Henry Jenner, Bishop of Dunedin

In the vanguard of the Anglo-Catholic movement, Henry Lascelles Jenner was consecrated Bishop of Dunedin at Canterbury Cathedral in 1866 but was never enthroned due to the strongly anti-ritualistic sentiment his appointment stirred up in New Zealand.

This portrait shows him holding a crozier with one hand raised in blessing, an image that has now lost its full significance. When the photograph was taken, however, its impact would have been contentious and divisive.

According to Owen Chadwick: 'Bishop Hamilton of Salisbury used a pastoral staff. He was the first of the Tractarian bishops, and therefore the use caused comment. But about 1867 at least three bishops accepted gifts of such staffs, Lonsdale of Lichfield (ruefully, for he was not fond of ceremony), Claughton of Rochester, and Wilberforce of Oxford who was in trouble for the usage. The laity liked the symbol. They desired that their bishops should carry such an instrument of office when performing duty in church, and gave them to more and more bishops. A bishop was hesitant to accept lest he give offence, but usually preferred not to refuse lest he give offence. Lightfoot of Durham refused a staff at first and accepted it later. The laity found it a historic and meaningful symbol. Such little changes, as purple cassocks and pastoral staffs, are typical of the way in which the usages became more elaborate, because they felt appropriate to the aesthetic judgment of many lay worshippers. A majority of bishops were not eager to carry staffs and a majority of bishops ended by carrying staffs' [Chadwick, The Victorian Church, 1970].

Photographed by Mason and Co of London.