One of New Zealand’s most courageous and long-serving bishops, the Rt Rev Peter Sutton, has died in his hometown of Nelson. He was in his 90th year.

He became Bishop of Nelson in 1965 at the young age of 43, after less than two years as Dean of Dunedin.

He was already familiar with Nelson because he had boarded at Nelson College as a teenager. He then became a member of the Student Christian Movement and chose New Zealand SCM as the subject of his MA thesis.

In becoming Bishop of Nelson, Peter Sutton broke a deadlock in the Nelson Synod between clergy intent on finding a fourth bishop from the Diocese of Sydney, and laity intent on securing a more moderate approach to evangelicalism.

He remained Bishop of Nelson for 25 years and attended three Lambeth Conferences.

He also took strong stands in a number of church controversies, including the heresy trial of Professor Lloyd Geering, the Plan for Union (encompassing five churches), anti-apartheid protests, and the ordination of women in the Anglican Church.

The Rev Dr Peter Carrell recalls that Bishop Peter was never one to take the middle road. "He proclaimed his commitment to the Resurrection, opposed the Springbok tour, expressed doubts about the Plan for Union, and feared that the ordination of women would be divisive. However, he did ordain women in his own diocese, in 1988."

Dr Carrell also remembers Bishop Peter as a caring and diligent pastor – “not only to his clergy but also to the lay people in his diocese. Lay people who had only brief contact with him were pleasantly surprised when he remembered them years later.

“Such memory was evidence of a first-rate intellect, trained in science first and theology later. Indeed, science was a lifelong passion, and one of his most devoted roles as Bishop of Nelson was his ex-officio membership of the Board of the Cawthron Institute.

“Tall and imperious in stature (over 6ft tall), Bishop Peter commanded respect from everyone not only as a bishop of the Church of God but also as a leader in the community affairs of Nelson.”

Dr Carrell says Bishop Peter would be the first to acclaim his wife Pam as a great strength in his years of active ministry. In his retirement she was at his side through many health challenges.

Bishop Sutton’s funeral will be held in Nelson Cathedral at 2pm on Maundy Thursday.

The liturgical colour will be white, and bishops are invited to wear rochet and chimere.

At the conclusion, the bishops will form a guard of honour at the cathedral door as Bishop Peter’s casket is taken out.