David John Leyburn Richardson (born 14 March 1946) is an Australian Anglican priest, former cathedral dean and director of the Anglican Centre in Rome.

Early life and ministry

David Richardson was born in

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 30 ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, but spent most of his childhood in England in

North Devon North Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. North Devon Council is based in Barnstaple. Other towns and villages in the North Devon District include Braunton, Fremington, Ilfracombe, Instow, South Molton, Lynton and ...

and then the

Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Mercia, Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in ...

where his father worked as a priest. He finished his schooling in

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 ...

. After studying

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

at the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = ...

, Richardson studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

at St Barnabas College in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

and then received his postgraduate diploma in

pastoral theology Pastoral theology is the branch of practical theology concerned with the application of the study of religion in the context of regular church ministry. This approach to theology seeks to give practical expression to theology. Normally viewed as a ...

at the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...

in the United Kingdom. Richardson remained in the United Kingdom and served a

curacy 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 the

Church of St Mary the Great, Cambridge St Mary the Great is a Church of England parish and university church at the north end of King's Parade in central Cambridge, England. It is known locally as Great St Mary's or simply GSM to distinguish it from " Little St Mary's". It is one o ...

, the civic and university church of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...

, while also serving as chaplain at

Girton College Girton College is one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college statu ...

at the university from 1976 to 1979. He then returned to St Barnabas’ College as sub-warden where he taught

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

studies, liturgy and pastoral care and spirituality until 1982. For the next five years he was the rector of Christ Church in St Lucia, Brisbane.

Cathedral dean

In 1988, Richardson was invited to become the dean of St Peter's Cathedral,

, where he served for 11 years before becoming the dean of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

, in 1999. As dean, he led a multimillion-dollar public appeal to restore the cathedral's

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...

s and improve the interior of the building. His contribution is commemorated by the stone

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

of his head by Melbourne artist Smiley Williams on one of the cathedral's spires. On his departure from St Paul's in 2008, the cathedral chapter awarded him the title of Dean Emeritus. This honour recognises his ministry in two metropolitan cathedrals, his achievement in restoring the building of St Paul's Cathedral and his ministry which built up the attendances and finances in Melbourne. Richardson was for 10 years the clerical representative for Australia on the

Anglican Consultative Council The Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) is one of the four "Instruments of Communion" of the Anglican Communion. It was created by a resolution of the 1968 Lambeth Conference. The council, which includes Anglican bishops, other clergy, and laity ...

(1992–2002). For 25 years he also served on the Australian National Liturgical Commission and was its executive secretary for 15 years. He also served for 15 years on an

ecumenical Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The wo ...

body, the Australian Consultation on Liturgy.

Anglican Centre in Rome

In December 2007, Richardson was appointed as the representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury,

Rowan Williams Rowan Douglas Williams, Baron Williams of Oystermouth, (born 14 June 1950) is a Welsh Anglican bishop, theologian and poet. He was the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, a position he held from December 2002 to December 2012. Previously the Bi ...

, to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

and the director of the Anglican Centre in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. He was installed in his new position by Archbishop Williams on 7 May 2008 at a ceremony in the Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva. Richardson retired in April 2013 and was succeeded by Archbishop David Moxon.

Honours and awards

Richardson was installed as an honorary provincial

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

of Canterbury Cathedral on 5 June 2010. He was appointed an

officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the 2013 Queen's Birthday Honours (UK) for services to strengthening relations between the UK, the Anglican Communion and the Holy See. He was appointed an

officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

(AO) in the

2016 Australia Day Honours The 2016 Australia Day Honours were announced on 26 January 2016 by the Governor General of Australia, Sir Peter Cosgrove. The Australia Day Honours are the first of the two major annual honours lists, announced on Australia Day (26 January), wit ...

for distinguished service to religion and to the Anglican Church of Australia, through international representational, ecumenical development and interfaith co-operation roles. Richardson is also a chaplain of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( Order of St John) (ChStJ).

Personal

Richardson's interests include poetry, cooking, cars, cricket, and gardening.

References

External links

Anglican Centre in Rome website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, David 1946 births People from Townsville Living people Australian priests Chaplains of Girton College, Cambridge Chaplains of the Order of St John Alumni of the University of Birmingham University of Queensland alumni Officers of the Order of Australia Officers of the Order of the British Empire Deans of Melbourne Deans of Adelaide