New Dean of Sydney

Anglican Church Diocese of Sydney
Media Release August 8, 2021

New Dean swaps Wollongong for Sydney

The Archbishop of Sydney, Kanishka Raffel, has appointed Canon Sandy Grant, of St Michael’s Cathedral Wollongong, to be the new Dean of Sydney.

He will be the 13th Dean of Sydney, a post with a history stretching back to 1858 when William Macquarie Cowper was appointed as the first Dean.

Canon Grant has been the Senior Minister of St Michael’s in Wollongong since 2004 and will take up his ministry at Sydney’s St Andrew’s Cathedral in December.

“Sandy is known and loved by his congregation and in the wider Wollongong Region for his evangelistic heart, his thoughtful and carefully applied preaching, and his wise and attentive pastoral care,” said Archbishop Raffel, himself a former Dean. “Sandy is diligent, passionate and thoughtful.  He is a person of conviction but humble and servant-hearted.”

Canon Grant has been involved in a wide range of social issues in Wollongong and beyond. He has chaired the Diocesan Task Force on Domestic and Family Violence over the last 7 years and led the Diocese in addressing this critical issue, including through the adoption of wide-ranging policies and practices for responding to DV in the church. He is a passionate anti-gambling advocate and has also promoted indigenous reconciliation locally in Wollongong and through the Synod, including as a member of the Diocesan Social Issues Committee. He was also a central figure in the recent ‘Jesus is…’ mission in the Illawarra.

“Sandy understands and appreciates the role of St Andrew’s Cathedral as the central church of the Diocese as well as having a sense of the community and civic role of a Cathedral in the life of the City. He has a personal appreciation for the music ministry of the Cathedral. Perhaps most importantly, he is an able, experienced, and prayerful pastor-teacher,” the Archbishop said. “He is well suited to minister to the Cathedral’s ethnically and socially diverse congregation, while also engaging the unique evangelistic opportunity so distinctive of Cathedral ministry.”

“It is humbling to have the confidence of Archbishop Kanishka and the Cathedral Chapter to serve the people of St Andrew’s in the heart of Sydney,” Canon Grant said. “It has been a privilege to provide a voice to the city of Wollongong in the name of Jesus and his followers, and I look forward to trying to offer the same perspective to the great city of Sydney, where I grew up.” 

Canon Grant is married to Karyn and has three adult daughters.   

For all information – contact the
Archbishop’s Senior Media Adviser, Russell Powell