''Church Scene'' was an independent

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

newspaper based in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, published from 1971 to 1997.

History

A previous national Anglican newspaper, '' The Anglican'' (first published in 1952), had ceased publication in 1970. ''Church Scene'' was owned by the MacKeller family, through a company, Church Press Limited. Originally a fortnightly publication, it later became weekly. The editorial line was liberal. An early editorial, in 1971, prompted a strong response from the evangelical ''

Australian Church Record The ''Australian Church Record'' is an Australian Christian newspaper. It was founded in 1880, and is based in Sydney. It has historically represented the evangelical wing of the Anglican Church of Australia The Anglican Church of Australia, f ...

'', published in Sydney. A Buddhist, My Nguyen Tang Canh, had been appointed to the staff of the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most juri ...

. ''Church Scene'' published an editorial defending the appointment; the ''Australian Church Record'' described the appointment as 'reprehensible' and 'deplorable', and concluded that its defence "hardly does credit to the intelligence of Australian Anglicans". On Davis's retirement as editor in 1995, on a motion moved by Deaconess Margaret Rodgers, General Synod recorded its appreciation of his work as editor and manager of ''Church Scene'', noting that it had been published at no cost to the

Anglican Church Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...

. The newspaper closed, suddenly, immediately before Christmas 1997, as a result of financial constraints. Despite attempts at a rescue, the newspaper went into voluntary liquidation in January the following year. Although not a direct replacement, a monthly magazine, ''Market-place'', stepped into the gap, and was published from 1997 to 2008.

Editors

*Gerald Charles Davis, 1971-95 *

Charles Sherlock Charles Henry Sherlock (born 1945) is an Australian theologian who previously taught at Ridley College and Trinity College in Melbourne. He is a former registrar of the Melbourne College of Divinity (now the University of Divinity). He is author ...

, 1995-97

References

{{Authority control Newspapers established in 1971 Defunct newspapers published in Melbourne Publications disestablished in 1997 Anglican newspapers and magazines