61. SANCTUARY

At the East end of the chancel a wrought iron fence separates the sanctuary area. Originally the text panels of the baptistry lined the sanctuary, but in the mid 20th century these were moved, and the side rimu panelling installed in their place.     PLAN

62. SIX SAINTS

Mosaics of six saints flank the high altar. These saints are Chad, Michael, Aidan, Augustine, George and Boniface. The mosaics were commissioned as a memorial to Clement Govett, the archdeacon’s son.

63. HIGH ALTAR

The original altar in the first church was a simple wooden table. The Mount Somers stone altar was given by a parishioner in 1915, in memory of the Revd William Bolland. The three blue mosaic panels were given the following year. The top panels show worshipping angels around the Cross, with the Alpha and Omega symbols.

64. SANCTUARY WINDOWS

There are no words on the sanctuary windows to indicate the depicted figures, but the Four Evangelists would be a likely guess, even though the traditional symbols are absent.

65. CATHEDRA

The Bishop’s Seat or ‘cathedra’ was lovingly carved by Steve Bowkett for the consecration of St Mary’s Church as a cathedral in 2010. It bears the crest of the Diocese of Waikato and Taranaki.

66. ORGAN

On the South side of the chancel is the organ. The organ now has 31 speaking stops and 8 couplers. There have been many additions and replacements over the years.

67. LECTERN

Finally we come to the eagle lectern which was made in Exeter, and was the gift of the parish, in memory of Archdeacon Govett’s wife, Margaret. The eagle is thought to fly closest to heaven, and bears the Word of God as revealed in the Bible.

68. PEACE ALTAR FRONTAL

The beautiful Peace Altar Frontal represents the communities of the Taranaki Diocese, and commemorates the Prophets Te Whiti o Rangomai, Tohu Kākahi and their followers. This completes our tour of St Mary’s.