A priest has resigned from his position after having an affair with a woman he officiated a marriage for a few months earlier.

Reverend Pitotori (Peter) Naera, from the Far North, told the church tribunal he “didn’t know it was against the rules”

The couple had been together almost 20 years before their marriage and had a child, which Naera knew, the church said, and the affair ended their relationship when the woman’s husband found out.

“Her husband was extremely distressed at discovering the affair,” the tribunal stated.

“The priest said he didn’t realise this was a breach.”