Anglican Diocese of Melbourne

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne
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 includes the urban cities of Melbourne and Geelong and also some more rural areas. The cathedral church is St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne. The Archbishop of Melbourne, the Most Reverend Philip Freier, was previously the Bishop of the Northern Territory and was installed on 16 December 2006.

Contents

[edit] Regions

The Diocese of Melbourne is divided into three regions with their own bishop: the Southern Region, the Eastern Region and the North-West Region.[1]

[edit] 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.[2]

[edit] Theological colleges

The diocese contains two theological colleges which prepare men and women for ordination and other forms of ministry. Trinity College, founded in 1878, is located on the grounds of the University of Melbourne and is more Liberal and Anglo-Catholic in tradition. Ridley College, founded independently in 1910, is located in Parkville and is in the Evangelical tradition. Trinity College is affiliated with the Melbourne College of Divinity and Ridley with the Australian College of Theology. Both colleges are affiliated with the University of Melbourne.

[edit] 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.[3]

[edit] Ordination of women

The diocese has ordained women to the diaconate since 1986 and to the priesthood since 1992. [4] 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, Dr Philip Freier.[5] General Synod approved a motion in October 2007 which welcomed the "clarity" of the decision.[6] Melbourne's first female bishop, Canon Barbara Darling, is due to be consecrated at St Paul's Cathedral on May 31, 2008.[7]

[edit] Homosexuality

Melbourne is divided over the issue of homosexuality. Most conservatives and Evangelicals remain opposed to the blessing of same-sex unions and the ordination of gay and lesbian clergy.[citation needed] Certain more liberal individuals, such as laywomen Muriel Porter, have been very vocal in their support for changes in the church's attitudes towards homosexuality.[3][8]

[edit] Abortion

In November 2007, 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."[9]

The submission was announced in The Melbourne Anglican, in an article entitled "Decriminalise abortion, say Anglican women".[10] This submission was strongly opposed and a petition containing 600 protest signatures was delivered in March. [11] Shortly after this, an extensive critical response [12] to the submission was prepared by the Melbourne Anglican Study Group. [13]

[edit] List of Bishops and Archbishops of Melbourne

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Anglican Diocese of Melbourne, website. Retrieved on 2007-10-28.
  2. ^ Zwartz, Barney. "One of three, or none, to be archbishop", The Age, 2006-02-18.  Zwartz, Barney. "City's Anglican bishop named", The Age, 2006-08-22. 
  3. ^ a b Barney Zwartz (2006-03-18). The New Puritans: The Rise of Fundamentalism in the Anglican Church: Review of book by Muriel Porter. The Age.
  4. ^ Jane Still (2006-11-14). A watershed for women priests, 20 years on.
  5. ^ Archbishop of Melbourne welcomes decision re women bishops. News release, The Anglican Church in Melbourne (2007-09-28).
  6. ^ Roland Ashby (2007-10-25). Women bishops’ ‘highway’ open.
  7. ^ Jane Still (2006-4-25). First woman bishop appointed in Victoria.
  8. ^ Barney Zwartz (2007-10-27). On the brink of schism. The Age newspaper.
  9. ^ Submission to the Victorian Law Reform Commission Inquiry on the Law of Abortion from the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne, 9 November 2007
  10. ^ Jane Still, Decriminalise abortion, say Anglican women, TMA December 2007
  11. ^ Letters to the editor: Strong objections to abortion submission
  12. ^ http://www.masg.net.au/Documents/SubmissionResponse.pdf
  13. ^ http://www.masg.net.au

[edit] External links

[edit] Bibliography

Porter, Brian, ed. Melbourne Anglicans: The Diocese of Melbourne, 1847-1997. Melbourne: Mitre Books, 1997.