbara Cooper and Brian O'Brien. "Lofley, Edward". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  2. ^ The Cyclopedia of New Zealand, 2016, Introduction
  3. ^ Who Was Who 1897–1990 London: A & C Black, 1991 ISBN 0-7136-3457-X.
  4. ^ "University Of Dublin. B.A. Degree Examination", The Times, Saturday, 11 November 1848; p. 7; Issue 20018; col. G.
  5. ^ The Clergy List, Clerical Guide and Ecclesiastical Directory, London: Hamilton & Co 1889.
  6. ^ Eugene Stock, "An Heroic Bishop: The Life-Story of French of Lahoret", Project Canterbury.
  7. ^ History of the Church Missionary Society (1873 – 1882).
  8. ^ Stock, 1899, v. 3, pp. 36, 531, 535
  9. ^ Stock, 1913, ch. VIII
  10. ^ Stock, 1899, v. III, p. 318
  11. ^ Cyclopedia of New Zealand, 1908, p. 345
  12. ^ Church Missionary Atlas, 1896, pp. 78-80
  13. ^ "Obituary Bishop E. C. Stuart", The Times, Monday, 20 March 1911; p. 11; Issue 39537; col. C,

Sources

edit
Religious titles
Preceded by Bishop of Waiapu
1877–1894
Succeeded by