Introduction

Sydney Diocese is the largest and, until recently, the richest Anglican diocese in Australia. Beginning with the first white settlement in 1788 and created as a separate diocese in 1847, it currently has more than 715 active licensed clergy and 267 parishes. In the first decade of the twenty-first century, under the leadership of Archbishop Peter Jensen, Sydney Diocese has become a force to be reckoned with in the Anglican Communion. As a leader of the alternative international Anglican movement focused in the Global Anglican Future (GAFCON) project, it has become what can only be described as a destabilizing influence. Sydney diocesan leaders seriously began their public involvement with the wider Anglican world in the lead-up to the 1998 Lambeth Conference. At that time, they joined forces with conservative American Episcopalians (Anglicans) to draw African and Asian conservatives into a coalition designed to defeat what they saw as liberalizing tendencies in the Anglican Church, particularly in North America.