George Victor Browning (born 28 September 1942) is a retired British-Australian Anglican bishop who served as the 9th Bishop of Canberra and Goulburn in 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 R ...

. He was elected on 31 January 1993 and installed on 30 May 1993. He retired in 2008.

Early life and family

Browning was born in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, England. His family were dairy farmers in Sussex.

Education

Browning attended Ardingly College and Lewes County Grammar School before moving to Australia in 1960. After working as a jackaroo and stud groom he studied at St John's Theological College,

Morpeth Morpeth may refer to: *Morpeth, New South Wales, Australia ** Electoral district of Morpeth, a former electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in New South Wales * Morpeth, Ontario, Canada * Morpeth, Northumberland, England, UK ** Morpeth (UK ...

, in

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 ...

, where he obtained a Licentiate in Theology with first class honours. He was ordained

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

in 1966 and priest in 1967. He subsequently obtained a Bachelor of Theology with Honours and Doctor of Philosophy from Charles Sturt University. His doctorate, an examination of an ethical response to climate change from the perspective of the biblical concept of Sabbath is published as ''Sabbath and the Common Good''. In 2007 he was awarded a Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa) for his contribution to education.

Ordained ministry

Browning became assistant priest in

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 ...

in 1966, assistant priest at St Peter's Cathedral,

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 ...

, in 1968, and vicar of

Warialda Warialda is a town in the North West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia, in Gwydir Shire. Situated on the banks of Warialda Creek, the town's name means "Place of Wild Honey" in local aboriginal language. At the , Warialda had a populati ...

in 1969. In 1973 he became vice-principal of St John's Theological College, Morpeth, and then principal in 1974. In 1976 he became

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

Singleton Singleton may refer to: Sciences, technology Mathematics * Singleton (mathematics), a set with exactly one element * Singleton field, used in conformal field theory Computing * Singleton pattern, a design pattern that allows only one instance ...

. He was appointed

Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...

of the Upper Hunter in 1982. In 1984 he became rector of

Woy Woy Woy Woy is a coastal town in the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, located on the southern reaches of Brisbane Water north of Sydney. It is a population centre within the local government area. Woy Woy is located in the no ...

and Archdeacon of the Central Coast of New South Wales. He was consecrated as assistant bishop on 21 September 1985 at

St John's Cathedral :''This list is for St. John the Evangelist Cathedrals. For St. John the Baptist Cathedrals, see St. John the Baptist Cathedral (disambiguation)'' St. John's Cathedral, St. John Cathedral, or Cathedral of St. John, or other variations on the name ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

and served as Bishop of the Northern Region (an assistant bishop) in the Diocese of Brisbane until 1992 when he became responsible for the Coastal Region. From 1988 to 1991 he was also principal of St Francis' Theological College,

Milton, Queensland Milton is a riverside inner suburb of the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , the population of Milton was 2,274 people. Geography Milton is approximately west of the central business district. The suburb is a mixture of light ...

. Browning was elected Bishop of Canberra and Goulburn on 31 January 1993 and installed on 30 May 1993. In 1997, with Sir

William Deane Sir William Patrick Deane (born 4 January 1931) is an Australian barrister and jurist who served as the 22nd governor-general of Australia, in office from 1996 to 2001. He was previously a Justice of the High Court of Australia from 1982 to 19 ...

and

Lowitja O'Donoghue Lowitja Lois O'Donoghue Smart, (born 1932) is an Aboriginal Australian retired public administrator. In 1990-1996 she was the inaugural chairperson of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) (dismantled in 2004). She is p ...

, Browning founded the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture in Barton, Canberra. Its administrative building has subsequently been named George Browning House. In 2000 he was awarded the Australian Centenary Medal for his contribution to the community. In 1999 Browning resigned as Bishop of Canberra and Goulburn after he revealed he had had an adulterous relationship with a female parishioner 15 years earlier. At the request of his synod he withdrew the resignation and retired in 2008. In May 2008 the

Bishop of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The see is in the City of Salisbury where the bishop's seat ...

, England, licensed him as priest in charge of the Wriggle Valley benefice in the county of

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

, where he remained for a year.

Social views

Following controversy within the Australian Anglican Church, in response to the impending appointment of an openly gay Anglican bishop in the United States, Browning condemned the debate on sexuality as an "appalling," "irrelevant," "pathetic" waste of time. In 2005, Browning became convenor of the Anglican Communion Environmental Network. In 2007 he had a public disagreement with Cardinal

George Pell George Pell (born 8 June 1941) is an Australian cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as the inaugural prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy between 2014 and 2019, and was a member of the Council of Cardinal Advisers between 2013 ...

on the topic of

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

, saying, "Dr Pell's position on global warming defied scientific consensus and theological imperatives to protect the Earth and its future generations. It also made no sense and would be proven a mistake." In 2011, Browning met with the Prime Minister of Australia,

Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...

, to support a

carbon tax A carbon tax is a tax levied on the carbon emissions required to produce goods and services. Carbon taxes are intended to make visible the "hidden" social costs of carbon emissions, which are otherwise felt only in indirect ways like more sev ...

. He said his organisation, Australian Religious Response to Climate Change, wanted to assist politicians to create good legislation as this is a moral issue, Prior to a United Nations' climate change meeting in Paris in December 2015, Browning was a signatory to a letter calling on world leaders to discuss a ban on new coalmines and coalmine expansions. Browning supports indigenous land rights saying that it is "doubly important" for Australians to make a commitment to support the wider Aboriginal and-titlerequests. Browning is the president of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network. He has been a frequent visitor to Palestine and has hosted Palestinian leaders in Australia. Browning is an advocate for

Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. Its objective is to pressure Israel to meet what the BDS movement describes as Israel's obligations ...

against Israel for its illegal settlement programme in the Palestinian Territories.

Personal life

Browning and his wife Margaret have three adult sons (Philip, Richard and Timothy) and two daughters (Pat and Chris).

References

External links

Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Browning, George Victor 1942 births People educated at Ardingly College Anglican archdeacons in Australia Anglican bishops of Canberra and Goulburn Assistant bishops in the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane People from Brighton Living people People educated at St John's College, Morpeth