Tom Frame (born 1962) is an Australian Anglican bishop, historian, academic, author and social commentator.
Frame was born in Stanmore, New South Wales and raised in Wollongong by his adoptive parents.
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After commencing his education at West Wollongong Infants School (1968-70), West Wollongong Primary School (1971-74, awarded Dux in 1974) and Wollongong High Schools (1975-78), Frame joined the Royal Australian Navyal College, HMAS Creswell as a 16-year-old junior entry cadet midshipman in January 1979. Later that year, he was assigned to the destroyer escort HMAS Derwent as a junior officer under training, where he earned his helmsman's certificate. He graduated from the RAN College in December 1983. Frame completed his studies in Chinese history and economics at the University of New South Wales, graduating with Bachelor of Arts (honours), and the inaugural W.J. Liu Memorial Prize for Excellence in Chinese Studies in 1984.
Frame was the inaugural Summer Vacation Scholar at the Australian War Memorial in 1985, then completed his training aboard HMA Ships HMAS Jervis Bay and HMAS Supply. He was then assigned to the shore establishment HMAS Cerberus as an instructor. While there, he took on additional duty as director of the base's museum, while also working as a consultant for the Australian National Maritime Museum and studying for a Diploma in Education from the University of Melbourne.
Frame was appointed Research Officer to the Chief of Naval Staff at Navy Office, Canberra in April 1988. Two years later he undertook study in military history at the Australian Defence Force Academy leading to the award of a PhD in October 1991, taking as his thesis topic the Melbourne-Voyager collision. He served as a staff officer at the Headquarters, Australian Defence Force, then resigned from the RAN in November 1992.
Frame then completed a Master of Theology degree with a thesis entitled The Delphic Sword: Reconciling Christianity and Military Service in Australia and trained for the priesthood in the Anglican Church of Australia in the Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn.
He was ordained in December 1993 and appointed curate of St John’s Church in Wagga Wagga and a Visiting Scholar at Charles Sturt University. In November 1995, he was inducted as Rector of St James’ Church, Binda.
From 1996 to 1997, he took leave in England and completed a Master of Arts (Honours) in applied theology at the University of Kent at Canterbury as the Lucas Tooth Scholar and ministered in the United Benefice of Hever, Four Elms and Markbeech in the Diocese of Rochester.
He became Rector of St Philip’s Church, Bungendore, in January 1999 and was appointed lecturer (half-time) in public theology at St Mark’s National Theological Centre in June 2000. He was also a Visiting Fellows in the School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Australian National University from 1999 to 2003.
On 28 June 2001, he was consecrated bishop and became the first full-time Anglican Bishop to the Australian Defence Force. He was the youngest Anglican bishop in Australia when consecrated and the fifth youngest in the nation's history. He was Patron of the Armed Forces Federation of Australia (2002-06), a member of the Council of the Australian War Memorial (2004-07) and judged the Inaugural Prime Minister's Prize for Australian History in 2007.
Frame resigned as Anglican Bishop to the Australian Defence Force in November 2006 to become the Director of St Mark's National Theological Centre at Barton in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, the administrative headquarters of the School of Theology of Charles Sturt University with the title of Professor. He was Head of the School of Theology from November 2006 to June 2008.
Frame is a regular commentator on radio, notably the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), on military history, church history and social matters.
Frame was the only Anglican bishop to support the Government of Australia in its support for the March 2003 invasion of Iraq. On 18 June 2004 he recanted that support in a newspaper article titled "Forgive me, I was wrong on Iraq" in which he said, in part, "... in the absence of any clear mitigation, there is no alternative to concluding that the March 2003 invasion was neither just nor necessary ... I continue to seek God's forgiveness for my complicity in creating a world in which this sort of action was ever considered to be necessary."[1]
Frame married Helen (Bardsley), a pianist, secondary school science teacher and former Army Reserve Officer, in December 1983 at Huskisson, NSW. They have two daughters (Megan (1987) and Kelly (1989)) and two granddaughters (Lily and Imogen) who all live in Canberra. He relocated to the rural village of Tarago (north-east of Canberra) in 2010 where he resides on a small rural property while serving as an honorary assistant priest in the Parish of Bungendore.
Frame is the author (or editor) of more than 25 books, including:
He co-authored: