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]
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 |
|
| Consecration | 28 May 2021 by Geoffrey Smith |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Kanishka de Silva Raffel 6 November 1964[2] |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Spouse | Cailey |
| Children | 2 |
| Previous post(s) | Dean of Sydney (4 February 2016 – 28 May 2021) |
| Alma mater |
|
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 in Law, in 1989.[10] After graduation Raffel practised law at Blake Dawson Waldron (which became Ashurst) for two and a half years.[11][12] 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[13][14] and on ABC TV's The Drum.[15] 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.[16] 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.[17] On 6 May 2021, Raffel was elected to the position, at a special election synod.[3][4][18]
On 28 May 2021, Raffel was consecrated a bishop by Geoffrey Smith, and installed as archbishop in Sydney's St Andrew's Cathedral.[19][20] He is the first person from a non-European background to hold the diocesan bishop's position.[4][5][21]
Other roles
Raffel holds a number of other roles, including:
- Member of the General Synod Standing Committee.[22]
- Board Member of GAFCON Australia.[23]
- Council Member of The Gospel Coalition Australia.[24]
- Trustee of the Anglican Relief and Development Fund.[25]
- Trustee of Trinity Theological College, Perth.[26]
Personal life
Raffel is married to Cailey, and has two daughters.[7]