New Archbishop to take his seat
Anglican Church Diocese of Sydney
Media Release August 21, 2013
New Archbishop to take his seat
The 12th Archbishop of Sydney will take his seat in St Andrew’s Cathedral at an inauguration service on Friday, 23rd August, watched by church leaders from every Australian state and territory and from overseas.
Dr Glenn Davies was overwhelmingly elected by the Synod of church rectors and lay representatives on the 6th August.
The service will begin at 7 pm, before church and civic leaders including the Premier and the Governor of New South Wales as well as invited guests. The event will also be live streamed on the Internet here.
At the beginning of the service, in accordance with tradition, the Archbishop-elect will knock on the main door of the Cathedral and will be allowed entrance by the Administrator, Bishop Robert Forsyth. Dr Davies will then ask for prayer and make the solemn promises of the office of Archbishop.
The new Archbishop will also preach the sermon.
Glenn Naunton Davies follows Dr Peter Jensen, who retired at the age of 70 in July, after serving as Archbishop for 12 years. Dr Davies is 62.
He grew up on Sydney's Northern Beaches and was educated at Sydney Church of England Grammar School (Shore). After gaining a Bachelor of Science from Sydney University, he worked as a mathematics teacher. He was actively involved in Christian ministry since coming to faith during his high school years. He was involved in youth and then campus ministry, before making a decision to enter the ministry full time.
He studied at Moore Theological College and Westminster Theological Seminary and was ordained by the then Archbishop of Sydney, Sir Marcus Loane, in 1981. He gained a PhD from Sheffield University in 1988.
Dr Davies served in parishes in Sydney including Willoughby and Miranda, and was lecturer in both Old and New Testament and later also registrar of Moore College. He was appointed Bishop of North Sydney in 2001, a position he held for 12 years, which involved episcopal oversight of 64 parishes and emerging multicultural ministries. His passion for education led to his appointment as the founding chairman of the Anglican Education Commission, and he has also been chair of Anglican Youthworks, and a member of the council of Moore Theological College, the Australian College of Theology and Robert Menzies College at Macquarie University.
In the National Church, Dr Davies has been a member of General Synod since 1996, on its Standing Committee since 2007, also holding a position on the General Synod Doctrine Commission since 1993 and has been Canon Theologian in the Diocese of Ballarat since 2000. For 10 years until 2012, Dr Davies was also the Chair of EFAC (Evangelical Fellowship in the Anglican Communion) Australia.
Internationally, Dr Davies has played a role in both the Lausanne Consultation on Evangelisation (Board member since 2011 and speaker at international conferences) and the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) and the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans. Dr Davies was a member of the writing group that produced the Jerusalem Declaration at the landmark GAFCON 2008 in Jerusalem and the communiqué from the 2012 London Leadership Conference.
Dr Davies has been married to Dianne since 1979 and they have two adult children and three grandchildren.
For all information – contact the
Archbishop’s Senior Media Adviser, Russell Powell
