A former chair of EFAC Australia has been elected as the twelfth Archbishop of Sydney.
The Most Reverend Doctor Glenn Davies was born in 1950. He grew up on Sydney’s Northern Beaches and was educated at Sydney Church of England Grammar School. With a BSc from Sydney University, he worked as a mathematics teacher. Since coming to faith during his high school years, he was actively involved in Christian ministry, including youth and campus ministry, before deciding to enter the ministry full time.
He studied at Moore Theological College (DipA) and West-minster Theological Seminary (MDiv, ThM) and was ordained by the then Archbishop of Sydney, Sir Marcus Loane, in 1981. He gained a PhD from Sheffield University in 1988.
Dr Davies served in Sydney parishes including Willoughby and Miranda, and was lecturer in both Old and New Testament and later also registrar at Moore College (1983–95). He was appointed Bishop of North Sydney by Peter Jensen in 2001, a position he held until being elected Archbishop of Sydney this August. During his time in the Northern Region, Dr Davies had episcopal oversight of 64 parishes and emerging multicultural ministries.
His passion for education led to his appointment as founding chairman of the Anglican Education Commission, and he has also been chair of Anglican Youthworks, and a member of the councils of Moore Theological College, the Australian College of Theology and Robert Menzies College.
In the national church, Dr Davies has been a member of General Synod since 1996, on its Standing Committee since 2007 (also holding a position on the General Synod Doctrine Commission since 1993), and has been Canon Theologian in the Diocese of Ballarat since 2000. For ten years until 2012, Dr Davies was also the chair of EFAC Australia.
Internationally, Dr Davies has played a role in the Lausanne Consultation on Evangelisation, the Global Anglican Future Conference, and the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans. Dr Davies was a member of the writing group that produced the Jerusalem Declaration at the landmark GAFCON 2008 in Jerusalem and the communiqué from the 2012 London Leadership Conference.
He is an engaging platform speaker and media communicator whose views on the church, education and youth, as well as faith and society have been sought by newspapers, radio and television. He has written biblical commentaries, topical articles and contributions to theological journals.
Dr Davies is married to Dianne and they have two adult children and three grandchildren. He enjoys movies, board games, walking and swimming.