Anglican Church of Australia
Encyclopedia
The Anglican Church of Australia is a member church
of the Anglican Communion
. It was previously officially known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania (renamed in 1981). It is the second largest church in Australia
, behind the Roman Catholic Church in Australia.
was sent to New South Wales
in 1787, the Reverend Richard Johnson
of the Church of England
was licensed as chaplain to the Fleet and the settlement. In 1825 the Revd Thomas Scott was appointed Archdeacon
of Australia under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Calcutta. The Revd William Grant Broughton
, who succeeded Scott in 1829, was consecrated the first (and only) "Bishop of Australia" in 1836.
In early Colonial times, Church of England clergy worked closely with the governors
. Richard Johnson
, a chaplain, was charged by the governor, Arthur Phillip
, with improving "public morality" in the colony, but he was also heavily involved in health and education. The Reverend Samuel Marsden
(1765–1838) had magisterial
duties, and so was equated with the authorities by the convicts. He became known as the "flogging parson" for the severity of his punishments. Some of the Irish convicts had been transported to Australia for political crimes or social rebellion in Ireland, so the authorities were suspicious of Catholicism for the first three decades of settlement and Catholic convicts were compelled to attend Church of England services and their children and orphans were raised by the authorities as Anglicans.
The Church of England lost its legal privileges in the Colony of New South Wales
by the Church Act of 1836. Drafted by the reformist attorney-general John Plunkett
. The act established legal equality for Anglicans, Catholics and Presbyterians and was later extended to Methodists.
A mission to the Aborigines was established in the Wellington Valley in New South Wales by the Church Missionary Society in 1832, but it ended in failure and indigenous people in the 19th century demonstrated a reluctance to convert to the religion of the colonists who were seizing their lands.
In 1842 the Diocese of Tasmania was created. In 1847 the rest of the Diocese of Australia was divided into the four separate dioceses of Sydney, Adelaide
, Newcastle
and Melbourne
. Over the following 80 years the number of dioceses increased to 25.
Sectarianism
in Australia tended to reflect the political inheritance of Britain
and Ireland
. Until 1945, the vast majority of Catholics in Australia were of Irish
descent, causing the Anglo-Protestant majority to question their loyalty to the British Empire
. The Australian Constitution of 1901 provided for freedom of religion
. Australian society was predominantly Anglo-Celtic, with 40% of the population being Anglican. It remained the largest Christian denomination
until the 1986 census. After World War II
, the ethnic and cultural mix of Australia diversified and Anglicanism gave way to Catholicism as the largest denomination. The number of Anglicans attending regular worship began to decline in 1959 and figures for occasional services (baptisms, confirmations, weddings and funerals) started to decline after 1966. In recent times, the Anglican and other Christian churches of Australia have been active in ecumenical activity. The Australian Committee for the World Council of Churches was established in 1946 by the Anglican and mainline Protestant churches. The movement evolved and expanded with Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches later joining and by 1994 the Roman Catholic Church was also a member of the national ecumenical body, the National Council of Churches in Australia
.
Since 1 January 1962 the Australian church has been autocephalous
and headed by its own primate
. In 1981 the church changed its name from the Church of England in Australia to the Anglican Church of Australia.
Although the Book of Common Prayer
remains the official standard for Anglican believe and worship in Australia, An Australian Prayer Book (AAPB) was published in 1978 after a prolonged revision of liturgy. Another alternative service book, A Prayer Book for Australia (APBA), was published in 1995.
In 1985 the general synod of the Australian church passed a canon to allow ordination
of women as deacons. In 1992 the general synod approved legislation allowing dioceses to ordain women to the priesthood. Dioceses could choose to adopt the legislation. In 1992, 90 women were ordained in the Anglican Church of Australia and two others who had been ordained overseas were recognised. After decades of debate the issue of women's ordination, particularly as bishops, continues to divide traditionalists and reformers within the church and some dioceses still do not ordain women.
The church remains a major provider of education and welfare services in Australia. It provides chaplains to the Australian Defence Force
, hospitals, schools, industry and prisons. Senior clergy such as Peter Jensen, Archbishop of Sydney, have a high profile in discussions on a diverse range of social issues in contemporary national debates. In recent times the church has encouraged its leaders to talk on such issues as indigenous rights; international security, peace and justice; and poverty and equity. The current primate is the Archbishop
of Brisbane, the Most Reverend
Phillip Aspinall
.
Like other religious groups, it has come under criticism in light of cases of sexual abuse by the church.
Until the 1986 census, Australia's most populous Christian church was the Anglican Church of Australia. Since then Catholics have outnumbered Anglicans by an increasing margin. One rationale to explain this relates to changes in Australia's immigration patterns
. Prior to the Second World War, the majority of immigrants to Australia had come from the United Kingdom
- though most of Australia's Catholic immigrants had come from Ireland
. After World War II, Australia's immigration program diversified and more than 6.5 million migrants arrived in Australia in the 60 years after the war, including more than a million Catholics.
The Australian church consists of twenty-three diocese
s arranged into five provinces (except for Tasmania
) with the metropolitical
sees in the states' capital cities. Broughton Publishing
is the church's national publishing arm.
chaplain Richard Johnson
was credited by one convict as "the physician both of soul and body" during the famine of 1790 and was charged with general supervision of schools. Today the church remains a significant provider of social welfare with has organisations working in education, health, missionary work, social welfare and communications. Welfare organisations include Anglicare
and Samaritans. There are around 145 Anglican schools in Australia, providing for more than 105,000 children. Church schools range from low-fee, regional and special needs schools to high-fee leading independent schools like Geelong Grammar, whose alumni include Prince Charles and Rupert Murdoch
; and Sydney's The Kings School. The Australian Anglican Schools Network is the national schools network of the Australian General Synod.
The first Church of England edifice was built in the colony of New South Wales in 1793. Today, most towns in Australia have at least one Christian church. One of Australia's oldest Anglican churches is St James' Church
in Sydney, built between 1819 and 1824. The historic church was designed by Governor Macquarie
's architect, Francis Greenway
- a former convict - and built with convict labour. The church is set on a sandstone base and built of face brick with the walls articulated by brick piers. Sydney's Anglican cathedral, St Andrew's
, was consecrated in 1868 from foundations laid in the 1830s. Largely designed by Edmund Thomas Blacket in the Perpendicular Gothic style reminiscent of English cathedrals. Blacket also designed St Saviour's Cathedral
in Goulburn
, based on the on the Decorated Gothic style of a large English parish church and built between 1874-1884.
St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne
, from a foundation stone laid in 1880, is a Melbourne landmark. It was designed by the distinguished English architect William Butterfield
in Gothic Transitional.
Tasmania
is home to a number of significant colonial Anglican buildings including those located at Australia's best preserved convict era settlement, Port Arthur
. According to 19th century notions of prisoner reform, the Model Prison incorporates a grim chapel, into which prisoners in solitary confinement were shepherded to listen (in individual enclosures) to the preacher's Sunday sermon - their only permitted interaction with another human being. Adelaide, the capital of South Australia
has long been known as the City of Churches and its St Peter's Anglican Cathedral
is a noted city landmark.
The oldest building in the city of Canberra
is the picturesque St John the Baptist Church
in Reid, consecrated in 1845. This church long predates the city of Canberra and is not so much representative of urban design as it is of the Bush
chapels which dot the Australian landscape and stretch even into the far Outback
.
A number of notable Victorian
era chapels and edifices were also constructed at church schools across Australia. Along with community attitudes to religion, church architecture changed significantly during the 20th century.
Christian Church
The Christian Church is the assembly or association of followers of Jesus Christ. The Greek term ἐκκλησία that in its appearances in the New Testament is usually translated as "church" basically means "assembly"...
of the Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
. It was previously officially known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania (renamed in 1981). It is the second largest church in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, behind the Roman Catholic Church in Australia.
History
When the First FleetFirst Fleet
The First Fleet is the name given to the eleven ships which sailed from Great Britain on 13 May 1787 with about 1,487 people, including 778 convicts , to establish the first European colony in Australia, in the region which Captain Cook had named New South Wales. The fleet was led by Captain ...
was sent to New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
in 1787, the Reverend Richard Johnson
Richard Johnson (chaplain)
Richard Johnson was the first Christian cleric in Australia.Johnson was the son of John and Mary Johnson. He was born in Welton, Yorkshire and educated at Hull Grammar School under Joseph Milner. In 1780 he entered Magdalene College, Cambridge as a sizar and graduated in 1784...
of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
was licensed as chaplain to the Fleet and the settlement. In 1825 the Revd Thomas Scott was appointed Archdeacon
Archdeacon
An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in Anglicanism, Syrian Malabar Nasrani, Chaldean Catholic, and some other Christian denominations, above that of most clergy and below a bishop. In the High Middle Ages it was the most senior diocesan position below a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church...
of Australia under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Calcutta. The Revd William Grant Broughton
William Grant Broughton
William Grant Broughton was the first Bishop of Australia of the Church of England....
, who succeeded Scott in 1829, was consecrated the first (and only) "Bishop of Australia" in 1836.
In early Colonial times, Church of England clergy worked closely with the governors
Governors of New South Wales
The Governor of New South Wales is the state viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who is equally shared with 15 other sovereign nations in a form of personal union, as well as with the eleven other jurisdictions of Australia, and resides predominantly in her...
. Richard Johnson
Richard Johnson (chaplain)
Richard Johnson was the first Christian cleric in Australia.Johnson was the son of John and Mary Johnson. He was born in Welton, Yorkshire and educated at Hull Grammar School under Joseph Milner. In 1780 he entered Magdalene College, Cambridge as a sizar and graduated in 1784...
, a chaplain, was charged by the governor, Arthur Phillip
Arthur Phillip
Admiral Arthur Phillip RN was a British admiral and colonial administrator. Phillip was appointed Governor of New South Wales, the first European colony on the Australian continent, and was the founder of the settlement which is now the city of Sydney.-Early life and naval career:Arthur Phillip...
, with improving "public morality" in the colony, but he was also heavily involved in health and education. The Reverend Samuel Marsden
Samuel Marsden
Samuel Marsden was an English born Anglican cleric and a prominent member of the Church Missionary Society, believed to have introduced Christianity to New Zealand...
(1765–1838) had magisterial
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
duties, and so was equated with the authorities by the convicts. He became known as the "flogging parson" for the severity of his punishments. Some of the Irish convicts had been transported to Australia for political crimes or social rebellion in Ireland, so the authorities were suspicious of Catholicism for the first three decades of settlement and Catholic convicts were compelled to attend Church of England services and their children and orphans were raised by the authorities as Anglicans.
The Church of England lost its legal privileges in the Colony of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
by the Church Act of 1836. Drafted by the reformist attorney-general John Plunkett
John Plunkett
John Hubert Plunkett was Attorney-General of New South Wales and elected as a member of the Legislative Assembly.-Early life:...
. The act established legal equality for Anglicans, Catholics and Presbyterians and was later extended to Methodists.
A mission to the Aborigines was established in the Wellington Valley in New South Wales by the Church Missionary Society in 1832, but it ended in failure and indigenous people in the 19th century demonstrated a reluctance to convert to the religion of the colonists who were seizing their lands.
In 1842 the Diocese of Tasmania was created. In 1847 the rest of the Diocese of Australia was divided into the four separate dioceses of Sydney, Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, Newcastle
Newcastle, New South Wales
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
and Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. Over the following 80 years the number of dioceses increased to 25.
Sectarianism
Sectarianism
Sectarianism, according to one definition, is bigotry, discrimination or hatred arising from attaching importance to perceived differences between subdivisions within a group, such as between different denominations of a religion, class, regional or factions of a political movement.The ideological...
in Australia tended to reflect the political inheritance of Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. Until 1945, the vast majority of Catholics in Australia were of Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
descent, causing the Anglo-Protestant majority to question their loyalty to the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
. The Australian Constitution of 1901 provided for freedom of religion
Freedom of religion
Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any...
. Australian society was predominantly Anglo-Celtic, with 40% of the population being Anglican. It remained the largest Christian denomination
Christian denomination
A Christian denomination is an identifiable religious body under a common name, structure, and doctrine within Christianity. In the Orthodox tradition, Churches are divided often along ethnic and linguistic lines, into separate churches and traditions. Technically, divisions between one group and...
until the 1986 census. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the ethnic and cultural mix of Australia diversified and Anglicanism gave way to Catholicism as the largest denomination. The number of Anglicans attending regular worship began to decline in 1959 and figures for occasional services (baptisms, confirmations, weddings and funerals) started to decline after 1966. In recent times, the Anglican and other Christian churches of Australia have been active in ecumenical activity. The Australian Committee for the World Council of Churches was established in 1946 by the Anglican and mainline Protestant churches. The movement evolved and expanded with Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches later joining and by 1994 the Roman Catholic Church was also a member of the national ecumenical body, the National Council of Churches in Australia
National Council of Churches in Australia
The National Council of Churches in Australia is an ecumenical organisation bringing together a number of Australia's Christian Churches in dialogue and practical cooperation.It works in collaboration with state ecumenical councils around Australia...
.
Since 1 January 1962 the Australian church has been autocephalous
Autocephaly
Autocephaly , in hierarchical Christian churches and especially Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, is the status of a hierarchical church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop...
and headed by its own primate
Primate (religion)
Primate is a title or rank bestowed on some bishops in certain Christian churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority or ceremonial precedence ....
. In 1981 the church changed its name from the Church of England in Australia to the Anglican Church of Australia.
Although the Book of Common Prayer
Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...
remains the official standard for Anglican believe and worship in Australia, An Australian Prayer Book (AAPB) was published in 1978 after a prolonged revision of liturgy. Another alternative service book, A Prayer Book for Australia (APBA), was published in 1995.
In 1985 the general synod of the Australian church passed a canon to allow ordination
Ordination
In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
of women as deacons. In 1992 the general synod approved legislation allowing dioceses to ordain women to the priesthood. Dioceses could choose to adopt the legislation. In 1992, 90 women were ordained in the Anglican Church of Australia and two others who had been ordained overseas were recognised. After decades of debate the issue of women's ordination, particularly as bishops, continues to divide traditionalists and reformers within the church and some dioceses still do not ordain women.
The church remains a major provider of education and welfare services in Australia. It provides chaplains to the Australian Defence Force
Australian Defence Force
The Australian Defence Force is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy , Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force and a number of 'tri-service' units...
, hospitals, schools, industry and prisons. Senior clergy such as Peter Jensen, Archbishop of Sydney, have a high profile in discussions on a diverse range of social issues in contemporary national debates. In recent times the church has encouraged its leaders to talk on such issues as indigenous rights; international security, peace and justice; and poverty and equity. The current primate is the Archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
of Brisbane, the Most Reverend
Most Reverend
The Most Reverend is a style applied to certain religious figures.*In the Roman Catholic Church , all bishops are styled "The Most Reverend", as well as monsignors of the rank of protonotary apostolic de numero.*In the Roman Catholic Church , archbishops are styled "The...
Phillip Aspinall
Phillip Aspinall
Phillip Aspinall has been the Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia since February 2002 and Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia since July 2005. He succeeded Peter Hollingworth as Archbishop of Brisbane....
.
Like other religious groups, it has come under criticism in light of cases of sexual abuse by the church.
Demographics and structure
Until the 1986 census, Australia's most populous Christian church was the Anglican Church of Australia. Since then Catholics have outnumbered Anglicans by an increasing margin. One rationale to explain this relates to changes in Australia's immigration patterns
Immigration to Australia
Immigration to Australia is estimated to have begun around 51,000 years ago when the ancestors of Australian Aborigines arrived on the continent via the islands of the Malay Archipelago and New Guinea. Europeans first landed in the 17th and 18th Centuries, but colonisation only started in 1788. The...
. Prior to the Second World War, the majority of immigrants to Australia had come from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
- though most of Australia's Catholic immigrants had come from Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. After World War II, Australia's immigration program diversified and more than 6.5 million migrants arrived in Australia in the 60 years after the war, including more than a million Catholics.
The Australian church consists of twenty-three diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
s arranged into five provinces (except for Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
) with the metropolitical
Metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...
sees in the states' capital cities. Broughton Publishing
Broughton Publishing
Broughton Publishing was established in 2001 by the Anglican Church of Australia as its national publishing arm. It is named after the Right Reverend William Grant Broughton, who was consecrated as the first Bishop of Australia in 1836....
is the church's national publishing arm.
Welfare and education
Anglicans have played a prominent role in welfare and education since Colonial times, when First FleetFirst Fleet
The First Fleet is the name given to the eleven ships which sailed from Great Britain on 13 May 1787 with about 1,487 people, including 778 convicts , to establish the first European colony in Australia, in the region which Captain Cook had named New South Wales. The fleet was led by Captain ...
chaplain Richard Johnson
Richard Johnson (chaplain)
Richard Johnson was the first Christian cleric in Australia.Johnson was the son of John and Mary Johnson. He was born in Welton, Yorkshire and educated at Hull Grammar School under Joseph Milner. In 1780 he entered Magdalene College, Cambridge as a sizar and graduated in 1784...
was credited by one convict as "the physician both of soul and body" during the famine of 1790 and was charged with general supervision of schools. Today the church remains a significant provider of social welfare with has organisations working in education, health, missionary work, social welfare and communications. Welfare organisations include Anglicare
Anglicare
Anglicare Australia is the national umbrella community services body of agencies associated with each diocese of the Anglican Church of Australia....
and Samaritans. There are around 145 Anglican schools in Australia, providing for more than 105,000 children. Church schools range from low-fee, regional and special needs schools to high-fee leading independent schools like Geelong Grammar, whose alumni include Prince Charles and Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
; and Sydney's The Kings School. The Australian Anglican Schools Network is the national schools network of the Australian General Synod.
Architecture
St. James Church, Sydney
St James' Church is an Anglican church in King Street in Sydney, Australia. Consecrated on 11 February 1824, the church was designed by the transported convict architect Francis Greenway during the governorship of Lachlan Macquarie, and is part of the historical precinct of Macquarie Street...
in Sydney, built between 1819 and 1824. The historic church was designed by Governor Macquarie
Lachlan Macquarie
Major-General Lachlan Macquarie CB , was a British military officer and colonial administrator. He served as the last autocratic Governor of New South Wales, Australia from 1810 to 1821 and had a leading role in the social, economic and architectural development of the colony...
's architect, Francis Greenway
Francis Greenway
-References:* *...
- a former convict - and built with convict labour. The church is set on a sandstone base and built of face brick with the walls articulated by brick piers. Sydney's Anglican cathedral, St Andrew's
St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney
St Andrew's Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney in the Anglican Church of Australia. The cathedral is the seat of the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney and Metropolitan of New South Wales, the Most Reverend Peter Jensen...
, was consecrated in 1868 from foundations laid in the 1830s. Largely designed by Edmund Thomas Blacket in the Perpendicular Gothic style reminiscent of English cathedrals. Blacket also designed St Saviour's Cathedral
Goulburn Cathedral (St. Saviour)
St Saviour's Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Anglican diocese of Canberra and Goulburn, Australia. The Cathedral is named after the Saviour Himself. The current Dean is the Very Reverend Phillip Saunders.-History:...
in Goulburn
Goulburn, New South Wales
Goulburn is a provincial city in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia in Goulburn Mulwaree Council Local Government Area. It is located south-west of Sydney on the Hume Highway and above sea-level. On Census night 2006, Goulburn had a population of 20,127 people...
, based on the on the Decorated Gothic style of a large English parish church and built between 1874-1884.
St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne
St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne
St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne, is the metropolitical and cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne, Victoria in Australia. It is the seat of the Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne and Metropolitan of the Province of Victoria...
, from a foundation stone laid in 1880, is a Melbourne landmark. It was designed by the distinguished English architect William Butterfield
William Butterfield
William Butterfield was a Gothic Revival architect and associated with the Oxford Movement . He is noted for his use of polychromy-Biography:...
in Gothic Transitional.
Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
is home to a number of significant colonial Anglican buildings including those located at Australia's best preserved convict era settlement, Port Arthur
Port Arthur, Tasmania
Port Arthur is a small town and former convict settlement on the Tasman Peninsula, in Tasmania, Australia. Port Arthur is one of Australia's most significant heritage areas and the open air museum is officially Tasmania's top tourist attraction. It is located approximately 60 km south east of...
. According to 19th century notions of prisoner reform, the Model Prison incorporates a grim chapel, into which prisoners in solitary confinement were shepherded to listen (in individual enclosures) to the preacher's Sunday sermon - their only permitted interaction with another human being. Adelaide, the capital of South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
has long been known as the City of Churches and its St Peter's Anglican Cathedral
St Peter's Cathedral, Adelaide
St Peter's Cathedral is an Anglican Cathedral in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. It is the seat of the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Adelaide...
is a noted city landmark.
The oldest building in the city of Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
is the picturesque St John the Baptist Church
St John the Baptist Church, Reid
St John the Baptist Church is the oldest church in Canberra, Australia, and also the oldest building within Canberra's city precinct. It is sited at the corner of ANZAC Parade and Constitution Avenue in the suburb of Reid.-Construction:...
in Reid, consecrated in 1845. This church long predates the city of Canberra and is not so much representative of urban design as it is of the Bush
The Bush
"The bush" is a term used for rural, undeveloped land or country areas in certain countries.-Australia:The term is iconic in Australia. In reference to the landscape, "bush" describes a wooded area, intermediate between a shrubland and a forest, generally of dry and nitrogen-poor soil, mostly...
chapels which dot the Australian landscape and stretch even into the far Outback
Outback
The Outback is the vast, remote, arid area of Australia, term colloquially can refer to any lands outside the main urban areas. The term "the outback" is generally used to refer to locations that are comparatively more remote than those areas named "the bush".-Overview:The outback is home to a...
.
A number of notable Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
era chapels and edifices were also constructed at church schools across Australia. Along with community attitudes to religion, church architecture changed significantly during the 20th century.
Provinces and dioceses
The provinces and dioceses are listed with each diocese's bishop or archbishop:- Extraprovincial diocese
- TasmaniaAnglican Diocese of TasmaniaThe Anglican Diocese of Tasmania includes the entire Tasmanian archipelago and is an extraprovincial diocese of the Anglican Church of Australia. The cathedral church of the diocese is St David's Cathedral in Hobart. The current Bishop of Tasmania, ordained as bishop and also installed on 25 July...
(The Right Revd John Harrower)
- Tasmania
- Province of New South WalesProvince of New South WalesThe Province of New South Wales is an ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Church of Australia, the boundaries of which are nearly all of state of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. The province consists of seven dioceses: Armidale, Bathurst, Canberra and Goulburn, Grafton,...
(Metropolitan: The Most Revd Peter Jensen)- SydneyAnglican Diocese of SydneyThe Diocese of Sydney is a diocese within the Anglican Church of Australia. The majority of the diocese is Evangelical and low church in tradition and committed to Reformed and Calvinist theology....
(Archbishop: The Most Revd Peter Jensen) - NewcastleAnglican Diocese of Newcastle, AustraliaThe Anglican Diocese of Newcastle, Australia is located in the state of New South Wales and extends along the coast of New South Wales from Woy Woy to Laurieton and inland to Merriwa and Murrurundi. The cathedral church of the diocese is Christ Church Cathedral in Newcastle. The current Bishop of...
(The Right Revd Brian FarranBishop of Newcastle, AustraliaThe present bishop of Newcastle in the Anglican Church of Australia is the Right Reverend Brian Farran, who was enthroned on 24 June 2005 at Christ Church Cathedral, Newcastle, New South Wales.-Former bishops:...
) - Canberra and Goulburn (The Right Revd Stuart Robinson)
- GraftonAnglican Diocese of GraftonThe Anglican Diocese of Grafton is one of the twenty-three dioceses of the Anglican Church of Australia. It is located in north-east New South Wales and covers the area from the Queensland border to Port Macquarie in the south and west to the Great Dividing Range.Created in 1914 as a result of a...
(The Right Revd Keith Slater) - BathurstAnglican Diocese of BathurstThe Anglican Diocese of Bathurst is located in the Province of New South Wales. It includes the cities of Orange, Bathurst and Dubbo. Major towns in the diocese include Bourke, Cobar, Cowra, Forbes, Mudgee, Parkes and Wellington. The cathedral church of the diocese is All Saints' Cathedral, Bathurst...
(The Right Revd Richard HurfordBishop of BathurstThe Bishop of Bathurst is the the ordinary of the Anglican Diocese of Bathurst in the Anglican Church of Australia.-List of bishops:-References:...
) - Riverina (The Right Revd Douglas StevensDouglas StevensDouglas Robert Stevens is the Anglican Bishop of Riverina, one of the 23 dioceses of the Anglican Church of Australia.-Education and early career:...
) - ArmidaleAnglican Diocese of ArmidaleThe Anglican Diocese of Armidale is a diocese of the Anglican Church of Australia, located in the state of New South Wales. The diocese was created in 1914 as a result of a division of the previous Diocese of Grafton and Armidale which was created by letters patent in 1863...
(The Right Revd Peter BrainPeter BrainPeter Brain is the current Bishop of Armidale in the Anglican Church of Australia.Brain was born on 2 April 1947 and educated at North Sydney Technical High School....
)
- Sydney
- Province of VictoriaProvince of VictoriaThe Province of Victoria is an ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Church of Australia, the boundaries of which are those of the State of Victoria and some New South Wales parishes in the Diocese of Wangaratta. The province consists of five dioceses: Ballarat, Bendigo, Gippsland, Melbourne and...
(Metropolitan: The Most Revd Philip FreierPhilip Freier-External links:*...
)- MelbourneAnglican Diocese of MelbourneThe 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...
(Archbishop: The Most Revd Philip FreierPhilip Freier-External links:*...
) - BallaratAnglican Diocese of BallaratThe Anglican Diocese of Ballarat extends across the south-west region of Victoria, Australia. It is one of the five Anglican Church of Australia dioceses in the Ecclesiastical province of Victoria. The bishop's seat is located at the Cathedral of Christ the King, Ballarat.-List of...
(The Right Revd Garry WeatherillGarry WeatherillGarry John Weatherill is the current Anglican Bishop of Ballarat. He was previously the Bishop of Willochra .Weatherill was educated at the University of Adelaide and Flinders University. Ordained in 1987, he began his ordained ministry as a curate at St Jude’s Church, Brighton after which he...
) - BendigoAnglican Diocese of BendigoThe Anglican Diocese of Bendigo comprises much of the central and most of the north-central and north-west regions of Victoria, Australia, roughly the area of Victoria north of the Great Dividing Range and west of the Goulburn River. The cathedral church of the diocese is St Paul's Cathedral in...
(The Right Revd Andrew CurnowAndrew CurnowAndrew William Curnow is the ninth bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Bendigo in regional Victoria, Australia. He was enthroned as bishop on 28 June 2003 after a period as an assistant bishop in the Diocese of Melbourne, serving the northern region of the diocese. He has degrees in commerce,...
) - GippslandAnglican Diocese of GippslandThe Anglican Diocese of Gippsland is located in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia, extending from Phillip Island to Mallacoota. It has existed as a diocese since 1902, when the Right Reverend Arthur Wellesley Pain was installed at the first Bishop of Gippsland.The cathedral church of the...
(The Right Revd John McIntyre) - WangarattaAnglican Diocese of WangarattaThe Anglican Diocese of Wangaratta is mostly located in the north-east region of Victoria, Australia. The diocese includes the cities of Wangaratta, Albury-Wodonga and Shepparton.-Bishops of Wangaratta:*Thomas Henry Armstrong, 1902–1927...
(The Right Revd John ParkesJohn ParkesJohn Parkes is the tenth and current Bishop of Wangaratta in the Anglican Church of Australia. He began training for ordination in 1986 and was previously an assistant bishop in the Diocese of Brisbane...
)
- Melbourne
- Province of QueenslandProvince of QueenslandThe Province of Queensland is an ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Church of Australia, the area of which covers that of the Northern Territory and the state of Queensland. The province consists of four dioceses: Brisbane, North Queensland, The Northern Territory and Rockhampton. The...
(Metropolitan: The Most Revd Phillip AspinallPhillip AspinallPhillip Aspinall has been the Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia since February 2002 and Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia since July 2005. He succeeded Peter Hollingworth as Archbishop of Brisbane....
)- BrisbaneAnglican Diocese of BrisbaneThe Anglican Diocese of Brisbane is based in Brisbane, Australia. The diocesan bishop's seat is St John's Cathedral, Brisbane. The current Archbishop of Brisbane is the Most Reverend Phillip Aspinall, who is also the Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia.The diocese stretches from the inner...
(Archbishop: The Most Revd Phillip AspinallPhillip AspinallPhillip Aspinall has been the Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia since February 2002 and Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia since July 2005. He succeeded Peter Hollingworth as Archbishop of Brisbane....
) - North QueenslandAnglican Diocese of North QueenslandThe Anglican Diocese of North Queensland, in Australia, extends from Sarina in central Queensland to the Torres Strait Islands in the north and Mount Isa in the west. The cathedral church of the diocese is the Cathedral of St James, Townsville. The current Bishop of North Queensland is the Right...
(The Right Revd William RayBishop of North QueenslandWilliam "Bill" Ray is the Anglican Bishop of North Queensland in Australia. He was consecrated a bishop in March 2007 and installed as the 10th Bishop of North Queensland on 24 March 2007....
) - RockhamptonAnglican Diocese of RockhamptonThe Anglican Diocese of Rockhampton is a diocese of in the Province of Queensland and one of the 23 dioceses of the Anglican Church of Australia. The diocese covers an area of approximately 57 million hectares, roughly twice the size of New Zealand and four times the size of England and Wales. ...
(The Right Revd Godfrey FryarGodfrey FryarGodfrey Charles Fryar is the eleventh and current Bishop of Rockhampton in the Anglican Church of Australia.Fryar was educated at All Souls' Charters Towers and ordained in 1973. He was a Bush Brother until 1976 after which he held incumbencies in Rockhampton, Mackay and Stafford, Queensland. ...
) - Northern TerritoryAnglican Diocese of The Northern TerritoryThe Anglican Diocese of the Northern Territory covers Australia's Northern Territory and is part of the Province of Queensland in the Anglican Church of Australia. The cathedral church of the diocese is Christ Church Cathedral, Darwin. the Bishop of the Northern Territory is the Right Reverend...
(The Right Revd Gregory Thompson)
- Brisbane
- Province of Western AustraliaProvince of Western AustraliaThe Province of Western Australia is an ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Church of Australia, the boundaries of are those of the state of Western Australia. The province consists of three dioceses: Bunbury, North West Australia and Perth...
(Metropolitan: The Most Reverend Roger HerftRoger HerftRoger Adrian Herft is a bishop in the Anglican Church of Australia. He has been the Archbishop of Perth since 2005.Born in Wattegama, Sri Lanka, Herft studied at the Royal College in Colombo, later training for the ministry at United Theological College of Lanka in Pilimatalawe, receiving a B.Th....
)- Perth (Archbishop: The Most Reverend Roger HerftRoger HerftRoger Adrian Herft is a bishop in the Anglican Church of Australia. He has been the Archbishop of Perth since 2005.Born in Wattegama, Sri Lanka, Herft studied at the Royal College in Colombo, later training for the ministry at United Theological College of Lanka in Pilimatalawe, receiving a B.Th....
) - BunburyAnglican Diocese of BunburyThe Anglican Diocese of Bunbury is located in the south of Western Australia. The Bishop is the Right Reverend Allan Ewing, who was installed as bishop in July 2010.- External links :* *...
(The Right Revd Allan Ewing) - North West AustraliaAnglican Diocese of North West AustraliaThe Anglican Diocese of North West Australia is a diocese of the Anglican Church of Australia, it covers an area of Western Australia north of Perth and is geographically, the largest Anglican diocese in Australia and one of the largest geographically, in the world. The cathedral church of the...
(The Right Revd David MulreadyDavid MulreadyDavid Gray Mulready , is the bishop of the Anglican Diocese of North West Australia, the largest diocese in geographical size in the Anglican Communion covering approximately a quarter of the Australian continent.-Early life:...
)
- Perth (Archbishop: The Most Reverend Roger Herft
- Province of South AustraliaProvince of South AustraliaThe Province of South Australia is an ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Church of Australia, the boundaries of which are those of the state of South Australia. The province consists of three dioceses: Adelaide, The Murray and Willochra. The metropolitan of the province is the Most Revd...
(Metropolitan: The Most Revd Jeffrey Driver)- AdelaideAnglican Diocese of AdelaideThe Anglican Diocese of Adelaide is based in Adelaide, South Australia. The diocese is a part of the Province of South Australia of the Anglican Church of Australia and a part of the Anglican Communion. The current Archbishop of Adelaide is the Most Reverend Jeffrey Driver.-List of Bishops and...
(Archbishop: The Most Revd Jeffrey Driver) - WillochraAnglican Diocese of WillochraThe Anglican Diocese of Willochra covers a large area of northern and western South Australia. The diocese was created from the Diocese of Adelaide in 1915. The cathedral church of the diocese is the Cathedral of Ss Peter and Paul in Port Pirie...
(vacant) - The MurrayAnglican Diocese of The MurrayThe Anglican Diocese of The Murray is located in the south-eastern region of South Australia, taking in the Fleurieu Peninsula, Riverland, Adelaide Hills, Murraylands and the southern suburbs of Adelaide. The cathedral church of the diocese is the Cathedral of St John the Baptist, Murray Bridge. ...
(vacant)
- Adelaide
Map of dioceses
| KEY to province colours | New South Wales | Victoria | Queensland | Western Australia | South Australia | Extraprovincial |
See also
- Christianity in AustraliaChristianity in AustraliaChristianity is the largest religion listed by Australians in the national census. In the 2006 Census, 63.9% of Australians were listed as Christian. Australia has no official state religion and the Australian Constitution protects freedom of religion. The presence of Christianity in Australia...
- Sexual abuse scandal in the Anglican Diocese of SydneySexual abuse scandal in the Anglican diocese of SydneyThe sexual abuse scandal in the Anglican diocese of Sydney has affected the Anglican community of Sydney.-Brief historical overview:The Anglican Diocese of Sydney holds firmly to the Thirty-Nine Articles, of which Article XXVI says: "Nevertheless it appertaineth to the discipline of the Church,...
Further reading
- Tricia Blombery, The Anglicans in Australia
- Ian Breward, A History of the Australian Churches
- Ian Bunting (ed), Celebrating the Anglican Way
- John Davis, Australian Anglicans and their Constitution
- A.P. Elkin, The Diocese of Newcastle: A History
- John Harris, One Blood
- David Hilliard, Godliness & Good Order: A History of the Anglican Church in South Australia
- Stephen Judd and Kenneth Cable, Sydney Anglicans
- Bruce Kaye, A Church Without Walls
- Brian Porter (ed), Melbourne Anglicans
- Muriel Porter, Women in the Church: The Great Ordination Debate in Australia
External links
- Anglican Church of Australia - official website
- Anglican Communion: Anglican Church of Australia