Diocese of the Southern Cross explained

The Diocese of the Southern Cross is a new Anglican diocese in Australia unaffiliated with the Anglican Church of Australia or the Anglican Communion. It is led by a former Archbishop of Sydney, Glenn Davies.^[1]

History

The diocese was formed by GAFCON Australia in August 2022, following a split from the Anglican Church of Australia over same-sex marriage among other issues.^[2]

The diocese is backed by the Archbishop of Sydney, Kanishka Raffel, and the Bishop of Tasmania, Richard Condie.^{[3] [4]}

Initially, the diocese had three congregations.^{[5] [6]} The first congregation was in Beenleigh, Queensland,^[7] while a second in Brisbane joined in September 2022.^[8] A third congregation joined the diocese in January 2023.^[9] Its fourth congregation joined on 30 January 2023. The diocese also welcomed its first female minister.^[10] A former Uniting Church in Australia congregation, Faith Church in Mooloolaba, led by the Rev. Hedley Fihaki (former head of the Assembly of Confessing Congregations) has joined the Diocese of the Southern Cross.

Notes and References

1. News: Baker. Jordan. Anglican church splits: conservatives form Australian breakaway . 16 August 2022 . Sydney Morning Herald.
2. News: Porter . Muriel . Muriel Porter. Gafcon forms new diocese in Australia — and is welcomed by the Archbishop of Sydney . 16 August 2022 . . 16 August 2022.
3. News: Baker. Jordan. Anglican church splits: conservatives form Australian breakaway . 16 August 2022 . Sydney Morning Herald.
4. News: 17 August 2022 . Anglican Bishop defends support for ‘anti-gay’ rebel church . .
5. News: Baker . Jordan . Anglican schism dangerous for the church, says Archbishop of Canterbury . 31 October 2022 . . 6 October 2022.
6. Web site: Churches . Diocese of the Southern Cross . 31 October 2022.
7. Web site: Smith . Claire . Southern Cross: The New Anglican Diocese . . 16 August 2022 . 16 August 2022.
8. Web site: Sandeman . John . Now there are two: A second Queensland minister jumps ship to breakaway Diocese of the Southern Cross . Anglican Ink . 31 October 2022 . 13 September 2022.
9. Web site: Sandeman . John . 2023-01-15 . Third church joins GAFCON's new Australian Anglican 'breakaway' . Anglican Ink . en-US.
10. Web site: Sandeman . John . 2023-01-30 . Gafcon's Southern Cross diocese gets a woman minister, and church number four . 2023-02-16 . THE OTHER CHEEK . en-AU.