Rodney James Chiswell 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 and former civil engineer who has served as the Bishop of Armidale since 27 February 2021, a position which his father, Peter Chiswell, also held. He previously served as rector of St Peter's,

South Tamworth South Tamworth is a suburb of Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia and is situated south from the cities central business district. It is a largely residential suburb and is a mixture of both new housing estates and well established estates. So ...

, in the Diocese of Armidale from 2008 to 2020.

Early life, education and parish ministry

Chiswell was born in

Bingara Bingara (Aboriginal for 'creek') is a small town on the Gwydir River in Murchison County in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. Bingara is currently the administrative centre for the Gwydir Shire that was created in 2003. T ...

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

and Betty Chiswell, as the youngest of three children. He spent the early years of his life in

Gunnedah Gunnedah () is a town in north-central New South Wales, Australia and is the seat of the Gunnedah Shire Local government in Australia, local government area. In the the town recorded a population of 8,338. Gunnedah is situated within the Liver ...

and was converted to Christianity at age eight, and attended high school in

Armidale Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 23,967 as of the 2021 census. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands reg ...

. After finishing school, Chiswell attended the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

where he completed a Bachelor of Civil Engineering but also undertook ministry under the leadership of Philip Jensen. After graduation, Chiswell worked as a civil engineer, building roads and bridges with

Moree Plains Shire Moree Plains Shire is a local government area in the North West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia. The northern boundary of the Shire is located adjacent to the border between New South Wales and Queensland. The Shire is located adjac ...

for five years. Chiswell returned to Sydney to study theology 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 ...

where he completed a Bachelor of Theology. He then spent the next 25 years serving in a number of parishes in the Armidale diocese - as vicar of

Mungindi Mungindi is a town and locality on the border of New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland, Australia. The town is within Moree Plains Shire in New South Wales. Within Queensland, the locality is split between the Shire of Balonne (the western part) ...

for seven years, vicar of Walcha for five years and vicar of

for 13 years from 2008, a position which he held until his appointment to the episcopate.

Episcopal ministry

On 12 December 2020, Chiswell was appointed as next Bishop of Armidale, succeeding

Rick Lewers Richard Alexander Lewers (born ) is an Australian bishop in the Anglican Church of Australia, 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 and or ...

who had retired earlier in 2020. The diocese reported that Chiswell was selected in part because he understood the challenges facing a rural diocese, including the recruitment of clergy, support of clergy and their families, and the training of laypeople. Chiswell was consecrated as bishop and installed as Bishop of Armidale by the Archbishop of Sydney,

Glenn Davies Glenn Naunton Davies (born 1950) is an Australian Anglican bishop. Since August 2022 he has served as bishop of the Diocese of the Southern Cross, an Anglican diocese set up outside of the Anglican Church of Australia. He previously served as ...

, at

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 27 February 2021.

Personal life

Chiswell is married to Jenni and has two children.

Controversies

In July 2021, Chiswell advised two members of St Mary’s Anglican Church in West Armidale who were in a same sex marriage and involved in parish leadership that they would need to end their marriage to remain in a leadership role at the church. “Involvement in positions of ministry or other leadership … is conditional upon agreeing to the Faithfulness in Service code,” Chiswell said in a statement. Some parishioners, including the two men, left the parish.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chiswell, Rod Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century Anglican bishops in Australia Anglican bishops of Armidale Moore Theological College alumni University of New South Wales alumni Australian civil engineers