Anglican Diocese of Melbourne

Diocese of Melbourne
Location
Ecclesiastical province Victoria
Archdeaconries Box Hill, Dandenong, Frankston, Geelong, Kew, La Trobe, Maroondah, Melbourne, Port Philip & Bayside & Kingston North, Stonnington & Glen Eira, and The Yarra
Coordinates 37°49′1″S 144°58′3″E / 37.81694°S 144.96750°E / -37.81694; 144.96750Coordinates: 37°49′1″S 144°58′3″E / 37.81694°S 144.96750°E / -37.81694; 144.96750
Information
Rite Anglican
Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne
Current leadership
Archbishop Philip Freier
Suffragans Paul White, Southern Region
Philip Huggins, North West Region
vacant, Eastern Region
Website
melbourne.anglican.com.au
St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne.

The Anglican Diocese of Melbourne is the metropolitan diocese of the Province of Victoria in the Anglican Church of Australia. The diocese was founded from the Diocese of Australia by letters patent of 25 June 1847[1] and includes the cities of Melbourne and Geelong and also some more rural areas. The cathedral church is St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne. The ordinary of the diocese is the Archbishop of Melbourne, Philip Freier, who was translated from the Anglican Diocese of The Northern Territory.

Regions

The Diocese of Melbourne is divided into three regions each with its own bishop: the Southern Region, the Eastern Region and the North-West Region.[2] The archbishop's residence is Bishopscourt in East Melbourne.

Theological traditions

Churchmanship within the Melbourne diocese is diverse and the three principal Anglican traditions, Evangelical, Liberal and Anglo-Catholic, are all significantly represented.

The existence of such differing traditions within the diocese is sometimes a cause of tensions. The difficulty with which an archbishop was elected in 2006 provided a recent example.[3]

Theological colleges

The diocese has two theological colleges, both in the suburb of Parkville, which prepare men and women for ordination and other forms of ministry. Trinity College Theological School, founded in 1878, is part of Trinity College, a residential college within the University of Melbourne and is more Liberal and Anglo-Catholic in tradition. Ridley Melbourne was founded in 1910 in the Evangelical tradition. A founding member of the Melbourne College of Divinity (now the University of Divinity) in 1910, Trinity was also a partner in the ecumenical United Faculty of Theology until its disbanding at the end of 2014. From 1 January 2015 it has been a college of the University of Divinity.[4] Ridley is affiliated with the Australian College of Theology.

Issues

The Diocese of Melbourne has been affected by issues that have been debated in the worldwide Anglican Communion. The theological diversity of the diocese means that there is sometimes disagreement over more contentious matters. In addition, it is frequently perceived that there is a significant tension between the theologically broad Melbourne diocese and the far more conservative Sydney diocese.[5]

Ordination of women

The diocese has ordained women to the diaconate since 1986 and to the priesthood since 1992.[6] The September 2007 decision of the Appellate Tribunal opening the way for the consecration of women to the episcopate was welcomed by the present archbishop, Philip Freier.[7] General Synod approved a motion in October 2007 which welcomed the "clarity" of the decision.[8] Melbourne's first woman to become a bishop, Barbara Darling, was consecrated at St Paul's Cathedral on 31 May 2008.[9][10] The ordination of women to be bishops is opposed by some within the diocese, particularly conservative Evangelicals and Anglo-Catholics, necessitating the provision of alternative episcopal oversight.[11][12]

Homosexuality

The diocese officially subscribes to the traditional Anglican stance on homosexuality. Most conservatives and Evangelicals remain opposed to the blessing of same-sex unions and the ordination of non-celibate gay and lesbian clergy. Some liberal people, such as laywoman Muriel Porter, have been very vocal in their support for changes in the church's attitudes towards homosexuality.[5][13]

Abortion

In November 2007, an all-female committee from the Diocese of Melbourne made a submission to the Victorian Law Reform Commission outlining its position in relation to abortion. The submission stated that "the Anglican Church is for life" and acknowledged "diversity of ... views" within the diocese. However it also declared that the diocese "supports the provision of safe and affordable abortions with appropriate safeguards for women who, for whatever reasons, request them". The underlying ethical view concerning embryonic life is that "while the embryo/foetus is fully human from the time of conception, it accrues moral significance and value as it develops ... we believe the moral significance increases with the age and development of the foetus. The significance increases gradually over time, in parallel with its physical development. As a pregnancy advances, more powerful moral reasons are required to allow the destruction of the embryo/foetus."[14] The submission was announced in The Melbourne Anglican, in an article entitled "Decriminalise abortion, say Anglican women".[15] This is seen to be the first official approval of abortion by Australian Anglicans.[16]

List of Bishops and Archbishops of Melbourne

Bishops of Melbourne
From Until Incumbent Notes
1847 1876 Charles Perry Declined to return after a visit to the United Kingdom.
1876 1886 James Moorhouse Translated to Manchester.
1887 1901 Field Flowers Goe
1902 1905 Lowther Clarke Became Archbishop of Melbourne in 1905.
Archbishops of Melbourne
1905 1920 Lowther Clarke Bishop of Melbourne until 1905.
1921 1929 Harrington Lees Died in office.
1929 1941 Frederick Head Died in office.
1942 1956 Joseph Booth Previously coadjutor bishop in Melbourne (Bishop of Geelong) since 1934.
1958 1977 Sir Frank Woods Translated from Middleton; also Primate of Australia from 1971; knighted in 1972.
1977 1983 Robert Dann Previously coadjutor bishop in Melbourne since 1969.
1984 1989 David Penman Previously coadjutor bishop in Melbourne since 1982; died in office.
1990 1999 Keith Rayner Previously Bishop of Wangaratta, then Archbishop of Adelaide; also Primate of Australia from 1990.
2000 2005 Peter Watson Previously Bishop in Parramatta and then of the Southern Region (both in Sydney diocese).
2006 present Philip Freier Translated from the Northern Territory; also Primate of Australia from 2014.

List of assistant bishops

Bishops coadjutor
From Until Incumbent Notes
1934 1942 Joseph Booth, Bishop of Geelong Translated to the diocesan see of Melbourne.
1946 1960 John McKie, Bishop of Geelong [17]
1960 1963 Donald Redding Previously Bishop of Bunbury.
1962 1969 Geoffrey Sambell Translated to Perth
1969 1977 Robert Dann Translated to the diocesan see of Melbourne.
1970 1985 James Grant [18]
1971 1982 Ged Muston Translated to North West Australia.
1982 1984 David Penman Translated to the diocesan see of Melbourne.
Assistant bishops
1978 1985 David Shand, Bishop of the Southern Region Previously Bishop of St Arnaud; translated between regions.
1985 1988 David Shand, Bishop in Geelong
1985 1989 Peter Hollingworth, Bishop in the Inner City Translated to Brisbane
1985 1993 Robert Butterss
1985 2007 John Wilson, Bishop of the Southern Region [19]
1989 1995 John Bayton, Bishop of the Western Region [20]
1994 2001 John Stewart, Bishop of the Eastern Region
1994 2002 Andrew Curnow, Bishop of the Northern Region Translated to Bendigo.
1995 2001 Andrew St. John, Bishop of the Western Region Current Rector at the Church of the Transfiguration, New York [21]
2001 2009 Stephen Hale, Bishop of the Eastern Region [22]
2002 2007 Paul White, Bishop of the Western Region Translated between regions.
2007 present Paul White, Bishop of the Southern Region
2003 2007 Philip Huggins, Bishop of the Northern Region Region expanded to include Western area.
2007 present Philip Huggins, Bishop of the North West Region
2008 2009 Barbara Darling, Bishop for Diocesan Ministries Translated between roles.
2009 2015 Barbara Darling, Bishop of the Eastern Region
2015 present Lindsay Urwin, Bishop for Anglican Schools Bishop for Schools from 1 September 2015[23]
Will serve concurrently as Vicar of Christ Church, Brunswick, from 15 September 2015[24]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Supplement to the New South Wales government gazette, 31 December 1847 (Accessed 21 December 2015)
  2. ↑ "Anglican Diocese of Melbourne, website". Retrieved 2007-10-28.
  3. ↑ Zwartz, Barney (2006-02-18). "One of three, or none, to be archbishop". The Age. Zwartz, Barney (2006-08-22). "City's Anglican bishop named". The Age.
  4. ↑ University of Divinity Gazette, 29 August 2014.
  5. 1 2 Barney Zwartz (2006-03-18). "The New Puritans: The Rise of Fundamentalism in the Anglican Church: Review of book by Muriel Porter". The Age.
  6. ↑ Jane Still (2006-11-14). "A watershed for women priests, 20 years on".
  7. ↑ "Archbishop of Melbourne welcomes decision re women bishops". News release, The Anglican Church in Melbourne. 2007-09-28.
  8. ↑ Roland Ashby (2007-10-25). "Women bishops' 'highway' open".
  9. ↑ Jane Still (2008-04-25). "First woman bishop appointed in Victoria".
  10. ↑ Roland Ashby (2008-06-02). "Joyful end to a long journey for the Diocese".
  11. ↑ "Readers' letters: 'Traditionalists' need care". The Melbourne Anglican. June 2008.
  12. ↑ "Australian Anglican Bishops' Protocol: Women In The Episcopate" (PDF). 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 19, 2008.
  13. ↑ Barney Zwartz (2007-10-27). "On the brink of schism". The Age newspaper.
  14. ↑ Submission to the Victorian Law Reform Commission Inquiry on the Law of Abortion from the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne, 9 November 2007
  15. ↑ Jane Still, "Decriminalise abortion, say Anglican women", TMA, December 2007
  16. ↑ "Anglicans call for new stance on abortion" The Age
  17. ↑ The Independent – Obituary: The Right Rev John McKie
  18. ↑ Trinity College, Melbourne – Senior Fellows
  19. ↑ Diocese of Melbourne – Bishop John Wilson retires
  20. ↑ John Bayton – Biography
  21. ↑
  22. ↑ Stephen Hale to move
  23. ↑ "Crockford's Clerical Directory". Retrieved 2015-09-07.
  24. ↑ See Parish of Brunswick homepage.

Bibliography

External links

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