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Anglicans face change of direction
The Anglican Church of Australia faces a major change of direction in the wake of Archbishop Peter Carnley's announcement this week to retire as Primate next year.
The church's evangelical wing - based in the biggest diocese, Sydney - has its best chance in years to elevate a member to the top job.
At 59, Archbishop of Sydney Dr Peter Jensen is a relatively youthful bishop.
The most senior contenders for the position, Archbishop of Adelaide Dr Ian George, and Archbishop of Melbourne Peter Watson, are set to retire in the next few years.
The church's other senior bishop, Archbishop of Brisbane Dr Phillip Aspinall, has only been in the job for two years, but could be a compromise candidate.
In a strange twist, Dr Jensen is almost certainly guaranteed support from two wings of the church - the "low church" evangelicals and the "high church" Anglo-Catholics.
The two wings have come together on a number of issues in past years, most notably opposition to the ordination of women clergy and the leadership of homosexuals in the church.
In essence, the evangelicals see women clergy as being contrary to the Bible and the Anglo-Catholics see them as not in keeping with the long-standing, God-inspired traditions of the church.
Both have also been critical of liberal elements in the church accepting homosexual clergy and gay marriage.
The Primatial Election Board comprises all 23 diocesan bishops, as well as 12 clergy and 12 lay people elected by the General Synod to be held later this year.
At the last election in 2000, Dr Carnley won narrowly from former Archbishop of Sydney Harry Goodhew.
Then Archbishop of Brisbane Peter Hollingworth was eliminated on the third of four ballots, and Dr Carnley defeated Archbishop Goodhew by 24 votes to 17 in the final ballot.
Archbishop Goodhew had received the most votes of all candidates in the first two ballots, but it was believed his imminent retirement influenced voters in the end.
With a number of key changes to the bishops' frontbench in the past two years, the vote is likely to have shifted away from the moderate rump of the church.
Handing leadership of the Australian Anglican Church to Dr Jensen, who was elected Archbishop of Sydney in June 2001, could have far-reaching consequences.
A profile posted on his website quotes him as saying: "Our fundamental aim should be to address the secular challenge by providing flourishing Bible-based, gospel-centred, people-nurturing churches in as many places as possible".
Moves to incorporate women into leadership, including women bishops, embrace changes in secular society and extend a friendlier welcome to homosexuals - all issues championed by Dr Carnley - are likely to flag.
But, given recent national church life statistics, which show strong growth in the so-called "happy-clappy" churches which feature strongly in Sydney, Dr Jensen could in fact lead the church to renewal.
As national leader, he could also be influential in the world-wide Anglican Communion, which is struggling to remain united in the face of difficult issues.
In the lead-up to the 2005 primatial elections, the church will need to consider what sort of future it wants and what sort of leadership it needs to thrive in that future.
©AAP 2003
