Sonia Lee Roulston is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

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 ...

. She has served as an

assistant bishop An assistant bishop in the Anglican Communion is a bishop appointed to assist a diocesan bishop. Church of England In the established Church of England, assistant bishops are usually retired (diocesan or suffragan) bishops – in which case they ...

in the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle, as the Assistant Bishop for the Inland Episcopate, since May 2018. She is the first woman to be appointed as a bishop in the history of the Diocese. Roulston grew up in the Parish of East Maitland when her family moved there while she was in primary school. She became involved in the parish's Sunday school and the

Girls' Friendly Society The Girls' Friendly Society In England And Wales (or just GFS) is a charitable organisation that empowers girls and young women aged 5 to 25, encouraging them to develop their full potential through programs that provide training, confidence b ...

from an early age. She trained for ministry at

St John's College, Morpeth St John's College, Morpeth, known colloquially as the "Poor Man's College, Armidale", was opened in Armidale in 1898 as a theological college to train clergy to serve in the Church of England in Australia. It moved to Morpeth in 1926 and closed ...

and was ordained as deacon in February 1995 and priest in November of the same year. As priest, Roulston served in a number of different parishes including

Gosford Gosford is the city and administrative centre of the Central Coast Council local government area in the heart of the Central Coast region, about north of Sydney and about south of Newcastle. The city centre is situated at the northern extre ...

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 ...

Windale Windale is a suburb of the city of Lake Macquarie, in the Newcastle metropolitan area. It is located west of the junction of the Pacific Highway and Newcastle Inner City Bypass, covering an area of . Windale is a lower socio-economic area consi ...

, Cessnock and

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 ...

. Her last position prior to being ordained to the episcopate was as Diocesan Archdeacon. In February 2018, Roulston was appointed as Assistant Bishop for the Inland Episcopate, and she was consecrated in that role by Bishop of Newcastle

Peter Stuart Peter Stuart is an American singer-songwriter. Stuart is the founder and lead singer of the band Dog's Eye View, which is best known for its single, "Everything Falls Apart". In 2002, he released a solo album entitled '' Propeller''. Biography ...

at Christ Church Cathedral, Newcastle on 10 May 2018 (along with then fellow Archdeacon Charlie Murry who was consecrated as Assistant Bishop for the Coastal Episcopate). Roulston was the first woman appointed to the episcopate in the history of the diocese. Roulston's role involves providing episcopal leadership in the

Upper Hunter The Upper Hunter Shire is a local government area in the Upper Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire was formed in May 2004 from the Scone Shire and parts of Murrurundi and Merriwa shires. The Mayor of the Upper Hunter Shir ...

Maitland Maitland is an English and Scottish surname. It arrived in Britain after the Norman conquest of 1066. There are two theories about its source. It is either a nickname reference to "bad temper/disposition" (Old French, ''Maltalent''; Anglo Norm ...

and Paterson regions for the Diocese. Roulston and Murry's appointments marked the first time the Diocese had had more than one assistant bishop, and the roles were made to assist the Diocese in light of the findings of the

Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was a royal commission announced in November 2012 and established in 2013 by the Government of Australia, Australian government pursuant to the Royal Commissions Act 1902 t ...

. At the time of her appointment, Roulston indicated that elevating the role of women should be seen as a "normal" step as the church evolved, and saw the role of the church to be a place that "gave hope" and helped people "see the bigger picture".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roulston, Sonia 21st-century Anglican bishops in Australia Assistant bishops in the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle (Australia) Women Anglican bishops Living people Year of birth missing (living people)