Kanishka Raffel

Kanishka de Silva Raffel (born 6 November 1964) is a British-born Australian Anglican bishop of Sri Lankan descent, who has served as the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney since 28 May 2021.^[3][4][5] He previously served as the 12th Dean of St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney from 4 February 2016 until his installation as archbishop.^[6][7]

The Most Reverend Kanishka Raffel
Archbishop of Sydney
Church	Anglican Church of Australia
Province	New South Wales
Diocese	Sydney
Elected	6 May 2021
Installed	28 May 2021
Predecessor	Glenn Davies
Orders
Ordination	1996 (as deacon) by Harry Goodhew 1996 (as priest)^[1] by George Browning
Consecration	28 May 2021 by Geoffrey Smith
Personal details
Born	Kanishka de Silva Raffel (1964-11-06) 6 November 1964 (age 59)^[2] London, United Kingdom^[2]
Nationality	Australian
Spouse	Cailey
Children	2
Previous post(s)	Dean of Sydney (4 February 2016 – 28 May 2021)
Alma mater	University of Sydney (BA (Hons), LLB) Moore Theological College (BD Hons, Dip Min, MA (Theology))

Early life and education

Raffel was born on 6 November 1964^[2] in London, England, to Sri Lankan parents, father, Lorenz a tea plantation supervisor and mother, Lilamani, a doctor.^[8] They moved to Canada for a brief period but found it too cold and emigrated to Australia in 1972.^[5][8]

Raised a Buddhist,^[9] a friend, Andrew Shead, gave him a copy of the Gospel of John when in his third year of his arts-law degree at university.^[8] At the age of 21, Raffel was convinced by the words of Jesus in John's Gospel: "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day" (John 6:44).^[6]

Raffel graduated from the University of Sydney with English honours in 1986^[1] and Law (in 1989),^[10] and practised law for a number of years.^[11] He then trained at Moore Theological College, graduating with a Bachelor of Divinity (BD) and Diploma of Ministry in 1996.^[1]

Ordained ministry

Raffel was ordained deacon in 1996 in the Anglican Diocese of Sydney, and priest in 1996 in the Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn.^[1] He served at St Matthew's Church, Wanniassa from 1996 to 1999,^[1] and then moved to the Anglican Diocese of Perth where he served for 16 years (1999-2016) as rector of St Matthew's Church, Shenton Park.^[6] He obtained a Master of Arts in Theology from Moore Theological College in 2010.^[1]

Dean of Sydney

Raffel was appointed Dean of St Andrew's Cathedral in 2016 and installed in that position on 4 February 2016. He was the first person from a non-European background to hold the position.^[6]

As dean, Raffel was an active spokesman for Christianity, appearing on ABC radio^[12][13] and on ABC TV's The Drum.^[14] In 2021 he led the Sydney diocese's service commemorating the death of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.^[5]

Archbishop of Sydney

As early as 2019, the Sydney Morning Herald had described Raffel as one of the "leading contenders" for the position of Anglican Archbishop of Sydney.^[15] In 2021, he was announced as one of four nominees to replace Glenn Davies, alongside three bishops: the Bishop of North Sydney Chris Edwards, the Bishop of Wollongong Peter Hayward, and the Bishop of South Sydney Michael Stead.^[16] On 6 May 2021, Raffel was elected to the position, at a special election synod.^[3][4][17]

On 28 May 2021, Raffel was consecrated a bishop by Geoffrey Smith, and installed as archbishop in Sydney's St Andrew's Cathedral.^[18][19] He is the first person from a non-European background to hold the diocesan bishop's position.^[4][5][20]

Other roles

Raffel holds a number of other roles, including:

• Member of the General Synod Standing Committee.^[21]
• Board Member of GAFCON Australia.^[22]
• Council Member of The Gospel Coalition Australia.^[23]
• Trustee of the Anglican Relief and Development Fund.^[24]
• Trustee of Trinity Theological College, Perth.^[25]

Personal life

Raffel is married to Cailey, and has two daughters.^[7]

References

1. Earngey, Mark E., ed. (2021). "Nominee Snapshot: Kanishka Raffel" (PDF). Australian Church Record. Autumn 2021 (1925): 34. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
2. "Diocesan Bishops and Archbishops of Australia and Sydney". Sydney Diocesan Archives. Anglican Diocese of Sydney. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
3. Powell, Russell (6 May 2021). ""Like every Christian, I gladly trust in Jesus."". Sydney Anglicans. Anglican Diocese of Sydney. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
4. McEachen, Ben (6 May 2021). "Why they picked Kanishka Raffel as new Sydney Anglican Archbishop". Eternity News. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
5. "Kanishka Raffel new Archbishop of Sydney". Canberra Times. Australian Community Media. Australian Associated Press. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
6. Kembrey, Melanie (7 February 2016). "New Anglican Dean of Sydney, Kanishka Raffel, installed at St Andrew's Cathedral". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
7. "Staff". St Andrew's Cathedral. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
8. Baker, Jordan (5 August 2022). "Charming and unapologetic: Sydney's Anglican archbishop isn't afraid to be out of step with the times". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
9. "A very surprised Christian". CMS Australia. 5 May 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
10. Mackinolty, John; Mackinolty, Judy, eds. (1991). A Century Downtown : Sydney University Law School's first hundred years (PDF). Sydney: Sydney University Law School. p. 253. ISBN 0909777225.
11. Sheridan, Greg (15 May 2021). "Sydney Archbishop Kanishka Raffel's devotion to peace". The Australian. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
12. "The Interview: Rev Kanishka Raffel - Interview from Sunday Nights NLR - (ABC)". Sunday Nights. 13 March 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
13. Kohn, Rachel (28 February 2016). "The Dean's Story". ABC Radio National. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
14. "The Drum: Wednesday 16th of October". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
15. Koziol, Michael (20 October 2019). "'Crisis point': the Anglican church is riven by worse divisions than ever before". Sydney Morning Herald. Nine Entertainment Co. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
16. Powell, Russell (24 March 2021). "Four in line for Archbishop's election". Sydney Anglicans. Sydney Anglicans. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
17. "As Nominee for the Office of Archbishop of Sydney". Introducing Kanishka Raffel. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
18. Jensen, Michael (9 May 2021). "Sydney's new Anglican Archbishop faces an enormous task". Sydney Morning Herald. Nine Entertainment Co. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
19. Powell, Russell. "Historic consecration of Sydney Archbishop – Ozlanka". Ozlanka. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
20. Koziol, Michael (9 May 2021). "Anglicans elect migrant, former-Buddhist, person of colour as Archbishop of Sydney". Sydney Morning Herald. Nine Entertainment Co. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
21. "Standing Committee | Anglican Church of Australia". anglican.org.au. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
22. "Board – Gafcon Australia". Retrieved 29 March 2021.
23. "Council". The Gospel Coalition | Australia. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
24. "About". ardfa.org.au. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
25. pwd. "Governance". Retrieved 29 March 2021.

Anglican Communion titles
Preceded by Glenn Davies	Archbishop of Sydney 2021–present	Incumbent
Preceded by Phillip Jensen	Dean of Sydney 2016–2021	Succeeded by Sandy Grant