mayfair

Reply from Archbishop to first letter.

Mr Malcolm James Baker

42-44 Spencer Avenue

Maketu 3189

NEW ZEALAND

LAMBETH PALACE

Miss Fiona Millican

Anglican Communion Liason Officer for the Archbishop of Canterbury

01 May 2012

Ref: FM/PO2/100289

Dear Mr Baker

Thank you for your letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury concerning the decision to demolish Christchurch Cathedral. As you will appreciate, the Archbishop's post-bag is very substantial and he is not able to respond personally to every item of correspondence, much as he might wish it. He has therefore asked me to write on his behalf.

The Archbishop is sympathetic to the distress that has been caused to many people in Christchurch and indeed further afield, by the destruction by the earthquakes in 2011 and by the decision to make safe the site by demolishing the Cathedral building, especially when this building has served as a symbol of the City of Christchurch for over a century. However, Archbishop Rowan has no archiepiscopal jurisdiction in any Province other than his own, and it would be inappropriate for him to intervene or overturn decisions made in the life of the Church in New Zealand.

The Diocese of Christchurch website has information on the background to the decision making process, and I would suggest that you be in touch with the Diocese to reiterate yor concerns.

Yours sincerely.

Fiona Millican

The Order of precedence in New Zealand was approved by the Queen Elizabeth II on 9 January 1974, and amended to include former Governors-General on 10 September 1981. While the Queen herself is not listed in the order of precedence, as Queen of New Zealand she holds the highest precedence in New Zealand.

Archbishop of Canterbury

The Governor-General (Sir Jerry Mateparae) or (whilst acting in the place of the Governor-General) the deputy of the Governor-General or the officer administering the Government
The Prime Minister (Rt Hon John Key)
The Speaker of the House of Representatives (Dr the Rt Hon Lockwood Smith)

Orders of Precedence

The Sovereign	Whether the Sovereign be male or female.
The Duke of Cornwall and of Rothesay	i.e. the Sovereign's eldest son.
The Sovereign's younger sons	Ordered according to their birth.
The Sovereign's grandsons	Ordered according to the rules of primogeniture.
The Sovereign's brothers	Ordered according to their birth.
The Sovereign's uncles	i.e. the brothers of the Sovereign's royal parent (through whom he or she inherited the throne); ordered according to their birth.
The Sovereign's nephews	i.e. the sons of the Sovereign's brothers and sisters; ordered according to the rules of primogeniture.
The Sovereign's cousins	i.e. the sons of the brothers and sisters of the Sovereign's royal parent (through whom he or she inherited the throne); ordered according to the rules of primogeniture.

The Duke of Edinburgh, by The Queen's Order-in-Council, has 'place, pre-eminence and precedence' over all men in the Kingdom—except, where provided by Parliament, The Prince of Wales.

In 2005, The Queen changed the order of precedence for private occasions, putting the Duchess of Cornwall fourth in the order of precedence, after herself, the Princess Royal, and Princess Alexandra, contrary to the usual position of the heir's consort. Charles' first wife, Diana, Princess of Wales, had ranked above the Princess Royal and Princess Alexandra.^[1] The Duchess of Cornwall continues to rank second in the order of precedence at official occasions, such as state dinners.

The Court Circular also lists Prince William, Duke of Cambridge above his uncles, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, which suggests that he takes precedence over them.

The order of precedence for female members of the royal family is:
The Queen	Whether regnant or consort.
Queens dowager	Ordered most recent consort first.
The Duchess of Cornwall and of Rothesay	i.e. the wife of the Sovereign's eldest son.
Wives of the Sovereign's younger sons	Ordered according to their husbands' precedence.
The Sovereign's daughters	Ordered according to their birth.
Wives of the Sovereign's grandsons	Ordered according to their husbands' precedence.
The Sovereign's granddaughters	Ordered according to the rules of primogeniture.
Wives of the sovereign's brothers	Ordered according to their husbands' precedence.
The Sovereign's sisters	Ordered according to their birth.
Wives of the Sovereign's uncles	Ordered according to their husbands' precedence.
The Sovereign's aunts	i.e. the sisters of the Sovereign's royal parent (through whom he or she inherited the throne); ordered according to their birth.
Wives of the Sovereign's nephews	Ordered according to their husbands' precedence.
The Sovereign's nieces	i.e. the daughters of the Sovereign's brothers and sisters; ordered according to the rules of primogeniture.
Wives of the sovereign's cousins	Ordered according to their husbands' precedence.
The Sovereign's cousins	i.e. the daughters of the brothers and sisters of the Sovereign's royal parent (through whom he or she inherited the throne); ordered according to the rules of primogeniture.

In England and Wales, the Archbishop of Canterbury is the highest in precedence following the royal family. Then come the Lord Chancellor and the Archbishop of York. (Note: The Archbishop of Dublin rates third in order after Canterbury and York. Next come certain officers: the Prime Minister, the Lord President of the Privy Council, the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Lord Speaker of the House of Lords (since July 2006), the President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (since October 2009), the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales (since November 2007) and the Lord Privy Seal.

The precedence of other officers—the Lord Great Chamberlain, Earl Marshal, Lord Steward, and Lord Chamberlain—is based on the degree of their peerage. These officers rank above all other peers of their rank. Thus, if the Lord Steward were a duke, he would outrank other dukes; and if a marquess, would outrank other marquesses; and so forth. The precedence of the Master of the Horse is linked directly to that of the Lord Chamberlain, for the Master follows immediately after the Lord Chamberlain. However, if the Master is of a higher degree of peerage than the Lord Chamberlain, he would rank among his fellow peers of that degree, and not below the Lord Chamberlain.

The Archbishop of Westminster heads the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster, in England.^[1]^[2] The incumbent is the Metropolitan of the Province of Westminster and, as a matter of custom, is elected President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, and therefore de facto spokesman of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. Since the re-establishment of the hierarchy in 1850, each successive Archbishop of Westminster has been raised to the rank of cardinal.

With the gradual abolition of the legal restrictions on the activities of Catholics in England and Wales in the early 19th century, Rome on its own ("not by Concordat with the English government nor conversations with the Anglican Church") decided to fill the partial vacuum, which Queen Elizabeth I had created, by restoring Catholic dioceses on a regular historical pattern and replacing existing titular bishops or Vicars Apostolic with diocesan ones. Thus Pope Pius IX issued the Bull Universalis Ecclesiae of 29 September 1850 by which thirteen new dioceses were created.

Christ does not recognise the Roman Catholic church as it excommunicated him in the first century. Only the Anglican Church, since it accepts the ordination of women, is the official church. Roman Catholics do not accept contraception.

In Scotland, the officers of state are different. The Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland and the Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland, if they are peers, rank after the Lord Speaker of the House of Lords. If not, they rank after younger sons of dukes. The Hereditary High Constable of Scotland and the Master of the Household in Scotland rank above dukes. If the Keepers of the Seals are peers, then the Keepers precede the High Constable and Master.