Since the 1990s, the Anglican Communion has struggled with controversy regarding homosexuality in the church. In 1998, the 13th Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops passed a resolution "rejecting homosexual practice as incompatible with Scripture". However, this is not legally binding. "Like all Lambeth Conference resolutions, it is not legally binding on all provinces of the Communion, including the Church of England, though it commends an essential and persuasive view of the attitude of the Communion." "Anglican national churches in Brazil, South Africa, South India, New Zealand and Canada have taken steps toward approving and celebrating same-sex relationships amid strong resistance among other national churches within the 80 million-member global body. The Episcopal Church in the U.S. has allowed same-sex marriage since 2015, and the Scottish Episcopal Church has allowed same-sex marriage since 2017." "Church of England clergy have appeared to signal support for gay marriage after they rejected a bishops' report which said that only a man and woman could marry in church." The Church of England's 2019 General Synod was set to discuss a diocesan motion "to create a set of formal services and prayers to bless those who have had a same-sex marriage or civil partnership". At General Synod in 2019, the Church of England announced that same-gender couples may remain married and recognised as married after one spouse experiences a gender transition provided that the spouses identified as opposite genders at the time of the marriage.
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 and low church in tradition.
The Anglican Church of Australia, formerly known as the Church of England in Australia, is a Christian church in Australia and an autonomous church of the Anglican Communion. It is the second largest church in Australia after the Roman Catholic Church. According to the 2016 census, 3.1 million Australians identify as Anglicans. According to a study published in 2016 by the Journal of Anglican Studies and Cambridge University Press, using the data contributed by the church, the Anglican Church of Australia has more than 3 million nominal members and 437,880 active baptised members. For much of Australian history the church was the largest religious denomination. It remains today one of the largest providers of social welfare services in Australia.
Peter Frederick Carnley is a retired Australian Anglican bishop and author. He was the Archbishop of Perth from 1981 to 2005 and Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia from 2000 until May 2005. He ordained the first women priests in Australia. In the 2007 Queen's Birthday Honours list, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia. He is married to Ann Carnley.
Phillip John Aspinall is an Australian Anglican bishop. He has been the archbishop of the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane since February 2002 and was also the Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia from July 2005 until he stood down on 4 July 2014.
The Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea is a province of the Anglican Communion. It was created in 1977 when the Province of Papua New Guinea became independent from the Province of Queensland in the Church of England in Australia following Papua New Guinea's independence in 1975.
The Anglican Diocese of Brisbane, also known as Anglican Church Southern Queensland, is based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The diocesan bishop's seat is at St John's Cathedral, Brisbane. The diocese stretches from the south-eastern coastline of Queensland, down to the New South Wales border and west to the Northern Territory and South Australian borders. The diocese currently markets itself as "Anglican Church Southern Queensland" (ACSQ). The "Anglicare Southern Queensland" brand is also heavily promoted by the diocese.
The Anglican Diocese of Adelaide is a diocese of the Anglican Church of Australia. It is centred in the city of Adelaide in the state of South Australia and extends along the eastern shore of the Gulf St Vincent from the town of Eudunda in the north to Aldgate in the south. The diocesan cathedral is Saint Peter's Cathedral in Adelaide. The diocese was founded in 1847 with Augustus Short as the first bishop. The incumbent Archbishop of Adelaide since 2017 has been Geoffrey Smith, who has also been the Anglican Primate of Australia since 2020.
The Anglican Diocese of Melbourne is the metropolitan diocese of the Province of Victoria in the Anglican Church of Australia. The diocese was founded from the Diocese of Australia by letters patent of 25 June 1847 and includes the cities of Melbourne and Geelong and also some more rural areas. The cathedral church is St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne. The current Archbishop of Melbourne since 2006 is Philip Freier, who was translated from the Anglican Diocese of The Northern Territory, and who was the Anglican Primate of Australia from 2014 to 2020.
The Anglican realignment is a movement among some Anglicans to align themselves under new or alternative oversight within or outside the Anglican Communion. This movement is primarily active in parts of the Episcopal Church in the United States and the Anglican Church of Canada. Two of the major events that contributed to the movement were the 2002 decision of the Diocese of New Westminster in Canada to authorise a rite of blessing for same-sex unions, and the nomination of two openly gay priests in 2003 to become bishops. Jeffrey John, an openly gay priest with a long-time partner, was appointed to be the next Bishop of Reading in the Church of England and the General Convention of the Episcopal Church ratified the election of Gene Robinson, an openly gay non-celibate man, as Bishop of New Hampshire. Jeffrey John ultimately declined the appointment due to pressure.
Keith Rayner is a retired Australian Anglican bishop and a former Anglican Primate of Australia. He served as Archbishop of Melbourne from 1990 to 1999, Archbishop of Adelaide from 1975 to 1990 and Bishop of Wangaratta from 1969 to 1975.
John Douglas Harrower is an Australian Anglican bishop who served as the eleventh Bishop of Tasmania from 2000 to 2015.
The Anglican Primate of Australia is the senior bishop and President of the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Australia. Between General Synods, the Primate is also President of the Standing Committee of the General Synod which takes responsibility for the affairs of the General Synod in between General Synod sessions. The Primate is elected from among the country's Anglican diocesan bishops, by a Board of Electors, comprising diocesan bishops and representative clergy and laity.
Foley Thomas Beach is an American bishop. He is the second primate and archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America, a church associated with the Anglican realignment movement. Foley was elected as the church's primate on June 21, 2014. His enthronement took place on October 9, 2014. He is married to Alison and they have two adult children.
Jost Andreas Loewe is a German-born priest in the Anglican Church of Australia. He has served as the 15th Dean of Melbourne since 2012, the second-youngest dean in the history of the diocese.
George Angus Takeli is a Solomon Islands Anglican bishop. He has been Archbishop and Primate of the Anglican Church of Melanesia and Bishop of the Diocese of Central Melanesia since his enthronement in 17 April 2016. He was first married to Lilian, who died in 2014. He got married a second time to June in December 2015.
Geoffrey Martyn Smith is an Australian Anglican bishop who has served as the Archbishop of Adelaide since 28 April 2017 and as Primate of Australia since 7 April 2020. Immediately prior to serving as archbishop, Smith was an assistant bishop, general manager and registrar of the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane.
Catherine Jane Prowd, known as Kate Prowd, is an Australian bishop in the Anglican Church of Australia. She has served as an assistant bishop in the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne, as the Bishop for the Oodthenong Episcopate, since October 2018.
Paul Anthony Barker is an Australian bishop in the Anglican Church of Australia. He has served as an assistant bishop in the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne, as the Bishop for the Jumbunna Episcopate (covering the outer southern and eastern suburbs of Melbourne, since November 2016.
Clarence Edgar Bester is a South African-born Australian bishop in the Anglican Church of Australia. He has served as the 11th Bishop of Wangaratta since February 2020.
