By Robyn Douglass Correspondent The Anglican Church of Australia's General Synod has narrowly failed to endorse a motion declaring that marriage is exclusively between men and women. At its meeting on the Gold Coast, a three-hour debate on May 11 was followed by the tightest of votes, and the response was tears, anguish and a suspension of business for the day. General … [Read more...] about Australian Bishops Block Traditional Marriage Resolution
Anglican Church of Australia
New Zealand Split May Be a Preview for Australia
By Robyn Douglass Correspondent If the Anglican Church of Australia’s General Synod approves the blessing of same-sex unions when it meets on May 8-13, GAFCON Australia is all set to go its own way. In July 2021 it established what its chairman calls “a lifeboat church” — the Diocese of the Southern Cross. The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand, and Polynesia … [Read more...] about New Zealand Split May Be a Preview for Australia
Australia’s GAFCON Chair Looks Ahead to May Synod
By Robyn Douglass Correspondent The Australian General Synod was due to meet in 2020, but COVID has postponed that — twice. It’s now scheduled for May 8-13 on the Gold Coast in Queensland — bang in the center of the region that suffered catastrophic floods at the end of February. Arks ahoy. While the vexed question of the church’s blessing of same-sex unions has not gone … [Read more...] about Australia’s GAFCON Chair Looks Ahead to May Synod
Former Australian Abp. Deposed For Abuse Handling
By Mark Michael The Most Rev. Roger Herft, the former Archbishop of Perth in Australia, has been deposed from Holy Orders for failing to properly handle child sexual abuse allegations during his tenure as Bishop of Newcastle, from 1993 to 2005. The Anglican Church of Australia’s Episcopal Standards Board, which rendered the ruling on December 13, noted that Herft is not … [Read more...] about Former Australian Abp. Deposed For Abuse Handling
Cornerstones: St. Peter’s Cathedral, Adelaide
By Robyn Douglass Correspondent Adelaide is nicknamed the “City of Churches,” and while the South Australian capital has some fine places of worship, St Peter’s Cathedral is the standout. When the city was founded by Europeans in 1836, the governor of the colony promised the Church of England a spot in the central square. But the city fathers disputed the gift, arguing he had … [Read more...] about Cornerstones: St. Peter’s Cathedral, Adelaide
Australian Church Confronts Domestic Violence
By Robyn Douglass Correspondent Australians love “mateship,” but the stereotype of tough manliness has a dark underbelly. Australia as a whole is grappling with the ugly truth of domestic violence. One in six women and one in 16 men has experienced violence by a current or previous partner. A recent report reveals that churchgoing Anglicans are just as or more likely to be … [Read more...] about Australian Church Confronts Domestic Violence
Australian Primate Attacks GAFCON Plan
By Mark Michael Archbishop Geoffrey Smith, the Anglican Church of Australia’s primate, has strongly criticized GAFCON Australia’s plan to form a non-geographic diocese for disaffected conservative congregations that “will be forced to leave the Anglican Church of Australia,” calling the plan divisive and unnecessary. In a July 26 letter to the church’s house of bishops, Smith … [Read more...] about Australian Primate Attacks GAFCON Plan
Influential Sydney Diocese Elects 1st Non-White Abp.
By Mark Michael The Very Rev. Kanishka Raffel, dean of Sydney’s St. Andrew’s Cathedral, was unanimously elected as the 12th Archbishop of Sydney by the diocese’s synod on May 6. Raffel, a London-born Sri Lankan and a Buddhist convert to Christianity, will be the first person of color to lead the vibrant conservative evangelical diocese, which has great power and influence in … [Read more...] about Influential Sydney Diocese Elects 1st Non-White Abp.