Elizabeth Alfred (10 January 1914 – 2 February 2015) was an
Anglican
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
priest in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
, Australia. She was the first woman to be ordained as a priest in the
Anglican Diocese of Melbourne
The Anglican Diocese of Melbourne is the metropolitan diocese of the Province of Victoria in the Anglican Church of Australia. The diocese was founded from the Diocese of Australia by letters patent of 25 June 1847
Early life and education
Elizabeth Alfred was born on 10 January 1914. Her family often moved from place to place in the state of
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India
* Victoria (state), a state of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital
* Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
, and her father was a bank manager. From 1928 to 1929 she attended Girton Grammar School in
Bendigo
Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital.
As of 2022, Bendigo has a popula ...
.
Alfred trained at Deaconess House in Melbourne, and in 1944 was placed at St Marks' Fitzroy.
Career
After three years at Deaconess House, she transferred to the Mission of St John and St James in
Dandenong
Dandenong ( ) is a southeastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, about from the Melbourne CBD. It is the council seat of the City of Greater Dandenong local government area, with a recorded population of 30,127 at the . Situated m ...
. She was promoted to head deaconess in the Diocese of Melbourne; however, she was dissatisfied that as a woman she could not be ordained. She met ordained women overseas, in the United States and Canada, and raised the issue of women's ordinations with Frank Woods,
Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne
The Archbishop of Melbourne is the diocesan bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne, Australia, and ''ex officio'' metropolitan bishop of the ecclesiastical Province of Victoria.
List of bishops and archbishops of Melbourne
References
...
, without success. Nevertheless, she continued to campaign for change, often joined by close friend and ally Barbara Darling, who later became an assistant bishop in Melbourne.
In 1979, Alfred was appointed chaplain at the
Royal Women's Hospital
The Royal Women's Hospital, located in the Melbourne suburb of Parkville, is Australia's oldest specialist women's hospital. It offers a full range of services in maternity, gynaecology, neonatal care, women's cancers and women's health. It also ...
in Melbourne, becoming the first woman to hold the position and that year she was also given Permission to Officiate. In 1981 the Melbourne
synod
A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...
voted in favour of the ordination of women and Alfred was one of a group of women who were ordained as deacons in 1986. She was ordained as a priest in 1992 by Archbishop Keith Rayner, although at 78 she was past the age of retirement. Rayner made a promise to Alfred that when her ordination as a priest became a possibility, he would do so regardless of time constraints. The day after her ordination, Alfred celebrated the
Eucharist
The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...
at St. James.
Later life and death
Alfred presided at Holy Communion on her 100th birthday in 2014 at St James' Church in Dandenong. She died three weeks after her 101st birthday, on 2 February 2015, in Melbourne.
Awards and honours
In 2001, Alfred was added to the
Victorian Honour Roll of Women
The Victorian Honour Roll of Women was established in 2001 to recognise the achievements of women from the Australian state of Victoria. It was launched by The Hon. Joan Kirner AC as a joint initiative of the Centenary of Federation Victoria Comm ...
for her achievements as head deaconess and for being the first woman ordained as a priest in Melbourne.