Anglican Diocese of Melbourne

History

The diocese was founded from the Diocese of Australia by letters patent of 25 June 1847 and includes the cities of Melbourne and Geelong and also some more rural areas. The cathedral church is St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne. The ordinary of the diocese is the Archbishop of Melbourne.

Areas of episcopal care

The Diocese of Melbourne is divided into areas of episcopal care in which assistant bishops exercise a pastoral role on behalf of the archbishop. These areas are divided into archdeaconries with further subdivision into area deaneries.

Following consultation with the Wurundjeri people of Melbourne, local Indigenous names have been used for the areas of episcopal care. The areas are:

• Marmingatha, covering the inner city, especially along major transport corridors;
• Oodthenong, covering the northern and western growth areas in Greater Melbourne and Geelong;
• Jumbunna, covering parishes south of the Yarra and to the east, including the South-East Growth Corridor; and
• Monomeeth, of which the bishop has responsibilities across the whole of the diocese with a particular focus on people, culture and wellbeing.

Marmingatha means “being with the divine or supreme being, Oodthenong means “gathering", Jumbunna means “speaking out” or “proclamation” and Monomeeth means "rightness, wellness and goodness". Together, they comprise the Woi Wurrung equivalent of the diocesan vision of Making the Word of God Fully Known through “gathering in the divine presence to speak out and proclaim”.

Theological colleges

There are two Anglican theological colleges within the diocese, both in the suburb of Parkville. Trinity College Theological School, founded in 1878, is a college of the ecumenical University of Divinity and part of Trinity College, a residential college within the University of Melbourne and is more Liberal and Anglo-Catholic in tradition. Ridley College was founded in 1910 as an independent college in the evangelical tradition and is affiliated with the Australian University of Theology.

Issues

Churchmanship within the Melbourne diocese is diverse and the three nineteenth-century 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 theological tensions, evident in the existence of separate theological colleges. The difficulty with which an archbishop was elected in 2006 provided a recent example.

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.

Ordination of women

The diocese was the first in Australia to ordain a woman, when Bishop Moorhouse ordained Marion Macfarlane as a deaconess in 1884. It has ordained women to the diaconate since 1986 and to the priesthood since 1992. The September 2007 decision of the Appellate Tribunal opening the way for the consecration of women to the episcopate was welcomed by then-Archbishop Philip Freier. General Synod approved a motion in October 2007 which welcomed the "clarity" of the decision. Melbourne's first woman to become a bishop, Barbara Darling, was consecrated at St Paul's Cathedral on 31 May 2008. The ordination of women to be bishops is opposed by some within the diocese, particularly conservative Evangelicals and some Anglo-Catholics, necessitating the provision of alternative episcopal oversight.

Homosexuality

The diocese officially subscribes to the traditional Anglican stance on homosexuality. Most conservatives and Evangelicals remain opposed to the blessing of same-sex unions and the ordination of non-celibate gay and lesbian clergy.

However, the diocese also contains a number of liberal parishes and prominent laypeople, such as Muriel Porter, who have been very vocal in their support for changes in the church's teaching on human sexuality.

Abortion

In November 2007, an all-female committee from 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."Submission to the Victorian Law Reform Commission Inquiry on the Law of Abortion from the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne, 9 November 2007 The submission was announced in The Melbourne Anglican, in an article entitled "Decriminalise abortion, say Anglican women". This is seen to be the first official approval of abortion by Australian Anglicans.

List of Bishops and Archbishops of Melbourne

List of assistant bishops

Robert Butterss

Archdeaconries

Archdeacon of Melbourne

• The first archdeacon was Hussey Burgh Macartney: he was also Dean of the Cathedral.{{Australian Dictionary of Biography

Archdeacon of Sale

The first archdeacon was Theodore Carlos Benoni Stretch.

Archdeacon of Castlemaine

The first archdeacon was Archibald Crawford.

Archdeacon of Geelong

Lloyd Crossley was Vicar of All Saint's, St Kilda from 18 September 1905 until 1911.

References

Bibliography

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

References

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2. (24 May 2025). "New Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne elected".
3. (2 December 2025). "‘I will proclaim the good news,’ says the new Archbishop of Melbourne, Ric Thorpe". www.anglicannews.org.
4. (30 May 2025). "Bishop Ric Thorpe Elected Archbishop of Melbourne".
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6. Zwartz, Barney. (2006-02-18). ["One of three, or none, to be archbishop"](http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/one-of-three-or-none-to-be-archbishop/2006/02/17/1140151816839.html}} {{cite news). The Age.
7. Barney Zwartz. (2006-03-18). "The New Puritans: The Rise of Fundamentalism in the Anglican Church: Review of book by Muriel Porter". The Age.
8. Sherlock, Peter. (2012). "Preachers, prophets & heretics : Anglican women's ministry". University of New South Wales Press.
9. Jane Still. (2006-11-14 }}{{dead link). "A watershed for women priests, 20 years on".
10. (2007-09-28). "Archbishop of Melbourne welcomes decision re women bishops". News release, The Anglican Church in Melbourne }}{{dead link.
11. Roland Ashby. (2007-10-25). "Women bishops' 'highway' open".
12. Jane Still. (2008-04-25). "First woman bishop appointed in Victoria".
13. Roland Ashby. (2008-06-02). "Joyful end to a long journey for the Diocese".
14. (June 2008). "Readers' letters: 'Traditionalists' need care". The Melbourne Anglican.
15. (2008). "Australian Anglican Bishops' Protocol: Women In The Episcopate".
16. Barney Zwartz. (2007-10-27). "On the brink of schism". The Age newspaper.
17. Jane Still, "Decriminalise abortion, say Anglican women", ''TMA'', December 2007.
18. [http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/anglicans-call-for-new-stance-on-abortion/2007/12/14/1197568264984.html "Anglicans call for new stance on abortion"], ''The Age''.
19. (14 April 1994). "Obituary: The Right Rev John McKie".
20. "About Trinity College - The History of Trinity College".
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22. "Diocese of Melbourne – Bishop John Wilson retires".
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35. [https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/stretch-theodore-carlos-benoni-4655 ADB]
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