Broughton Knox stands as one of the two most significant influences of all in the history of the Diocese of Sydney, writes MARCIA CAMERON.

A new student walks up the path and into the Moore College office. Behind the counter is a slightly built man with a shock of white hair, whose face is tilted slightly to one side. He waits without speaking.

"I have an appointment with Dr Knox," the young man explains.

"Go back out the gate, down the street and in at the gate with the crest above it. It's a blue gate. Ring the door bell when you arrive."

"Thank you."

The student walks a few paces down the footpath to a doorway in a wall, goes through this and alongside another wall that leads to the front door. He rings as instructed. He waits. When the door opens, the same man with the shock of white hair and face at a tilt stands before him.

"Do come in. Dr Knox is not ready to see you. Please wait here in the sitting room."

After some time the student sees the same white-haired man ushering someone out of another room, advising him to see the archbishop. Informing the student that Dr Knox is now ready to see him, he leads the student into an office, closes the door, and with a huge smile shakes his hand.

It is the principal of Moore College himself, David Broughton Knox.

He sits behind his untidy desk and the interview begins. [Michael Hill's recollection of his College interview with Broughton Knox in 1966.]

David Broughton Knox was born on Boxing Day 1916, and died, aged 78, on 15 January 1994. A shy man, quietly spoken and slightly built, he has been one of the most influential churchmen in the history of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney. It is largely his influence that has shaped the character of this diocese in the first decade of the 21st century. Ironically, the only mention of his death in the official record of the diocese, the Year Book of the Diocese of Sydney, is in a list of some nineteen deceased clergy, clergy wives and deaconesses: the equivalent of a mass grave for Sydney diocese's fallen warriors.

The Solomon of Sydney Diocese

Broughton Knox has been dead for a decade but his influence is still potent: many influential men were shaped by his teaching, both in Sydney and beyond, mostly because he presided over the training of over a thousand students. Most of these were men and the majority became parish clergymen. The clergy reinforced Knox's influence by coaching their curates and assistants and by teaching lay men and women. The Knox influence is also very great with those whose influence extends beyond the parish. In 2005 the Archbishop of Sydney and all his assistant bishops were Knox-trained men. Peter Watson of the Diocese of Melbourne, and at least six bishops in other dioceses also trained under Knox. The fact that there are not more is due to the isolation of Moore College and the Diocese of Sydney from most other Anglican dioceses in Australia, a trend that continued and accelerated during the time Broughton Knox was Principal of Moore College.

Broughton Knox was an enigmatic man. A model husband, he was an imperfect father. A humble, kind and godly man, he was from time to time a problem to others. A man of foibles, he experienced the disappointment of being misunderstood. He became the Solomon of the Sydney Diocese but a critic also described him as "Puck without a conscience'. Like all Christians, he was a flawed human being. The great wonder is that despite his weaknesses, God used his gifts to shape Evangelical Anglican Christianity in Australia and beyond at the beginning of the third millennium. With Frederic Barker, he stands as one of the two most significant influences of all in the history of the Diocese of Sydney. He created a pattern for theological training that has not been matched anywhere else.  As a result, his contribution under God to the international standing of the Diocese, its adherence to biblical Christianity, its success in creating healthy churches and its vigour in mission, although not his work alone, was immense. Some see all of this as a cause for alarm and regret; others thank God for him.

Extract from An Enigmatic Life: David Broughton Knox by Marcia Cameron (Acorn Press, 2006).