Richard Randerson

Richard Randerson CNZM, appointed 2000 Dean of Holy Trinity Cathedral, Auckland. He is also Vicar-General, from 1999, and Assistant Bishop from 2002 of the Anglican Diocese of Auckland in the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia.

Randerson was born in 1940.

He received degrees of BA and MA(Hons) (1961) and BD (1964) from the University of Otago, STM (1969) from the Union Theological Seminary, New York, and DMin (1987) from the San Francisco Theological Seminary, Berkeley.

Bishop Randerson was ordained a deacon in 1964, and ordained a priest in 1965.He was consecrated a bishop in 1994, and was Assistant Bishop of Canberra and Goulburn in the Diocese of Canberra, 1994-2000, in the Province of New South Wales, of the Anglican Church of Australia. Indeed on his leaving to return to New Zealand, Brendan Smyth, the ACT Minister for Urban Services, made a Speech of Commendation in the Legislative Assembly describing Bishop Randerson's contribution to the State.

He has written two publications about Christianity and market-based economic ideology; Christian Ethics and the New Zealand Economy - 1987. Hearts and Minds – a place for people in a market economy - 1992

He was a member of the Royal Commission on Genetic Modification, 2000-2001.

In 2007 he attracted controversy for criticising health workers' right to strike. He also attracted controversy for stating that as he did not believe God's existence could be scientifically proved, he could be considered an agnostic from a scientific perspective. [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/search/story.cfm?storyid=000CEE4E-336B-1405-A3CD83027AF10121] His comments were interpreted in some quarters as an admission that he himself doubted the existence of God. [http://www.latimer.org.nz/comment/archives/2007/01/index.html] .

His brother, Anthony Randerson, is currently the Chief High Court Judge of New Zealand. He is married and has three children.

External links

* [http://www.radionz.co.nz/nr/programmes/saturday/20061216 Response to a National Radio interview with Richard Dawkins] , audio interview with Kim Hill, "National Radio (New Zealand)", December 16, 2006 (Note: Links also to the Richard Dawkins interview and other unrelated media)
* [http://www.duomo.ac.nz/acnz/?p=208 Controversial column describing himself as in some senses, an agnostic]
* [http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE0701/S00018.htm Controversial press release criticising a strike by health workers, (which did not eventuate)]
* [http://www.holy-trinity.org.nz/134.php Holy Trinity Cathedral biography]
* [http://www.hansard.act.gov.au/HANSARD/1999/week08/2338.htm ACT Hansard Speech by Brendan Smyth]