David John Leyburn Richardson | |
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| Born | 14 March 1946 |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Alma mater | University of Queensland University of Birmingham |
| Occupation | Priest |
| Title | Emeritus Dean of Melbourne |
| Spouse | Margaret (m. 1972) |
| Children | 2 |
| Other post(s) |
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| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1970 (deacon); 1971 (priest) |
| Personal details | |
| Denomination | Anglican |
David John Leyburn Richardson AO OBE (born 1946) is an Australian Anglican priest, former cathedral dean and director of the Anglican Centre in Rome.
David Richardson was born in Townsville, Queensland, but spent most of his childhood in England in North Devon and then the Midlands where his father worked as a priest. [1] He finished his schooling in Brisbane.
After studying English literature at the University of Queensland, Richardson studied theology at St Barnabas College in Adelaide. He was ordained deacon in 1970 and priest in 1971 in the diocese of Brisbane and served in parishes in Maryborough and Ipswich. [2]
Richardson returned to the United Kingdom in 1975 to undertake a postgraduate diploma in pastoral theology at the University of Birmingham. [2] He served a curacy at the Church of St Mary the Great, Cambridge, the civic and university church of Cambridge, while also working as chaplain at Girton College [3] at the university from 1976 to 1979. He then returned to St Barnabas’ College as sub-warden where he taught New Testament studies, liturgy and pastoral care and spirituality until 1982. He was then appointed rector of Christ Church in St Lucia, Brisbane. [2]
In 1989, Richardson was appointed as the dean of St Peter's Cathedral, Adelaide, where he served for 11 years before becoming the dean of St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne, in 1999. [4] [5] At St Paul's, he led a multimillion-dollar public appeal to restore the cathedral's spires and improve the interior of the building. [6] His contribution is commemorated by the carved stone sculpture of his head by Melbourne artist Smiley Williams on the exterior of the cathedral's central 'Moorhouse' spire. [7]
On his departure from St Paul's in 2008, the cathedral chapter awarded him the title of Dean Emeritus. This honour recognised "his ministry in two metropolitan cathedrals (Adelaide and Melbourne) for the past two decades, his marvellous achievement in restoring the building of St Paul’s Cathedral, and his ministry which built up the attendances and finances in Melbourne". [8]
Wider church
Richardson was for 10 years the clerical representative for Australia on the Anglican Consultative Council (1992–2002). [9] He was also a member of the Anglican Church of Australia's General Synod (1988-2007) and its standing committee (1989-2007). [10] For 25 years he was a member of the Australian National Liturgical Commission (1982-2004) and was its executive secretary for 15 years (1985-2004). [11] [10] As a member of the commission, he was one of the authors of A Prayer Book for Australia (1995). [12] Richardson also participated in Australian and international Anglican-Catholic ecumenical bodies including the Australian Consultation on Liturgy and the Malines Conversations Group. [13]
In December 2007, Richardson was appointed as the representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, to the Holy See and the director of the Anglican Centre in Rome. [14] He was installed in this position by Archbishop Williams in May 2008 at a ceremony in the Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva. [15]
During his tenure he played key roles in the 2008 Lambeth Conference, the first state visit of a pope to the UK in 2010 (Pope Benedict XVI) [16] and visits of the Archbishop of Canterbury to the Vatican in 2009 and 2012. [17] [18] [19] He hosted the first visit of a head of state to the centre (Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd) in 2009. [20] Richardson was also an official Anglican delegate to the inauguration of Pope Francis in March 2013. [21] He retired in April 2013 [22] and was succeeded by Archbishop David Moxon. [23]
Richardson has been a chaplain of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (Order of St John) (ChStJ) since 1996. [24] He was installed as an honorary provincial canon of Canterbury Cathedral in June 2010 and since 2013 remains an honorary provincial emeritus canon. [25] [10]
He was appointed an officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2013 Queen's Birthday Honours (UK) for services to strengthening relations between the UK, the Anglican Communion and the Holy See. [26] [27]
Richardson was appointed an officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the 2016 Australia Day Honours for distinguished service to religion and to the Anglican Church of Australia, through international representational, ecumenical development and interfaith co-operation roles. [10]
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