Gregory David Anderson (born 1961) is an Australian

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 ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

and former musicologist who has served as the 6th Bishop of the Northern Territory since 29 November 2014.

Early life and parish ministry

Anderson was born in Sydney and attended an Anglican church from birth. In the early-mid 1980s Anderson studied ethnomusicology at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

with an interest in researching traditional Aboriginal songs. In 1986, he moved to the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

for 14 months to research the songs of Central

Arnhem Land Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territorial capital, Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Compa ...

, during which time he was adopted by a

Rembarrnga The Rembarrnga people, also spelt Rembarunga and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as ...

clan and he worked with musicians who had become Christians through a revival on

Elcho Island Elcho Island, known to its traditional owners as Galiwin'ku (Galiwinku) is an island off the coast of Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located at the southern end of the Wessel Islands group located in the East Arnhe ...

in 1979. This led Anderson to study theology in order to be involved in the growth and development of the Aboriginal church. After completing studies 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 Anglican Archbishop of Sydney holds ''ex officio'' the presidency of t ...

, Anderson returned to the Northern Territory with his wife and children as a missionary with the

Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British Anglican mission society working with Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as ...

where he remained for the next 12 years. He lived at

Numbulwar Numbulwar, formerly known as Rose River Mission, is a small, primarily Aboriginal community on the Gulf of Carpentaria in the Northern Territory of Australia. The major language group of the community is Nunggubuyu and their language, Wubuy, ...

and later in Darwin, training Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander church leaders first at

Nungalinya College Nungalinya College is an adult education college based in Casuarina, a suburb of Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia. Founded in 1973, it describes itself as a "Combined Churches Training College for Indigenous Australians", and provi ...

(where he served as Academic Dean) and for the Diocese of the Northern Territory (where he served as Aboriginal Ministry Development Officer and an Honorary Assistant Priest at Christ Church Cathedral, Darwin. Anderson was ordained deacon in 2001 and priest in 2002, and was the first person to be ordained by Bishop

Philip Freier Philip Leslie Freier (born 9 February 1955) is an Australian Anglican bishop. He was the 13th Anglican Diocese of Melbourne, Archbishop of Melbourne from 2006 until his retirement in 2025. He was Anglican Primate of Australia, Primate of Aust ...

(in his role at the time as Bishop of the Northern Territory). In 2007, Anderson and his family moved back to Sydney where he served head of the Department of Mission at

, a position he held until his appointment to the episcopate in 2014.

Episcopal ministry

In June 2014, Anderson was elected as the sixth Bishop of the Northern Territory, replacing Bishop

Greg Thompson Gregory Francis Thompson, (March 28, 1947 – September 10, 2019) was a Canadian politician who served six terms as a Member of Parliament (Canada), Member of Parliament (MP), and for one term he represented the district of Saint Croix (electo ...

who had been translated to the

Anglican Diocese of Newcastle The Diocese of Newcastle is a Church of England diocese based in Newcastle upon Tyne, covering the historic county of Northumberland (and therefore including the part of Tyne and Wear north of the River Tyne), as well as the area of Alston Moor ...

as of 2014. He was consecrated and enthroned as bishop on the eve of St Andrew's Day, on 29 November 2014.

Personal life

Anderson is married to Annette Eriksson, who is herself a music educator and musician and previously conducted the Darwin Youth Orchestra. They have four children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Greg 1961 births 21st-century Anglican bishops in Australia Anglican bishops of the Northern Territory Living people Academic staff of Moore Theological College People educated at James Ruse Agricultural High School Moore Theological College alumni University of Sydney alumni Australian musicologists