Kanishka de Silva Raffel (born 6 November 1964) is a British-born Australian

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 ...

bishop of Sri Lankan descent, who has served as the

Anglican Archbishop of Sydney The Archbishop of Sydney is the diocesan bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney, Australia and ''ex officio'' metropolitan bishop of the ecclesiastical Province of New South Wales. From 1814 to 1836 the colony of New South Wales was part of ...

since 28 May 2021. He previously served as the 12th

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney St Andrew's Cathedral (also known as St Andrew's Anglican Cathedral) is a cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney in the Anglican Church of Australia. The cathedral is the seat of the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney and Metropolitan ...

from 4 February 2016 until his installation as archbishop.

Early life and education

Raffel was born on 6 November 1964 in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England, to Sri Lankan parents, father, Lorenz a tea plantation supervisor and mother, Lilamani, a doctor. They moved to Canada for a brief period but found it too cold and emigrated to Australia in 1972. Raised a Buddhist, a friend, Andrew Shead, gave him a copy of the

Gospel of John The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...

when in his third year of his arts-law degree at university. At the age of 21, Raffel was convinced by the words of Jesus in John's Gospel: "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day" (John 6:44). Raffel graduated from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

with English honours in 1986 and Law (in 1989), and practised law for a number of years. He then trained at

Moore Theological College Moore Theological College, otherwise known simply as Moore College, is the theological training seminary of the Diocese of Sydney in the Anglican Church of Australia. The president of the Moore Theological College Council is ''ex officio'' t ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD or BDiv; la, Baccalaureus Divinitatis) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology ...

(BD) and Diploma of Ministry in 1996.

Ordained ministry

Raffel was ordained deacon in 1996 in the

Anglican Diocese of Sydney 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 diocese goes as far as Lithgow in the wes ...

, and priest in 1996 in the

Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn The Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn is one of the 23 dioceses of the Anglican Church of Australia. The diocese has 60 parishes covering most of south-east New South Wales, the eastern Riverina and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It st ...

. He served at St Matthew's Church,

Wanniassa Wanniassa () (postcode 2903) is a suburb in Australia's capital, Canberra: more specifically, in the city's southern district of Tuggeranong. The suburb takes its name from a pastoral property granted to Thomas McQuoid in 1835, which he named af ...

from 1996 to 1999, and then moved to the

Anglican Diocese of Perth The Anglican Diocese of Perth is one of the 23 dioceses of the Anglican Church of Australia. The constitution of the Diocese of Perth was passed and adopted in 1872 at the first synod held in Western Australia. In 1914 in Australia, 1914, the ...

where he served for 16 years (1999-2016) as rector of St Matthew's Church,

Shenton Park Shenton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Sutton Cheney, in the Hinckley and Bosworth district, in the county of Leicestershire, England, situated south-west of Market Bosworth. Shenton was formerly a chapelry and ...

. He obtained a Master of Arts in Theology from Moore Theological College in 2010.

Dean of Sydney

Raffel was appointed

of St Andrew's Cathedral in 2016 and installed in that position on 4 February 2016. He was the first person from a non-European background to hold the position. As dean, Raffel was an active spokesman for Christianity, appearing on ABC radio and on ABC TV's The Drum. In 2021 he led the Sydney diocese's service commemorating the death of

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...

Archbishop of Sydney

As early as 2019, the ''Sydney Morning Herald'' had described Raffel as one of the "leading contenders" for the position of Anglican Archbishop of Sydney. In 2021, he was announced as one of four nominees to replace

Glenn Davies Glenn Naunton Davies (born 1950) is a retired Australian Anglican bishop. Since August 2022 he has served as bishop of the Diocese of the Southern Cross, an Anglican diocese set up outside of the Anglican Church of Australia. He previously serv ...

. On 6 May 2021, he was elected to the position, at a special election synod. On 28 May 2021, Raffel was consecrated a bishop by Geoffrey Smith, and installed as archbishop in Sydney's St Andrew's Cathedral. He is the first person from a non-European background to hold the diocesan bishop's position.

Other roles

Raffel holds a number of other roles, including: * Member of the General Synod Standing Committee. * Board Member of

GAFCON The Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (branded as GAFCON or Gafcon) is a global network of conservative Anglicanism, Anglican churches that formed in 2008 in response to an ongoing theological crisis in the worldwide Anglican Communion. ...

Australia. * Council Member o
The Gospel Coalition Australia
* Trustee of the Anglican Relief and Development Fund. * Trustee of

Trinity Theological College, Perth Trinity Theological College, located in Leederville a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, is an independent evangelical Christian tertiary college. Its courses are accredited through the Australian College of Theology. It is the recognised trai ...

Personal life

Raffel is married to Cailey, and has two daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raffel, Kanishka Living people Deans of Sydney Anglican clergy from London Australian people of Sri Lankan descent University of Sydney alumni Moore Theological College alumni Converts to Anglicanism from Buddhism Converts to Protestantism from Buddhism British emigrants to Australia Sydney Law School alumni 21st-century Anglican archbishops Anglican archbishops of Sydney Evangelical Anglican bishops 1964 births