Christopher Edwards (born 1961) is an Australian Anglican bishop who has served as the

Bishop of North Sydney The assistant bishops of Sydney are the assistant bishops in the Anglican Diocese of Sydney, Australia. They each assist the Archbishop of Sydney by maintaining delegated episcopal oversight over a particular geographical area. Prior to the for ...

(Bishop of the Northern Region) in the Diocese of Sydney since 5 May 2014.

Early life and ministry

Edwards grew up in

Lalor Park Lalor Park is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lalor Park is located 35 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Blacktown. Lalor Park is part of the Great ...

in Sydney. His father was commissioned to work with the

Church Army The Church Army is an evangelistic organisation and mission community founded in 1882 in association with the Church of England and now operating internationally in many parts of the Anglican Communion. History The Church Army was founded in E ...

. Edwards was educated at

James Ruse Agricultural High School , motto_translation = Deeds not words , established = , type = Government-funded co-educational academically selective and specialist secondary day school , educational_authority = NSW Depart ...

and the

University of Technology Sydney The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is a public research university located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Although its origins are said to trace back to the 1830s, the university was founded in its current form in 1988. As of 202 ...

, then worked as an executive in the finance and banking sector for a time, before training for the ministry 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 ...

. In 1994 Edwards was ordained and became a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

at St George's,

Engadine Engadine may refer to: Places *Engadin, Engadin(e), a valley region in Switzerland *Engadine, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia *Engadine, Michigan, unincorporated community in Michigan *Engadine (Candler, North Carolina), a building l ...

. Edwards was appointed to the staff of

Holy Trinity Church, Adelaide Trinity Church (also known as Holy Trinity Church Adelaide, is an Australian evangelical Anglican church located at 88 North Terrace in the city of Adelaide, South Australia. Trinity Church has five gatherings at the North Terrace locatio ...

, and later founded its church plant in the Adelaide Hills, during which time its congregation grew more than tenfold under his leadership. He then accepted a rector's position at St Paul's

Tervuren Tervuren () is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders, Belgium. The municipality comprises the villages of Duisburg, Tervuren, Vossem and Moorsel. On January 1, 2006, Tervuren had a total population of 20,636. The total ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

(in the

Diocese in Europe The Diocese in Europe (short form for the Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe) is a diocese of the Church of England. It was originally formed in 1842 as the Diocese of Gibraltar. It is geographically the largest diocese of the Church of England and th ...

). and chaired the associated primary school. His most recent position prior to his ordination as bishop was as Director of Mission at Anglican Retirement Villages (now Anglicare), Sydney.

Episcopal ministry

On 11 November 2013, Edwards was appointed by Archbishop

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 se ...

and endorsed by the diocese's Standing Committee as the next

(Bishop of the Northern Region). Edwards was to succeed Davies in that position, following his appointment as archbishop earlier that year. The diocese spoke of Edwards' leadership in parishes in Sydney, Adelaide and Belgium, the Arrow Leadership program in South Australia, African Enterprise in Belgium, a British Primary School in Belgium, a mission society (RETRAK) in Belgium, and Anglican Retirement Villages as some of the reasons for his appointment. Edwards was consecrated bishop by Davies in

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

on 29 March 2014, and commenced working in the position from 5 May 2014. As Bishop of North Sydney, Edwards oversees 64 parishes north of Sydney Harbour, including some of the diocese's largest churches and multicultural ministries. Edwards was one of four nominees to replace

as Anglican Archbishop of Sydney at a special election Synod in May 2021. He was eliminated in the first round of voting.

Personal life

Edwards is married to Belinda and has 2 children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Chris 1961 births Moore Theological College alumni Anglican archdeacons in Australia 21st-century Anglican bishops in Australia Assistant bishops in the Anglican Diocese of Sydney Evangelical Anglican bishops Living people People educated at James Ruse Agricultural High School