Richard Alexander Lewers (born ) is an Australian

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 ...

in the

Anglican Church of Australia The Anglican Church of Australia, originally known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania, is a Christian church in Australia and an autonomous church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. In 2016, responding to a peer-reviewed study ...

, who served as the Bishop of Armidale from 29 May 2012 to 30 January 2021.

Early life and parish ministry

Lewers grew up in the

Sutherland Shire Sutherland Shire is a local government area (LGA) in the southern region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sutherland Shire is located approximately south-southwest of the Sydney CBD, and comprises an area of . As at the ...

and originally worked in banking. He studied for ministry at

Sydney Missionary and Bible College Sydney Missionary and Bible College (SMBC) is an independent, evangelical interdenominational Bible college A Bible college, sometimes referred to as a Bible institute or theological institute or theological seminary, is an evangelical Chris ...

and

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 ...

. After his ordination, he served a curacy in the late 1980s at

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, and then moved to the

Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn The Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn is one of the 23 dioceses of the Anglican Church of Australia. The diocese has 60 parishes covering most of south-east New South Wales, the eastern Riverina and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It st ...

for 11 years, eventually serving as Rector of St Matthew's,

Wanniassa Wanniassa () (postcode 2903) is a suburb in Australia's capital, Canberra: more specifically, in the city's southern district of Tuggeranong. The suburb takes its name from a pastoral property granted to Thomas McQuoid in 1835, which he named af ...

. While in Canberra, Lewers served as sports chaplain to the

Canberra Cosmos FC Canberra Cosmos Football Club was an Australian association football, soccer club based in Canberra, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. It participated in the National Soccer League from the 1995/96 season until the end of the 2000/01 seas ...

and the

ACT Brumbies The ACT Brumbies (known from 2005 to 2022 as simply the Brumbies) is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), The team competes in Super Rugby and named for the brumby, feral horses wh ...

. Lewers then returned to 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 and low church in tradition. The diocese goes as far as Lithgow in the wes ...

, working for the Diocese's Department of Evangelism and then serving as the rector of

Engadine Engadine may refer to: Places * Engadin(e), a valley region in Switzerland * Engadine, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia *Engadine, Michigan Engadine ( ) is an unincorporated community in Mackinac County in the U.S. state of Michigan. ...

Anglican Church, a position which he held until his election as bishop.

Episcopal ministry

In November 2011, Lewers was appointed as the new Bishop of Armidale, succeeding Peter Brain who had served for the previous 11 years and who had retired in April that year. He consecrated bishop 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 25 May 2012 by Archbishop of Sydney Peter Jensen, and installed as Bishop of Armidale in

St Peter's Cathedral, Armidale St Peter's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral with heritage-listed building and grounds at 122 Rusden Street, Armidale, Armidale Regional Council, New South Wales, Australia. It is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Armidale. and the ...

on 29 May 2012. As Bishop, Lewers wrote a column in the local news, the Armidale Express, called "Faith Matters". Lewers announced his intention to resign as Bishop on 21 July 2020 to take up a Rector's position at Shoalhaven Heads, New South Wales, with the resignation to take effect from 30 January 2021.

Personal life

Lewers is married to Janene, and has 3 adult children.

References

Living people Anglican bishops of Armidale 21st-century Anglican bishops in Australia Moore Theological College alumni People from the Sutherland Shire 1957 births {{Australia-Anglican-bishop-stub