The Anglican Diocese of North West Australia (known as the Anglican Diocese of Northern Australia until 1961) is a

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

of 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 ...

, founded in 1910. It is situated in the northern part of the state of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, Australia. As part of the

Province of Western Australia The Province of Western Australia is an ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Church of Australia, the boundaries of which are those of the state of Western Australia. The province consists of three dioceses: Bunbury, North West Australia and ...

, it covers those parts of the state north of

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

including

Geraldton Geraldton ( Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...

, Karratha and Broome and is geographically the largest Anglican diocese in Australia and the largest land-based diocese in the world. The diocese has 18 parishes and three Mission to Seafarers’ ministries; the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

church of the diocese is the

Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Geraldton The Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Geraldton is a Cathedral in Geraldton, Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external ter ...

. The incumbent bishop of the diocese is the Right Reverend

Darrell Parker Darrell Maurice Parker is an Australian Anglican bishop who has served as Bishop of North West Australia (the largest diocese in geographical size in the Anglican Church of Australia, covering approximately a quarter of the Australian continent ...

, formerly Vicar of St Paul's Tamworth, was elected as the 8th bishop in September 2022, replacing Gary Nelson who had retired retired on 15 May 2022.. Parker was consecrated in

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 o ...

on 3 February 2023 and installed as bishop in the diocesan cathedral on 15 February 2023.

Structure and churchmanship

The diocese has 18 parishes and three Mission to Seafarers’ ministries and the

church of the diocese is the Cathedral of the Holy Cross,

. The diocese is noted for its low church conservative

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

stance; no women serve as priests.

History

The diocese covering 2 million

km² Square kilometre ( International spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures) or square kilometer (American spelling), symbol km2, is a multiple of the square metre, the SI unit of area or surface area. 1 km2 is equa ...

, north of

, is geographically the largest Anglican diocese in Australia and the largest land-based diocese in the world. The

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of the area of about 150,000 people. The Diocese of Perth was established in 1857, but the Diocese of Northern Australia (which became known by the present name in 1961) was not brought into existence until 1910. Broome was the original the seat of the Diocese, from 1910 to 1965, with the Church of the Annunciation the

pro-cathedral A pro-cathedral or procathedral is a parish church that temporarily serves as the cathedral or co-cathedral of a diocese, or a church that has the same function in a Catholic missionary jurisdiction (such as an apostolic prefecture or apostoli ...

Cathedral

The

church of the diocese is the

located in Cathedral Avenue, Geraldton. The cathedral building was built in 1964 to a design by

architects An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

McDonald and Whitaker. The brick modernist style building has a star shaped footprint and is said to resemble Coventry Cathedral in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Internally the cathedral has extensive stained glass and an organ built by

Allen Organ Company The Allen Organ Company builds church organs, home organs, and theatre organs. Its factory is located in Macungie, Pennsylvania. The Allen International Sales Headquarters also includes the Jerome Markowitz Memorial Center, a museum. It displ ...

. Deans of the Cathedral have included: *1969–1974: Brian Kyme (later assistant bishop in

) *2003–2013: Jeremy Rice *2015–2020: Peter Grice (Bishop of Rockhampton from 2021) *2022-present: Lachlan Edwards (previously Rector of Christ Church,

Lavender Bay Lavender Bay is a harbourside suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Lavender Bay is located 3 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of North Sydney Council. The s ...

)

List of bishops

Assistant bishops

Bernard Buckland was Regional Bishop for

The Kimberleys The Kimberley is the northernmost of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy and Tanami deserts in the region of the Pilbara, an ...

(assistant bishop) until his retirement on 14 March 1997.

Structure

''Due to the fluid nature of our region, we’re proud to be a ‘missionary’ diocese. We journey with everyone who comes and goes as part of work or tourism, and see a congregation turnover rate of around 100% every two years. Our region is dependent on support by individuals, parishes, dioceses, and Christian organisations across Australia who are committed to gospel ministry in small, remote, and isolated towns and communities in North West Australia.

/blockquote>

Anglican realignment
The Diocese of North West Australia was the second 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 ...
, after 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 Anglicanism, evangelical and low church in tradition. The diocese goes as far ...
, to recognize the
Anglican Church in North America The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is a Christian denomination in the Anglican tradition in the United States and Canada. It also includes ten congregations in Mexico, two mission churches in Guatemala, and a missionary diocese in Cuba ...
as a "member church of the
Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
, in full communion with Diocese of North West Australia", according to a motion passed in October 2014.Diocese of NW Australia recognizes ACNA as "a member church of the Anglican Communion", Anglican Church League Website, 5 October 2014
/ref>

See also
*
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 Anglicanism, evangelical and low church in tradition. The diocese goes as far ...
*
Anglican Diocese of Tasmania The Anglican Diocese of Tasmania includes the entire Tasmanian archipelago and is an extraprovincial diocese of the Anglican Church of Australia. The cathedral church of the diocese is St David's Cathedral in Hobart. The twelfth Bishop of T ...
* Anglican Diocese of Armidale *
Anglican Pacifist Fellowship The Anglican Pacifist Fellowship (APF) is a body of people within the Anglican Communion who reject war as a means of solving international disputes, and believe that peace and justice should be sought through non-violent means. Beliefs In 2015, ...
*
Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...
*
Anglicare Anglicare Australia is the national umbrella community services body of agencies associated with each diocese of the Anglican Church of Australia. Anglicare is also a brand name under which many Australian Anglican community services agencies ope ...
* Evangelical Anglicanism * Low church *
Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
*Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans *GAFCON

References

External links
* – official site {{authority control Anglican Diocese of North West Australia, Anglican dioceses in Australia, North West Australia 1910 establishments in Australia Province of Western Australia Anglican realignment dioceses Evangelical Anglicanism Evangelicalism in Australia