Obituary: Allen Howard Johnston

Retired archbishop. Died aged 89.

Allen Howard Johnston was Anglican Archbishop of New Zealand for eight years from 1972 and Bishop of Waikato for 11 years.

Archbishop Johnston, who lived in Hamilton until last year, suffered a stroke on Saturday and died in Auckland Hospital at 6 am. He was 89.

He was widely regarded as a wise leader who saw the Anglican Church through a period of change in the 1960s and 1970s. His son-in-law, the Reverend Dr George Armstrong, said Archbishop Johnston was never afraid of change "where it was appropriate. He took a strong, clear and high-profile lead in building relationships between the churches and the church union movement."

He was also a great advocate of allowing women to be ordained priests into the Church.

He served in various parishes around the Auckland Diocese before he was appointed Archdeacon at Waimate in 1949. Four years later he was made Bishop of Dunedin, a post he held until 1969 when he became Bishop of Waikato.

After his retirement he continued to fill in as priest-in-charge at several parishes around Waikato.

He is survived by his wife Joyce and four daughters.

His funeral will be held next Monday at St Peter's Cathedral in Hamilton.

- NZPA