Barbara Darling

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Barbara Darling (born October 17, 1947 in Sydney , † February 15, 2015 in Melbourne ) was an Australian theologian of the Anglican Church . She became the Anglican Church of Australia's first female bishop of Melbourne in 2008 .

Life

Darling grew up in Sydney and was involved in the Church when she was young. Among other things, she taught in Sunday School and was an administrator in the Interschool Christian Fellowship . She took over management duties in the Scripture Union (English Scripture Union) and the scouts .

After completing her education at Sydney Girls High School , she studied arts at Sydney University with the aim of becoming a teacher. During her studies she began to read theological authors such as Karl Barth , Bruno Bauer and Louis Berkhof and also to critically question her faith. She was involved in the Evangelical Union . After completing her studies, she first became a teacher.

She was a teacher and librarian for three years in Wauchope , New South Wales . She then taught at Hornsby Girls High School in her hometown. In addition to teaching, she studied theology at Moore College . In 1975 she moved to Ridley College in Melbourne . The reason for the change was that Leon Morris ran the college in Melbourne. Barbara Darling was probably the first woman to be offered a college job there. After graduating from college, she also studied history at the University of Melbourne in addition to her work at Ridley College . Her collaboration with Leon Morris supports her understanding of women in the Anglican Church, in particular that women can also lead services. Morris also encouraged her to preach. She gave her first sermon in 1976. After a synod opened the priesthood to women in 1986, she became one of the first women deaconess in the Diocese of Melbourne. In 1992 she was one of the first women to be ordained . The consecration as Bishop of Melbourne took place on 31 May 2008 in Paul's Cathedral in Melbourne. Kay Goldsworthy had become Australia's first Anglican bishop only nine days earlier in Perth.

In 2015, Darling died in Melbourne after a heart attack.

literature

  • Muriel Porter: Women bishops in Australia: Leadership and authority. In: Elaine Lindsay, Janet Scarfe (Eds.): Preachers, Prophets and Heretics: Women in the Anglican Church of Australia. UNSW Press, Sydney 2012, ISBN 978-1-7422-3337-6 , pp. 205-223.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Barbara Darling: Some leading women in the history of the Anglican Church in Australia. In: Australian and New Zealand Religious History 1788–1988. A Collection of Papers and Addresses from the 11th Joint Conference of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Theological Schools and Society for Theological Studies. Australian National University (ANU), Canberra 1988, pp. 147-156.
personal data
SURNAME Darling, Barbara
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Australian Anglican bishop
DATE OF BIRTH October 17, 1947
PLACE OF BIRTH Sydney
DATE OF DEATH February 15, 2015
Place of death Melbourne