Archbishops of the Anglican Church in New Zealand have been forced to issue an apology for remarks by a bishop which offended both Jews and Muslims.

The Bishop of Te Wai Pounamu, Rt Rev John Gray – South Island's first Maori bishop – invited representatives of other faiths to the diocese's annual ministry school. During a plenary session entitled 'Hard Talk' he told the Jewish speaker that the Holocaust "should have taught you a lesson".

He then appeared to hold the two Muslim guests personally responsible for the slaughter inflicted by Islamic State and Al Qaeda, asking what they were doing about it, and questioned why their faith did not accept the Trinity.

The archbishops issued a public apology for the "for the hurt which had been caused" by Bishop Gray's remarks. It continues: "We as leaders do not share or support the views that Bishop John has expressed, and his comments do not represent the Anglican Church's view on these matters."

The apology by the three archbishops – Most Revs Brown Turei, Philip Richardson and Winston Halapua – went on to say that the Church "values the relationships and the dialogue that it has with other faiths".

The local Sunday Star Times quotes representatives of the Jewish and Muslim communities as finding Bishop Gray's remarks offensive, but says that they welcomed the apology.