View source for Anglican Diocese of Sydney

{{Short description|Diocese in the Anglican Church of Australia}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2014}}
{{Use Australian English|date=June 2014}}
{{Infobox diocese
| jurisdiction      = Diocese<!-- Type of jurisdiction: i.e. Diocese or Archdiocese -->
| name              = Sydney<!-- Place name(s) of the diocese (or archdiocese) -->
| local             = <!-- Name in the native language --> 
| caption           = [[St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney|St Andrew's Cathedral]]
| coat              = Anglican_Diocese_of_Sydney_logo.png
| coat_size         = 150px
| coat_alt          = Coat of arms of the Diocese
| flag              = <!-- Flag file name (excluding File: prefix) -->
| flag_size         = 
| flag_alt          = 
<!---- Locations ---->
| country           = Australia
| territory         = {{Unbulleted list|[[Regions of Sydney|Sydney Metropolitan]]|[[Greater Blue Mountains Area|Blue Mountains]]|[[Southern Highlands (New South Wales)|Southern Highlands]]|[[South Coast (New South Wales)|South Coast]]|[[Illawarra]]|[[Lord Howe Island]]|[[Norfolk Island]]}}
| province          = [[Province of New South Wales|New South Wales]]<!-- Ecclesiastical province -->
| metropolitan      = [[Anglican Archbishop of Sydney|Archbishop of Sydney]]
| archdeaconries    = 
| deaneries         = 
| subdivisions      = 
| headquarters      = 
| coordinates       = {{nowrap|{{coord|33|52|26|S|151|12|22|E|source:kolossus-plwiki|display=title,inline}}}}<!-- Use {{coord}} -->
<!---- Statistics ---->
| area_km2          = <!-- Area in square kilometers, automatically converted -->
| area_sqmi         = <!-- Area in square miles, automatically converted -->
| area_footnotes    = 
| population        = 
| population_as_of  = 
| catholics         = <!-- Number of Catholics in the diocese -->
| catholics_percent = 
| parishes          = <!-- Number of parishes in the diocese -->
| churches          = 400+[https://sydneyanglicans.net/about]
| congregations     = <!-- Number of congregations in the diocese -->
| schools           = <!-- Number of church supported schools in the diocese -->
| members           = <!-- Number of members in the diocese -->
<!---- Information ---->
| denomination      = [[Anglican]]
| sui_iuris_church  = <!-- sui iuris Church, e.g., [[Latin Church]] or [[Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church]] -->
<!--| rite              = [[Low church]] [[Evangelical Anglicanism|evangelical]]<ref name=Jensen>{{cite web |author=Jensen, Michael |author-link=Michael Jensen (theologian)
 |url=https://www.abc.net.au/religion/are-sydney-anglicans-actually-anglicans/10101188 |title=Are Sydney Anglicans actually Anglicans? |work=ABC Religion and Ethics |publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] |date=1 September 2011 |access-date=18 October 2019 }}</ref>--><!-- e.g., [[Roman Rite]] -->
| rite              = ''{{Unbulleted list|[[Book of Common Prayer#Australia|Book of Common Prayer]]|{{nowrap|[[An Australian Prayer Book]]}}|[[Sunday Services]]}}''
| established       = 
| dissolved         = 
| cathedral         = [[St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney]]<!-- Cathedral that serves as the seat of the diocese -->
| cocathedral       = 
| patron            = <!-- Patron saint(s) of the diocese (or archdiocese) -->
| patron_title      = <!-- Use to override the default label "Patron saint" -->
| priests           = <!-- Number of secular priests in the diocese -->
| language          = 
| calendar          = 
| music             = 
<!---- Current leadership ---->
| parent_church     = [[Anglican Church of Australia]]
| pope              = <!-- DO NOT CHANGE. This will update the Popes Automatically as they change -->
| patriarch         = 
| major_archbishop  = 
| bishop            = [[Kanishka Raffel]]<!-- Name and title of the current ordinary of the diocese -->
| bishop_title      = Archbishop<!-- Type of ordinary: i.e. Bishop or Archbishop. Default is Bishop -->
| metro_archbishop  = <!-- Name of the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Ecclesiastical Province -->
| coadjutor         = 
| assistant_bishops = [[Assistant bishops in the Diocese of Sydney|6 assistant bishops]]<!-- List most senior first (usually reckoned by date of consecration); use | suffragan = for one -->
| auxiliary_bishops = <!-- List most senior first (usually reckoned by date of consecration) -->
| apostolic_admin   = 
| vicar_general     = 
| episcopal_vicar   =
| judicial_vicar    =
| dean              = [[Sandy Grant]]<ref name="Sandy Grant">{{cite web | url = https://sydneyanglicans.net/seniorclergy/sandy-grant | title = Senior Clergy: Sandy Grant | publisher = Anglican Media Sydney | date = 9 December 2021}}</ref> 
| archdeacons       = <!-- List most senior first (usually reckoned by date of first collation); use | archdeacon = for one-->
| emeritus_bishops  = {{unbulleted list|[[Harry Goodhew]] {{post-nominals|country=AUS|AO}}|[[Peter Jensen (bishop)|Peter Jensen]]|[[Glenn Davies]]}}<!-- List most senior first (usually reckoned by date of consecration) -->
<!---- Map ---->
| map               = 
| map_size          = 
| map_alt           = 
| map_caption       = 
<!---- Website ---->
| website           = {{URL|1=http://sydneyanglicans.net|2=Diocese of Sydney}}
| module            =
 {{Infobox government agency
   | child          = yes
   | name           = 
   | logo           = Anglican Diocese of Sydney logo 2.jpg
   | logo_size      = 
   | logo_caption  = Logo of the Diocese
   | logo_alt      = Logo of the Diocese
 }}
| footnotes         = 
}}
[[File:Australian Census 2011 demographic map - Inner Sydney by SA1 - BCP field 2715 Christianity Anglican Persons.svg|thumb|right|300px|The fraction of the population of the Sydney metropolitan area that stated their religious affiliation as Anglican in the 2011 census, divided geographically by statistical area level 1]]

The '''Diocese of Sydney''' is a diocese in [[Sydney]], within the [[Province of New South Wales]] of the [[Anglican Church of Australia]]. The majority of the diocese is [[Evangelical Anglicanism|evangelical]] and [[low church]] in tradition.<ref name=Jensen>{{cite web |author=Jensen, Michael |author-link=Michael Jensen (theologian)
 |url=https://www.abc.net.au/religion/are-sydney-anglicans-actually-anglicans/10101188 |title=Are Sydney Anglicans actually Anglicans? |work=ABC Religion and Ethics |publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] |date=1 September 2011 |access-date=18 October 2019 }}</ref>

The diocese goes as far as [[Lithgow, New South Wales|Lithgow]] in the west and the [[Hawkesbury River]] in the north, and it includes much of the New South Wales south coast. It encompasses Australia's largest city as well as the city of [[Wollongong]], and includes [[Lord Howe Island]] and [[Norfolk Island]].<ref name="Powell 2019">{{cite news |last1=Powell |first1=Russell |title=Long term ministry on the farthest edge of the Sydney diocese |url=https://sydneyanglicans.net/news/long-term-ministry-on-the-farthest-edge-of-the-sydney-diocese/49131 |access-date=28 May 2021 |work=Sydney Anglicans |publisher=Anglican Diocese of Sydney |date=26 July 2019}}</ref> It is, geographically, among the larger Anglican dioceses in the world, though the smallest diocese in the state of New South Wales and one of the smaller dioceses in Australia. By attendance, it is also by far the largest diocese in the Anglican Church of Australia; in 2011, its 58,300 weekly attenders<ref name="sydney-attendance-2011">{{cite web |last1=Gupta |first1=Raj |title=Anecdotes and Statistics |url=https://sydneyanglicans.net/blogs/evangelism/anecdotes-and-statistics |website=SydneyAnglicans.net |access-date=5 September 2023 |date=30 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301134807/https://sydneyanglicans.net/blogs/evangelism/anecdotes-and-statistics |archive-date=1 March 2017 }}</ref> accounted for 37.6 percent of the Anglican Church's weekly attendance of 155,000,<ref name="statistical-compendium-2017">{{cite web |last1=Reilly |first1=Colin |title=A little compendium of Australian Anglican diocesan statistics |url=https://bishopperryinstitute.org.au/uploads/Little%20compendium%20of%20Australian%20Anglican%20diocesan%20statistics%20FINAL.pdf |publisher=Bishop Perry Institute |access-date=5 September 2023 |date=2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190226093709/https://bishopperryinstitute.org.au/uploads/Little%20compendium%20of%20Australian%20Anglican%20diocesan%20statistics%20FINAL.pdf |archive-date=26 February 2019 }}</ref> and in 2015, the diocese's 688 active clergy accounted for 28.1 percent of the active clergy across the church.<ref name="statistical-compendium-2017" /> As of 2023, the diocese reported that 48,000 adults, or about one percent of the total population in its boundaries, regularly attend services at Diocese of Sydney churches.<ref name="2023-attendance">{{cite news |last1=LeBlanc |first1=Douglas |title=Sydney Anglicans Look Westward for Parishes' Futures |url=https://livingchurch.org/2023/08/30/sydney-anglicans-look-westward-for-parishes-futures/ |access-date=5 September 2023 |work=The Living Church |date=30 August 2023}}</ref><!---[[File:St Andrews Sydney windows A1 Birth of Jesus.jpg|thumb|250px|{{center| St Andrew's Cathedral windows depicting the birth of Jesus with the phrasing "And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory... full of grace and truth."}}]] NOTE: This picture comes out at Christmas time!--->

[[Kanishka Raffel]], formerly [[Dean (Christianity)|Dean]] of [[St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney]] since 4 February 2016, was elected as Archbishop of Sydney on 6 May 2021,<ref name="Powell election 2021">{{cite news |last1=Powell |first1=Russell |title="Like every Christian, I gladly trust in Jesus." |url=https://sydneyanglicans.net/news/like-every-christian-i-gladly-trust-in-jesus/51245 |access-date=6 May 2021 |work=Sydney Anglicans |publisher=Anglican Diocese of Sydney |date=6 May 2021}}</ref><ref name="McEachen Archbishop">{{cite news |last1=McEachen |first1=Ben |title=Why they picked Kanishka Raffel as new Sydney Anglican Archbishop |url=https://www.eternitynews.com.au/australia/why-they-picked-kanishka-raffel-as-new-sydney-anglican-archbishop/ |access-date=6 May 2021 |work=Eternity News |date=6 May 2021}}</ref> and was consecrated and installed in that position on 28 May 2021.

==History==
===Foundations===
====Richard Johnson====
The Anglican ministry has been present in Sydney since its foundation in 1788. An Evangelical cleric, [[Richard Johnson (chaplain)|Richard Johnson]], was the first chaplain to the new colony of [[New South Wales]] and was sponsored by the [[London Missionary Society]]. Other chaplains, notably [[Samuel Marsden]] and William Cowper, were also sent. Their positions were unusual as their stipends were paid partly by the colonial government and some (Marsden among them) received large grants of land from the governor of the colony. Some (again including Marsden) were also magistrates. The early chaplains (Johnson and Marsden) were under the authority of the governor, as per their commissions. In 1802, Governor King declared the Parish of St. Phillip's Sydney (later named [[St Philip's Church, Sydney]], after the Apostle) and St. John's Parramatta, (later [[St John's Cathedral, Parramatta]]) and 'that the churches now building at Sydney and Parramatta be named Saint Phillip and Saint John.'<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/historicalrecord00v3aust/page/630/mode/2up|title = Historical records of Australia|year = 1915}}</ref>

====Thomas Hobbes Scott====
In 1825 [[Thomas Hobbes Scott]] the former secretary to J. T. Bigge, the commissioner of the inquiry into the administration of the colony of New South Wales by Governor [[Lachlan Macquarie]], was appointed the first Archdeacon of Australia while still under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of [[Diocese of Calcutta (Church of North India)|Calcutta]]. The archdeaconry was created as a [[corporation sole]].

In his position as archdeacon, Scott was a member of the Legislative Council (ranking next behind the Lieutenant Governor) and had almost complete control of all church matters. The Colonial Office appointed him King's [[Visitor]] to schools and so he became responsible for public education throughout the colony. His educational policy was guided by the principle that the church and education were inseparably connected and the funds to sustain them were administered by the same trustees. Since this view was shared by the Colonial Office, the Governor [[Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst|Bathurst]], in March 1826, created the Corporation of the Trustees of Church and School Lands, granting one-seventh of the lands of New South Wales to the corporation for the purposes of the Church of England and education in the colony. Scott became the ex officio Vice-President (the President being the Governor.){{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}

It was mainly the combination of Archdeacon Scott's official positions as a member of the Legislative Council, as King's Visitor and also as Vice-President of the Corporation of Church and School Lands and of the substantial nature of the granting of the lands to the Corporation that led to Courts later holding that at this time the Church of England was the established church in the Colony of New South Wales. Scott retired in 1829 and was succeeded by William Grant Broughton. Scott was shipwrecked while returning to England and assisted the Anglican ministry in the new colony of Western Australia and then in establishing a Church of England chaplaincy in Batavia in the then Dutch East Indies.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}

====William Grant Broughton====
[[File:Bishop Broughton.jpg|thumb|150px|right|William Grant Broughton, first Bishop of Australia]]
[[William Grant Broughton]] succeeded Scott in 1828. During the time that Broughton was the archdeacon the corporation was abolished and the Church of England lost its favoured place and other Christian churches were also awarded glebe land in towns in the colony. Unlike in England, the Church of England was never 'established' in New South Wales.

The Diocese of Australia was formed by [[letters patent]] dated 18 January 1836<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article30073173?searchTerm=&searchLimits=|title=AUSTRALIA'S FIRST DIOCESE : Centenary of the Proclamation V |author=Basil W. Rait|newspaper=Mercury|date=18 January 1936 |access-date=1 October 2018}}</ref> and Broughton was enthroned as Bishop of Australia on 5 June 1836. He then lost the ''ex officio'' position on the Legislative Council (though regaining it briefly later before the creation of a partly elected council in 1842). He continued an education policy and established [[The King's School, Sydney]].

===Formation of the diocese===
The [[Anglican Diocese of Tasmania|Diocese of Tasmania]] separated from the Diocese of Australia in 1842. In 1842 (after the erections of New&nbsp;Zealand and Tasmania dioceses), its jurisdiction was described as "[[Australia]], [[Norfolk Island]]" (but not "[[Van&nbsp;Diemen's Land]]")<ref>{{cite book |title=The Colonial Church Atlas, Arranged in Dioceses: with Geographical and Statistical Tables. |date=May 1842 |publisher=[[Society for the Propagation of the Gospel|SPG]] |location=London |edition=second |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Am2zvwEACAAJ&pg=PP15 |page=15 |access-date=28 September 2022}}</ref> or "[[Colony of New South Wales|New South Wales]], [[Port Phillip District|Port Phillip]] ''(i.e. Victoria)'', Norfolk Island, [[British colonisation of South Australia|South Australia]]".<ref>{{cite book |title=The Colonial Church Atlas, Arranged in Dioceses: with Geographical and Statistical Tables. |date=May 1842 |publisher=[[Society for the Propagation of the Gospel|SPG]] |location=London |edition=second |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Am2zvwEACAAJ&pg=PP17 |page=17 |access-date=28 September 2022}}</ref> By [[letters patent]] of 25 June 1847,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page12499460 |title=Diocese of Sydney |newspaper=[[New South Wales Government Gazette]] |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=1 January 1848  |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> the Diocese of Australia was divided into the four separate dioceses of Sydney, Adelaide, Newcastle and Melbourne. Broughton remained as Bishop of Sydney; he became [[metropolitan bishop]] and the Diocese of Sydney recognised as the metro-political see over [[Diocese of Newcastle (Australia)|Newcastle]], [[Anglican Diocese of Adelaide|Adelaide]], [[Anglican Diocese of Melbourne|Melbourne]], Tasmania and [[Archbishop of New Zealand|New Zealand]]. The Diocese of Sydney has been led by an archbishop since 1897.

====Moore Theological College====
{{Main|Moore Theological College}}
The diocese initially relied upon [[priest]]s and [[bishop]]s who were trained in and had migrated from England and Ireland. Broughton had attempted to found a theological college but it closed in 1849. In 1856, [[Moore Theological College]] opened, the official theological college ([[seminary]]) for Sydney Anglicans. Since that time it has grown in size and stature. In 2006 it had in excess of 450 students, many of whom end up in ministry outside the ecclesiastical and geographical boundaries of the Sydney diocese.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.moore.edu.au/students/ |title=The Students |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060805135315/http://www.moore.edu.au/students/ |archive-date=2006-08-05}}</ref>

===Anglican Church League===
Since the beginning of the 20th century, Evangelicals within the diocese were concerned about growing [[Anglo-Catholicism]] and [[Modernism]] within the church and fought very hard to preserve Sydney's Evangelical nature—especially as [[Oxford Movement|Tractarian]] clergy had started arriving from England in the 19th century. Out of this came the Anglican Church League, a body of Evangelicals who worked in the politics of the diocese to further the Evangelical cause.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite web|url=http://www.acl.asn.au/|title=Anglican Church League, Sydney, Australia -|website=Anglican Church League, Sydney, Australia|access-date=1 October 2018}}</ref> Currently, all bishops and most senior officeholders in the diocese are members of the Anglican Church League.{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}

===Anglicans Together===
In response to the dominance of Evangelicalism and Calvinism in the diocese, a number of other Anglicans and parishes identified with different Anglican traditions of churchmanship, such as Anglo-Catholicism and Broad Church, have joined in the formation of an organisation called Anglicans Together. The organisation supports traditional forms of Anglican liturgy, such as the Book of Common Prayer, as well as encouraging a broader spectrum of theological perspective. Members of Anglicans Together also support celebrating the Eucharist every Sunday and its focus as the principal form of Christian worship. The use of vestments for clergy and an emphasis on the Catholic nature of Anglicanism are also supported.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}}

==Characteristics of Sydney Anglicanism==
{{More citations needed section|date=May 2010}}

===Evangelical distinctives===
Most Sydney Anglicans stand within the [[evangelical]] English [[Puritan]] traditions. Evangelicals within the diocese see themselves as standing in the heritage of the [[English Reformation]] and direct the diocese accordingly. As such the diocese officially holds to belief in the divine inspiration and authority of scripture in line with the official statement of Anglican belief, the "Articles of Religion" (more commonly known as the [[Thirty-Nine Articles]]).<ref name=Jensen/> There are, however, a number of beliefs that differentiate the Evangelicalism of the Diocese of Sydney from other Evangelical traditions:

#[[Typology (theology)|Typological interpretation]] of the [[Old Testament]]—a [[Biblical Theology|biblical theological]] approach which interprets Old Testament [[prophecy|prophecies]] regarding the [[Land of Israel]], the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Jerusalem Temple]] and the [[Davidic Kingdom]] as having a typological rather than literal fulfilment in the [[New Covenant]]; thus rejecting [[dispensationalism]] and [[Christian Zionism]] which are more characteristic of American Evangelicalism. This approach is described by [[Graeme Goldsworthy]], a Sydney theologian, in his book ''According to Plan''.<ref>Goldsworthy, Graeme. ''According to Plan''. Intervarsity Press, 1991</ref>
#Identification of ''church'' with the local congregation as opposed to a diocese or denomination.<ref>See {{cite book|last1=Knox|first1=David Broughton|editor1-last=Payne|editor1-first=Tony|editor2-last=Birkett|editor2-first=Kirsten|editor3-last=Beilharz|editor3-first=Karen|title=Selected Works: Volume II: Church and Ministry|date=2000|publisher=Matthias Media|location=Kingsford, NSW}}</ref> Sydney's ecclesiology, influenced by the former Principal and Vice-Principal of Moore College [[David Broughton Knox]] and [[Donald Robinson (bishop)|Donald Robinson]] (later respectively Principal of [[George Whitefield College]] and [[List of Anglican bishops of Sydney|Archbishop of Sydney]]) among others, believes that the church is God's people meeting around God's Word.<ref>See for example, {{cite book|last1=Robinson|first1=Donald|editor1-last=Bolt|editor1-first=Peter|editor2-last=Thompson|editor2-first=Mark|title=Donald Robinson Selected Works: Volume 1 - Assembling God's People.|date=2007|publisher=[[Australian Church Record]]|location=Camperdown, NSW|pages=249–50}}</ref> This leads to church meetings being centred around the public reading, explanation and response to God's Word. Further, Anglicans in Sydney generally identify themselves primarily with their local congregation rather than a denomination or institution, and place less emphasis on the celebration of Holy Communion (called the [[Eucharist]] by many Anglicans) than do Anglicans of many other dioceses. {{Citation needed|date=April 2007}}
#The importance of [[evangelism]] and a personal faith.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://citybibleforum.org/city/melbourne/episode/how-historically-accurate-are-gospels-part-1 | title=How historically accurate are the Gospels? - Part 1 | date=31 July 2022 }}</ref>

Sydney Anglicans have been described as [[Fundamentalist Christianity|fundamentalist]] and [[sect]]-like by their opponents.<ref name="ReligionRpt8March2006">{{cite web | year = 2006 | url = http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/8.30/relrpt/stories/s1585664.htm | title = Dr Muriel Porter and Bishop John McIntyre on the 'New Puritans' | work = The Religion Report: Radio National | publisher = [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] | access-date = 15 June 2006 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060529202740/http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/8.30/relrpt/stories/s1585664.htm | archive-date = 29 May 2006 | url-status = dead | df = dmy-all }}</ref> They respond by arguing that whereas fundamentalists interpret all parts of the Bible [[biblical literalism|literally]] Evangelicals in Sydney interpret the Bible in the context of the literary genre.{{Citation needed|date=December 2007}}

===Affiliation with Anglican doctrine===
For most of the last 450 years Anglicans worldwide have used the [[Book of Common Prayer]] framed by Archbishop of Canterbury [[Thomas Cranmer]] in 1549, revised significantly in 1552 and modified slightly in 1662. They have also subscribed to, or otherwise acknowledged as foundational, the [[Thirty-Nine Articles]] of Religion as listed in the Book of Common Prayer. While the Book of Common Prayer is no longer used in many Sydney churches, the diocese still fully affirms the doctrine and principles embodied within it as they interpret them. In keeping with the theologically reformed character of the 39 Articles, the diocese holds the view that all church doctrine and traditions are subject to the authority of Scripture.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}}

===Disassociation from Anglican tradition===
{{update section|date=September 2025}}
There are some areas of church practice that are being challenged within the diocese that have potential ramifications for the wider [[Anglican Communion]]. The system of episcopal order is under review with some eager to redefine some of the roles of the threefold order of deacons, priests and bishops. {{Citation needed|date=April 2007}}

The diocese is considering whether the laying on of hands at [[confirmation]] could be performed by the rector of the parish.<ref name="SMH7 Oct2005">{{cite news | last = Morris | first = Linda | date= 7 October 2005 | url = http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/anglicans-split-over-rites-review/2005/10/06/1128562943304.html | title = Anglicans split over rites review |work = [[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|access-date = 15 June 2006}}</ref> Although confirmation by a priest is common practice in Orthodoxy and is permitted in certain circumstances in Roman Catholicism, in the Anglican tradition confirmation can only be celebrated by a bishop. In 2005, possibly as a precursor to this change, the diocese formally removed the requirement of confirmation prior to partaking of [[Eucharist|communion]] for those who have been baptised as adults.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/sydneystories/confirmation_reform_next_step_australia |title=Confirmation reform: next step Australia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051027065602/http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/sydneystories/confirmation_reform_next_step_australia/ |archive-date=2005-10-27}}</ref> However, it is common practice throughout the diocese to allow all adults who profess genuine repentance and Christian faith to receive [[Eucharist|communion]] regardless of whether they have been baptised or confirmed.{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}}

[[Lay presidency]] (also known as "Lay Administration of Holy Communion") is being considered, whereby the [[Eucharist|Lord's Supper]] could be celebrated by deacons and authorised laity, including women.<ref name="SMH20Sep2004">{{cite news | last = Morris | first = Linda | date= 20 September 2004 | url = http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/09/19/1095532176675.html | title = Sacrament no longer solely a priestly duty |work = [[The Sydney Morning Herald]] | access-date = 15 June 2006}}</ref> According to current church law, only ordained priests and bishops are allowed to preside at the Lord's Supper. An ordinance to permit lay presidency was not proceeded with at the diocesan synod in 2005 due to concerns regarding its legality.<ref name="SydAng030904">{{cite news | last = Collins | first = Madeleine | date= 3 September 2004 | url = http://your.sydneyanglicans.net/sydneystories/1655a | title = Lay administration: no law for Synod | access-date = 6 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071109043501/http://your.sydneyanglicans.net/sydneystories/1655a/ |archive-date=2007-11-09}}</ref> However, this issue hasn't died and new motions are being drafted ready to be put before the next diocesan synod.<ref name="SDS230707">{{cite news | date= 23 July 2007 | url = http://www.sds.asn.au/Site/103704.asp?a=a&ph=sy | title = Report of the Standing Committee meeting held on 23 July 2007 | access-date = 6 September 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070902112452/http://www.sds.asn.au/Site/103704.asp?a=a&ph=sy| archive-date= 2 September 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref> In October 2008, the ''[[Australian Church Record]]'' and the ''Anglican Church League'' published ''The Lord's Supper in Human Hands. Who Should Administer?'', which describes the forty-year discussion of this issue in Sydney and summarises the debate. Although Sydney was not the first diocese, nor the only one, in which this issue has been raised, it has been discussed within the diocese for a number of years. This publication has been widely distributed so that the Anglican Communion might examine and consider Sydney's discussions.

====Liturgical practice====
Few churches sing canticles and responses, either from the 1662 ''[[Book of Common Prayer]]'' or ''An Australian Prayer Book''.

The term "meeting" is sometimes used interchangeably with "service". The most notable example of this is [[St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney|St Andrew's Cathedral]]. Many meetings at Evangelical churches in the diocese do not use a prayer book or a liturgical form of service.{{Citation needed|date=October 2008}} There is often an early morning (e.g. 8.00 am) service that follows Morning Prayer or Holy Communion from ''An Australian Prayer Book''. Even where no formal liturgy is used many core elements of Anglican liturgy may still be used for congregational participation, such as a corporate confession of sin, saying of creeds and corporate prayers. A screen and projector may be used in place of books. Lay or congregational participation in Sydney churches also occurs through Bible readings, leading intercessory prayer, leading the meetings, testimonies and interviews, singing and playing music. In many parishes fermented communion wine has been replaced with grape juice.{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}} Predominantly, the reason given for this is to be sensitive to people for whom alcohol could cause a problem.{{Citation needed|date=January 2022}}

====Vestments====
Since 1911 the diocese has prohibited the wearing of the [[chasuble]], a [[vestment]] now generally worn elsewhere in Australia for the celebration of the [[Eucharist]]. Traditionally in Sydney most clergy have worn the [[choir habit]] for all services but a few have also worn a [[cope]] and stole when celebrating the Eucharist and at certain other services. This prohibition against chasubles was originated by [[John Charles Wright|Archbishop Wright]], an English Evangelical, who did so on the basis that the vestment was deemed illegal, relying on decisions of the English ecclesiastical courts as finally upheld in the [[Privy Council]] in Read v Bishop of Lincoln [1892] AC 664 (see also [[Ritualist movement]]). The main objection to this vestment in the mind of Sydney Anglicans is that it is associated with the [[high church]] idea of a [[Anglican Eucharistic theology|"sacrificing" priesthood]]. That idea is contrary to Sydney's [[low church]] views of both Holy Communion and of the role and function of the ordained ministry. The archbishop's practice has since been codified by a synod ordinance, making Sydney the only diocese in the whole Anglican Communion that continues to ban the wearing of chasubles, reinforcing the perceived ongoing disapproval of Anglo-Catholics in the diocese. {{Citation needed|date=September 2008}}

The cope, therefore, is often worn at Anglo-Catholic churches where the celebrant at the Eucharist would conventionally wear the chasuble. In general those clergy who robe wear a cassock, surplice, scarf and, occasionally, also an academic hood. Since about 1990 there has sometimes been a practice of wearing a long surplice without a cassock, particularly through the summer. Most clergy in the diocese, however, dispense even with these robes, conducting church services in street clothes ranging from a suit and tie or [[clerical collar]], to smart casual attire.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}}

==Influential people==
{{More citations needed section|date=August 2023}}

===Theological influences===
{{quote box|quote= Now the centrality of Scripture wasn’t a new idea. John Stott had come in the 60s and encouraged us to be expositors, and modelled it for us; Broughton Knox had been teaching for years about the centrality of the Bible and exposition; John Chapman (‘Chappo’) and Dudley Foord taught us to do it, and set up the School of Preachers, and so on. So the idea of expository preaching of the Scriptures was already there and active. And I’m an heir of that.

Likewise, biblical theology had been developed by Donald Robinson and then Graeme Goldsworthy. So teaching the Scriptures as a whole, with a Christ-centredness of understanding, was part of our inheritance. And that was distinctively important.

Where we moved was: if that’s what the Bible says, and we are preaching and expounding that, let’s change what we’re doing to be in accordance with it. It was the practical outworking of that movement of expository Bible teaching and biblical theology.

|source=—Philip Jensen,<br /> 
[https://matthiasmedia.com/briefing/2014/11/starting-small-interview-with-phillip-jensen/ "Starting small: Interview with Phillip Jensen"], 17 November 2014|width=30%|align=right|style=padding:8px;}}
The Sydney diocese has been shaped by the activities and beliefs of many influential people throughout the 20th century:

*[[T. C. Hammond]] was an Anglican from Ireland who moved to Australia to become the Principal of [[Moore Theological College]] during the 1930s. Hammond's influence was critical as he injected an intellectual [[Calvinism]] into his students. The book ''In Understanding Be Men'', a summary of Christian [[doctrine]], was his lasting legacy and it is still in print today.
*[[David Broughton Knox]] was Principal of Moore Theological College from 1959 until 1985. Along with [[Donald Robinson (bishop)|Donald Robinson]] (Vice-Principal from 1959 until 1972), Knox pioneered the study of [[Biblical theology]], which in turn influenced the Sydney Anglican [[ecclesiology]]. Knox was strongly opposed to [[Anglo-Catholic]] practices in parish ministry.{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}} Knox promoted the dominant role of the male, both as head of the house and head of the church.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}
*[[John Chapman (evangelist)|John Chapman]] was Director of Sydney's Department of [[Evangelism]] (now Evangelism Ministries) from 1970 until 1995. He used his ability as a public speaker and evangelist to promote local church [[Mission (Christian)|missions]]. Evangelism thus became a priority within the Sydney Anglican churches at around the same time that church-going became less important to mainstream Australia. Chapman's influence ensured that Sydney Anglicans were able to mobilise in evangelism to prevent too many people from leaving the churches.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}
*[[Billy Graham (evangelist)|Billy Graham]], the American [[Evangelism|evangelist]], visited Sydney for crusades in 1959, 1968 and 1979. Many who were converted at the 1959 crusade ended up studying at Moore Theological College and entering the ministry, including Peter Jensen and Phillip Jensen (below). The 1959 crusade had a permanent influence on Sydney Anglicans, who placed a great priority on preaching the [[gospel]] and calling for a personal decision of [[faith]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}
*[[John Stott]], the English preacher and former [[Rector (ecclesiastical)|Rector]] of [[All Souls, Langham Place]], visited Australia many times during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He introduced Sydney Anglicans to [[expository preaching]] as the main method of preaching [[sermon]]s. Thus many Anglican churches in Sydney are regularly exposed to a preaching style that works through Bible passages, explains them and applies them to everyday life. Rather than preaching topical or theological sermons, Sydney Anglican preachers are more likely to preach systematically through verses, chapters and books of the Bible. However, prominent figures within the influential [[Anglican Church League]] have criticised Stott for supporting the doctrine of [[Annihilationism]].<ref name="JIP1 May2007">{{cite web | last = Packer | first = Jim | url = http://www.the-highway.com/annihilationism_Packer.html | title = Evangelical Annihilationism in Review |access-date = 2 May 2007}}</ref><ref name="MathMed1 May2007">{{cite web | last = Payne | first = Tony | author2 = Jensen, Phillip | url = http://www.matthiasmedia.com.au/briefing/webextra/oct04_whom.htm | title = To whom shall we go? | access-date = 2 May 2007 | archive-date = 27 August 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070827194456/http://www.matthiasmedia.com.au/briefing/webextra/oct04_whom.htm | url-status = dead }}</ref>
*[[Peter Jensen (bishop)|Peter Jensen]] entered Moore Theological College in the late 1960s and was appointed principal in 1985. In 2001 he was elected Archbishop of Sydney and he immediately called on all churches in the Sydney diocese to aim to reach 10% of their communities by 2012.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}
*[[Phillip Jensen]], Peter Jensen's younger brother, became chaplain to the [[University of New South Wales]] in 1975 and Rector of St Matthias' Centennial Park in 1977. He is deeply conservative in his Calvinist theology yet [[Extremism|radical]] and [[iconoclasm|iconoclastic]] in his ministry style. His work at the University of New South Wales included the creation of the [[Ministry Training Strategy]] (MTS) which trained young men and women in practical ministry skills before sending them to Moore Theological College. In 2003 Jensen was appointed as [[dean (religion)|Dean]] of [[St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney|St Andrew's Cathedral in Sydney]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}
*[[D. A. Carson]], Canadian-born Reformed Evangelical New Testament theologian, currently teaching at [[Trinity Evangelical Divinity School]] in Chicago, Illinois. Carson is a regular visitor to the Anglican Diocese of Sydney.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}}

===Notable former archbishops===
[[File:St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney, Australia.JPG|thumb|250px|[[St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney|St Andrew's Cathedral]], viewed from [[George Street, Sydney|George Street]]]]
[[File:CENEF memorial flag pole at St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney.jpg|thumb|250px|CENEF memorial flag pole at [[St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney|St Andrew's Cathedral]]]]{{More citations needed section|date=August 2023}}{{See also|Anglican Archbishop of Sydney}}
*[[Howard Mowll|Howard West Kilvinton Mowll]], archbishop from 1933 to 1958. Mowll's vision for church planting, overseas missions, and church welfare work is unrivalled{{citation needed|date=December 2021|reason=big claim, needs evidence}} in Australian history. As a staunch{{clarify|date=December 2021}} Evangelical, returning from the mission field of China, Mowll experienced early difficulties in a predominantly liberal church; before rising to national prominence during the war years with his assistance rendered to many in need during this time.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}} Within a month of World War II starting he had formed the [[Church of England National Emergency Fund]] (CENEF) which was supported with volunteers and fundraising by the Sydney Diocesan Churchwomen's Association. CENEF funded huts for recreation and chaplains in military camps around Sydney, as well as at [[St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney|St Andrew's Cathedral]] and other churches around Sydney. To continue to help ex-service people after the war and youth work, CENEF raised funds to buy 201 Castlereagh Street, Sydney, and Rathane in the [[Royal National Park]]. CENEF leveraged the Castlereagh St building to buy land at Gilbulla and {{convert|117|acre|ha|order=flip}} in {{NSWcity|Castle Hill}} for a retirement village. This retirement village was one of his great achievements (some say{{who|date=December 2021}} Dorothy, Mowll's wife, was the driving force behind the idea), and became the first retirement village in Australia. Today this site remains the flagship for the Diocese's [[Anglican Retirement Villages, Diocese of Sydney|Anglican Retirement Villages]]. In 1947, following WWII, Mowll was elected [[Primate (bishop)|Primate]] of Australia.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}
*[[Marcus Loane]], archbishop from 1966 to 1982. Loane was the first Australian-born Archbishop of Sydney<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/senior_clergy/archbishop_jensen/1324a|title=Archbishop Jensen|website=Sydneyanglicans.net|access-date=1 October 2018}}</ref> and was the Primate of Australia from 1978 to 1982.
*[[Donald Robinson (bishop)|Donald Robinson]], archbishop from 1982 to 1993. As a theologian and former Vice-Principal of Moore Theological College, he was highly regarded in Sydney for his evangelical teaching. He put much energy into church planting in new housing areas and in building up existing churches in populous low-income suburbs. He was strongly opposed to the ordination of women.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Movement for the Ordination of Women |url=https://womenpriests.org/ecumenism/rose-10-the-movement-for-the-ordination-of-women/ |access-date=2022-03-18 |website=Women Priests |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=The General Synod, Anglican Church of Australia |date=4 March 1987 |title=Report of the Appellate Tribunal re Ordination of Women to the Office of Deacon Canon 1985 |url=https://anglican.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Ordination-of-Women-to-the-Office-of-Deacon-Canon-1985-.pdf |website=Anglican.org.au}}</ref>
*[[Harry Goodhew]], archbishop from 1993 to 2001. Appointed as a moderate "conservative",<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.media.anglican.com.au/tma/2001/2001_05/sydneyab.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060821094052/http://www.media.anglican.com.au/tma/2001/2001_05/sydneyab.html |archive-date=2006-08-21 |title=Will new Sydney Abp confirm worst fears? |first=Chris |last=McGillion}}</ref> Goodhew attempted to heal rifts within the Diocese while maintaining a conservative Evangelical stance. He continued to promote the ''Archbishop's Vision for Growth'' founded by Robinson. Goodhew opened pathways between the Anglican Diocese of Sydney and other churches, promoted communication between Christians and [[Jews]] and supported the Roman Catholic-founded [[Cursillo]] movement which rapidly expanded among some more progressive Anglicans within the Diocese.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}} To ease the tensions involved in the debate over women's ordination, Goodhew placed a moratorium on discussing the issue for a time.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

==Relationships, politics and policy==

===Relationship with Australian Anglicanism===
For most of the last century the uncompromisingly Evangelical positions adopted by the leaders of the Sydney diocese have contrasted with that of most other Anglican dioceses in Australia which have tended to be more Anglo-Catholic in their style of worship. This contrast helped to delay the adoption of a constitution for the Australian church and, in 1942, led to legal action being taken, ostensibly by members of the parish of Canowindra, a small town in the Diocese of Bathurst, but strongly supported by members of the Sydney diocese, Broughton Knox and T. C. Hammond (who both gave evidence in the ensuing proceedings) against the then Bishop of Bathurst, [[Arnold Lomas Wylde]]. In these proceedings, which ended in a split decision in the [[High Court of Australia]], those bringing the action sought to prevent the parishes in the Bathurst diocese from using "The Red Book", a devotional manual authorised by the bishop.<ref name = "ABDOWylde">{{cite book | publisher = Australian Dictionary of Biography Online | url= https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/wylde-arnold-lomas-12082 | title= Wylde, Arnold Lomas (1880–1958) | chapter= Arnold Lomas Wylde (1880–1958) | access-date=19 October 2006}}</ref>

These differences in teaching and style of worship have become more marked in recent years as those leading the Diocese of Sydney allege that other dioceses have become theologically liberal. This has placed continued strain on relationships with those other dioceses.<ref name = "CT06Jan2001">{{cite news | author = Simons, Margaret | url= http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2001/123/15.0.html | title=Australia's Church Leader's Views on Sexuality Ignite Controversy | publisher=[[Christianity Today]]  | date=6 January 2001 | access-date=19 October 2006| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20061004084919/http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2001/123/15.0.html| archive-date=4 October 2006| url-status= live}}</ref><ref name = "SMH28May2004">{{cite news | author = Gibbs, Stephen | url= http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/05/27/1085641652792.html | title=Father, Son and duelling bishops | work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]  | date=28 May 2004 | access-date=19 October 2006}}</ref> As a consequence of this some parishes outside the Sydney diocese are reluctant to invite Sydney-trained clergy to ministry positions and, conversely, clergy trained outside Sydney are rarely invited to minister within the Sydney diocese. However, many of the large and growing Evangelical churches in dioceses such as Adelaide and Perth continue to recruit some clergy and lay staff trained at Moore College.<ref name = "SMH20Oct2005">{{cite news | author = Baird, Julia | url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/numbers-rule-as-team-sydney-muscles-up/2005/10/19/1129401314362.html | title=Numbers rule as Team Sydney muscles up  | work=Opinion  | date=20 October 2005 | access-date=15 June 2006}}</ref>

==== Affiliation with the FIEC ====
Some Sydney Anglicans were involved in planting independent evangelical churches in other parts of Australia, now member churches of the denomination called the [[Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (Australia)|Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) Australia]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sandeman |first=John |date=2022-08-24 |title=Not just one split. There's been at least 50 'splits' in the Anglican Church of Australia |url=https://theothercheek.com.au/not-just-one-split-theres-been-at-least-50-splits-in-the-anglican-church-of-australia/ |access-date=2023-08-02 |website=THE OTHER CHEEK |language=en-AU}}</ref>  Other Anglican churches objected to the Sydney diocese helping to plant churches outside its boundaries<ref>Brown, Malcolm (16 October 2000). "Seeds of division take root over 'planted' churches". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 7</ref><ref>ABC TV, Four Corners, [https://www.journeyman.tv/film_documents/791/transcript/ "An unholy row"], 19 June 2000, transcript begins at 38:35</ref> and the [[Complementarianism|complementarian]] views of FIEC churches have been questioned in the secular press.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-01-24 |title=Go and make babies: pastor's message to married women raises hackles |url=https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/5868469/go-and-make-babies-pastors-message-to-married-women-raises-hackles/ |access-date=2023-08-02 |website=Newcastle Herald |language=en-AU}}</ref> Prominent Sydney clergy such as Phillip Jensen<ref>{{Cite web |title=23 Oct 2020 - About Phillip {{!}} Phillip Jensen - Archived Website |url=http://phillipjensen.com/about/index.html |access-date=2023-08-02 |website=Trove |language=en |archive-date=22 October 2020 |archive-url=http://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20201022132956/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/130905/20201023-0002/phillipjensen.com/about/index.html |url-status=bot: unknown }}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> and the Moore College principal, John Woodhouse, have been on the boards of some of these churches. At the 2005 synod links between Sydney Anglicans and independent Evangelical churches were strengthened and in 2019, fourteen FIEC churches were affiliated with the Sydney diocese.<ref>[http://old.sydney.anglican.asn.au/synod/circulars/SynodSummary.Circular.101105.htm]{{dead link|date=October 2013}}</ref><ref>''Year Book of the Diocese of Sydney, 2016 to 2019''</ref> Moore College describes itself as the training partner for the FIEC.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A trusted gospel heart |url=https://moore.edu.au/resources/a-trusted-gospel-heart/ |access-date=2023-08-02 |website=Moore College |language=en-AU}}</ref>

===Relationship with the charismatic movement===
The Sydney diocese has been less influenced by the [[charismatic (movement)|charismatic movement]] than some other dioceses. While there are some parishes with strong charismatic leanings, most clergy support the doctrinal position that Christians are "filled" with the Holy Spirit at the time of conversion rather than as a separate Christian experience (as believed by some Pentecostals). As with other mainstream Christian church traditions, there is a fundamental belief in the central role of the Holy Spirit in conversion and sanctification of believers and the [[Fruit of the Holy Spirit]] is expected to be exhibited by all Christians.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}}

===Relationships within the diocese===
Within the Sydney diocese there are parishes which support a range of doctrinal positions or use formal [[liturgical]] styles of worship that differ from the Evangelicalism which is dominant within the diocese. Differences can become politicised prior to the election of an archbishop with a number of clergy coalescing into like-minded groups. The two most visible groups are ''The Anglican Church League'' who support the Diocese's majority Evangelical position and ''Anglicans Together'' who are more theologically broad in their understanding of the Bible and promote a diversity of liturgical practice, which they believe to be in line with the [[Lambeth Quadrilateral]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}}

===Anglican realignment===
The diocese has been a major force in the [[Anglican realignment]] movement, since the election of the first openly non-celibate gay bishop in the [[Anglican Communion]], [[Gene Robinson]], by the [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal Church]] of the United States in 2003. The Diocese of Sydney and Archbishop Peter Jensen in particular have been active in the [[Global Anglican Future Conference]] (GAFCON) and in the [[Global South (Anglican)|Global South]], seeking a renewed Anglican Communion, more faithful to their understanding of Christian orthodoxy. In this way, the Diocese of Sydney supported the formation of the [[Anglican Church in North America]] as an alternative to the Episcopal Church and, in October 2009, their synod approved a resolution calling for the admission of the new province into the Anglican Communion. The resolution stated that the "Synod welcomes the creation of the Province of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) under the leadership of Archbishop Bob Duncan and notes the GAFCON Primates Council recognition of the ACNA as genuinely Anglican and its recommendation that Anglican Provinces affirm full communion with the ACNA. Synod therefore expresses its desire to be in full communion with the ACNA". It was also decided to seek a General Synod motion expressing the Anglican Church of Australia purpose to be in full communion with the new province.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sydneyanglicans.net/news/stories/we_see_them_and_embrace_them|title=We see them and embrace them|website=Sydneyanglicans.net|access-date=1 October 2018}}</ref>

===Sydney diocese and politics===
Some external commentators (including the retired American bishop [[John Shelby Spong]], ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald|Sydney Morning Herald]]'' writer Chris McGillion and journalist Muriel Porter) have attempted to link Sydney Evangelicals to the conservative "right". While most Sydney clergy strongly support conservative positions on areas such as [[euthanasia]], homosexuality and abortion, they also strongly support social justice issues such as protection of the rights of the underprivileged and the rights of unauthorised immigrants seeking refugee status.<ref name="Aust17Oct2005">{{cite news | last = Rowbotham | first = Jill | date = 17 October 2005 | url = http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20594207-2702,00.html | title = Top Anglican backs PM's approach | work = [[The Australian]] | access-date = 17 June 2006 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070326032833/http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20594207-2702,00.html | archive-date = 26 March 2007 | url-status = dead | df = dmy-all }}</ref><ref name="ABCRadio">{{cite web | year = 2007 | url = http://www.abc.net.au/sundayprofile/stories/s2058735.htm | title = (Transcript of a radio interview with Peter Jensen, Anglican Archbishop of Sydney) | publisher = Australian Broadcasting Commission | access-date = 17 October 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071018044312/http://www.abc.net.au/sundayprofile/stories/s2058735.htm | archive-date = 18 October 2007 | url-status = dead | df = dmy-all }}</ref>

This "left" wing element has a lengthy history. Archdeacon R. B. Hammond (no relation to T. C. Hammond) who was the rector of [[St Barnabas]]' Broadway operated soup kitchens during the 1930s and was then a founders of a self-help community which became known as [[Hammondville, New South Wales|Hammondville]] where unemployed people built homes, established market gardens and so found work. More lately Sir Marcus Loane was noted for his criticisms of the then Liberal-Country Party coalition governments on issues relating to Vietnamese refugees after the end of the [[Vietnam War]], seeking the ready admission of refugees to Australia. Loane was also outspoken on issues involving uranium mining. There have been clergy willing to speak out against the more conservative policies of the Diocese of Sydney. In 2007, Keith Mascord (formerly of [[Mission Australia]]) sent an open letter to the Standing Committee, revealing disgruntlements of people within the church (both leaders and congregation members) and suggesting alternative ways forward.<ref>[http://www.stlukesenmore.org.au/Life/letter.html]{{dead link|date=July 2012}}</ref><ref>[http://www.sds.asn.au/Site/103801.asp?a=a&ph=cp Report of the Standing Committee meeting held on 15 October 2007] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720184318/http://www.sds.asn.au/Site/103801.asp?a=a&ph=cp |date=20 July 2008 }}, Sydney Diocesan Secretariat. Retrieved 20 October 2008.</ref>

The perception that Sydney Anglicans have adopted [[fundamentalism]] (see comments under Evangelical distinctives) has led to assumptions that the diocese gives implicit support for "right leaning" politicians in Australia.<ref name="ReligionRpt8March2006" /><ref name="TMAPuritans">{{cite web |last=Thompson |first=Mark |year=2005 |url=http://www.media.anglican.com.au/tma/2006/05/thompson.html |title=The New Puritans or the True Anglicans? |work=The Melbourne Anglican |publisher=Anglican Media Melbourne |access-date=15 June 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060822130340/http://www.media.anglican.com.au/tma/2006/05/thompson.html |archive-date=22 August 2006 |url-status=dead |df=dmy }}</ref>

In 2017, the Sydney Anglican Diocese donated $1,000,000 to the "No" campaign in response to the [[Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey]] about [[same sex marriage]].<ref name="BuzzfeedOct9">{{cite news |author=Sainty, Lane |date=9 October 2017 |title=The Sydney Anglican Diocese Gave $1 Million to the No Campaign |work=News |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/lanesainty/sydney-anglicans-give-one-million-to-no-campaign |access-date=9 October 2017}}</ref>

===Ecumenical relations===
While the Anglican communion's largest evangelical diocese has worked closely with its [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney|Roman Catholic counterpart]] on social issues for many years, the doctrinal divisions between Calvinists and Catholics are too great to be overcome by a common distaste for liberal Anglicanism. On 28 October 2009, the Diocese of Sydney's synod adopted a resolution urging all Anglicans to reject the Vatican's establishment of [[personal ordinariate]]s for disaffected Anglo-Catholic traditionalists.<ref>[http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk/news/?NewsID=5285]{{dead link|date=July 2012}}</ref>

===Sexual abuse, incidence and policy===
The diocese has been disturbed by revelations of [[sexual abuse]]. Victor Roland Cole, a member of the standing committee and a former president of the Anglican Church League, was named in the Paedophile Enquiry of the [[Royal Commission into the New South Wales Police Service]]. In March 2003, Cole was defrocked on the grounds of sexual misconduct involving a 14-year-old girl.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/03/16/1047749662230.html |title=Priest defrocked for sexual misconduct |date=16 March 2003 |author=Kelly Burke |work=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref> Other cases were examined by the commission but not dealt with in public hearings.{{Citation needed|date=February 2012}}  In 1996, the Diocese established the Church Discipline Ordinance which provides a mechanism for allegations and complaints to be dealt with and wrongdoers to be removed from their positions in the diocese.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sydneyanglicans.net/seniorclergy/archbishop_jensen/81a |title=Archbishop Jensen's pastoral statement on Sydney's child sexual abuse protocols |date=10 July 2002 |author=Archbishop Peter F Jensen}}</ref>

The diocese is committed to safe ministry and the wellbeing of all those who participate in the activities of the church and there is zero tolerance for misconduct and abuse. The Professional Standards Unit (PSU) is responsible for receiving and taking care of complaints of child abuse or sexual misconduct by clergy and church workers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.psu.anglican.asn.au/|title=Professional Standards Unit|website=Psu.anglican.asn.au|access-date=1 October 2018}}</ref>

===Women's ordination===
{{Main|Ordination of women in the Anglican Diocese of Sydney}}
One of the main differences between Sydney and the majority of other Anglican dioceses in Australia has been its unwillingness to ordain women to the priesthood (itself a term infrequently used in the diocese) or presbyterate. This issue is an indicator of Sydney's specificity in ecclesiology and theology to most other dioceses within the Anglican Communion.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}}

The diocese has ordained women as [[Deacon#Anglicanism|deacons]] since 1989.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/portal/historyofsydneydiocese.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=22 July 2020 |archive-date=6 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080906171507/http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/portal/historyofsydneydiocese.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Christianity|New South Wales}}
*[[List of Anglican churches in the Diocese of Sydney]]
*[[Sydney Missionary and Bible College]]
*[[Katoomba Christian Convention]]
*''[[The Briefing]]''
*[[Church Missionary Society]]
*[[Evangelical Anglicanism]]
*[[Low church]]
*[[Calvinism]]
*[[Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans]]
*[[GAFCON]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book
|last=Porter
|first=Muriel
|author-link=Muriel Porter
|year=2011
|title=Sydney Anglicans and the Threat to World Anglicanism: The Sydney Experiment
|location=Farnham, England
|publisher=Ashgate Publishing
|isbn=978-1-4094-2028-6
|oclc=742515481
}}

== External links ==
* {{Official website|http://sydneyanglicans.net}}

===Diocesan organisations===
*[http://www.cathedral.sydney.anglican.asn.au/ St Andrew's Cathedral] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428021756/http://www.cathedral.sydney.anglican.asn.au/ |date=28 April 2021 }}
*[http://www.sds.asn.au/ Sydney Diocesan Services]
*[http://www.youthworks.net/ Anglican Youthworks]
*[http://www.arv.org.au/ Anglican Retirement Villages Diocese of Sydney]
*[http://www.sydneyanglicanarchives.com.au/ Diocesan Registry & Diocesan Archives]
*[http://www.anglicanmedia.com.au/ Anglican Media Sydney]

===Churchmanship organisations===
*[http://www.acl.asn.au/ Anglican Church League] – Evangelical Anglican
*[http://www.anglicanstogether.org/ Anglicans Together] – Broad Church and Catholic Anglican

===Sydney Anglican culture===
*[http://www.anglicanaid.org.au/ Anglican Aid]
*[http://www.anglicare.org.au/ Anglicare]
*[http://www.campusbiblestudy.org/ Campus Bible Study – University of New South Wales]
*[http://kcc.org.au/ Katoomba Christian Convention]
*[http://www.matthiasmedia.com.au/ Matthias Media (The Briefing)]
*[http://www.moore.edu.au/ Moore Theological College]
*[http://www.mts.com.au/ Ministry Training Strategy]
*[http://www.sjks.org.au/ St James' King Street] – oldest church building in the City of Sydney
*[http://www.sueu.org.au/ Sydney University Evangelical Union]

{{Anglican hierarchy in Australia}}
{{Anglican dioceses in Australia}}
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anglican Diocese Of Sydney}}
[[Category:Anglican Diocese of Sydney| ]]
[[Category:Anglican dioceses in Australia|Sydney]]
[[Category:Anglican realignment dioceses]]
[[Category:Evangelical Anglicanism in Australia]]
[[Category:Organisations based in Sydney]]
[[Category:1836 establishments in Australia]]