| 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 |
| Information | |
| Rite | Anglican |
| Cathedral | St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne |
| Current leadership | |
| Bishop | The Most Revd Philip Freier |
| Suffragans | Paul White, Assistant Bishop for the Southern Region Philip Huggins, Assistant Bishop for the North West Region Barbara Darling, Assistant Bishop for the Eastern Region |
| Archdeacons | Peter Macpherson, Box Hill Eden-Elizabeth Nicholls, Dandenong Alan Hughes, Frankston Neil Hicks, Geelong Alison Taylor, Kew Andrew Oddy, La Trobe Stephen May, Maroondah Richard Condie, Melbourne Raymond McInnes, Port Philip, Bayside & Kingston North Bradly Billings, Stonnington & Glen Eira Diane Nicolios, The Yarra |
| Website | |
| melbourne.anglican.com.au | |
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 |
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] The Archbishops residence is Bishopscourt in East Melbourne.
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]
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 Melbourne, located in Parkville, was founded in 1910 in the Evangelical tradition. Trinity College is affiliated with the Melbourne College of Divinity and the University of Melbourne and Ridley with the Australian College of Theology.
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]
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, 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, was consecrated at St Paul's Cathedral on 31 May 2008.[7][8] Female bishops are opposed by some within the diocese, particularly conservative Evangelicals and Anglo-Catholics, necessitating the provision of alternative episcopal oversight.[9][10]
The diocese 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. Some more liberal people, such as laywoman Muriel Porter, have been very vocal in their support for changes in the church's attitudes towards homosexuality.[3][11]
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—
The submission was announced in The Melbourne Anglican, in an article entitled "Decriminalise abortion, say Anglican women".[13] This is seen to be the first official approval of abortion by Australian Anglicans.[14]
| 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. |
| 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 | [15] |
| 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 | [16] |
| 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 | [17] |
| 1989 | 1995 | John Bayton | [18] |
| 1994 | 2001 | John Stewart, Bishop of the Eastern Region | |
| 1994 | 2002 | Andrew Curnow, Bishop of the Northern Region | Translated to Bendigo. |
| 2001 | 2009 | Stephen Hale, Bishop of the Eastern Region | [19] |
| 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 | present | Barbara Darling, Bishop of the Eastern Region | |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||