The Anglican Diocese of Armidale is a

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

of the

Anglican Church of Australia The Anglican Church of Australia, formerly known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania, is a Christian church in Australia and an autonomous church of the Anglican Communion. It is the second largest church in Australia after the ...

located in the state of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. As the Diocese of Grafton and Armidale, it was created (from the

Diocese of Newcastle The Diocese of Newcastle is a Church of England diocese based in Newcastle upon Tyne, covering the historic county of Northumberland (and therefore including the part of Tyne and Wear north of the River Tyne), as well as the area of Alston Moo ...

) by letters patent in 1863. When the Anglican Diocese of Grafton was split off in 1914, the remaining portion was renamed Armidale, retaining its legal continuity and its incumbent bishop.https://www.graftondiocese.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Ordinance-No.-2-of-1913-Diocese-of-Grafton-Ordinance-1913.pdf Once relatively

Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches. The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglica ...

in its liturgical and

theological Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the s ...

leanings, since the mid-20th century the diocese has leant more towards the Diocese of Sydney and its particular form of

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

teaching and liturgy. The diocese is theologically conservative and holds to the traditional Anglican beliefs on human sexuality, disapproving same-sex unions. The diocese includes the regional cities of Tamworth and

Armidale Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 24,504 as of June 2018. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands region. I ...

and the towns of Glen Innes,

Tenterfield Tenterfield is a regional town in New South Wales, Australia. At the , Tenterfield had a population of 4,066. Tenterfield's proximity to many regional centres and its position on the route between Sydney and Brisbane led to its development as a ...

Inverell Inverell is a large town in northern New South Wales, Australia, situated on the Macintyre River, close to the Queensland border. It is also the centre of Inverell Shire. Inverell is located on the Gwydir Highway on the western slopes of the ...

, Moree,

Gunnedah Gunnedah is a town in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia and is the seat of the Gunnedah Shire local government area. In the the town recorded a population of 9,726. Gunnedah is situated within the Liverpool Plains, a fertile agricultu ...

and

Narrabri Narrabri ( ) is a locality and seat of Narrabri Shire local government area in the North West Slopes, New South Wales, Australia on the Namoi River, northwest of Sydney. It sits on the junction of the Kamilaroi Highway and the Newell Highw ...

. On 12 December 2020, the synod of the diocese elected

Rod Chiswell Rodney James Chiswell is an Australian Anglican bishop and former civil engineer who has served as the Bishop of Armidale since 27 February 2021, a position which his father, Peter Chiswell, also held. He previously served as rector of St Peter ...

, vicar of South Tamworth, as the 8th Bishop of Armidale. Chiswell was installed on 27 February 2021.

Cathedral

The cathedral church of the diocese is St Peter's Cathedral in Armidale. It was consecrated for

worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recogniti ...

in 1875. The cathedral was designed by the Canadian architect

John Horbury Hunt John Horbury Hunt (1838 – December 30, 1904) was a Canadians, Canadian-born Australian architect who worked in Sydney and rural New South Wales from 1863. Life and career Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, the son of a builder, Hunt was tra ...

who also designed the University of New England. The

foundation stone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over tim ...

was laid by James F. Turner, Bishop of Grafton and Armidale.

Schools

The Diocese of Armidale has three affiliated independent Anglican schools: *

The Armidale School , motto_translation = Without God, Nothing , location = Armidale, New England Tablelands, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia New ...

(TAS), founded 1894 *

New England Girls' School , motto_translation = Whatsoever you do, do it heartily , location = 13-83 Uralla Road, Armidale, New South Wales 2350 , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia New South Wales , pushpin_image ...

(NEGS), Armidale, founded 1895 *

Calrossy Anglican School The Calrossy Anglican School (Calrossy) is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school for boys and girls and incorporates a primary and preschool. Calrossy is located in East Tamworth, a suburb of Tamworth, a city in the New England ...

, Tamworth, incorporating Calrossy Anglican School for Girls (founded 1919), William Cowper Anglican Boys High School and William Cowper Primary School

Linked diocese

Following a 2004 synod visit by Edward Muhima, Bishop of North Kigezi in Uganda, there has been a forging of a support link between the two dioceses. The Diocese of North Kigezi is in the South West of Uganda, with its office in Rukunjiri.

List of bishops

References

External links

Diocese of Armidale
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