Kay Goldsworthy Elected as Archbishop of Perth

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Kay Goldsworthy has been elected as the 8th Archbishop of Perth, and the first woman to take on such a role as Metropolitan in Australia.

The announcement was made by the Diocese of Perth earlier today:

Goldsworthy was one of the frontrunners for the position. When we reported on her appointment to Gippsland in 2014 we noted,

Goldsworthy’s name has been regularly mentioned in discussion surrounding a successor for Herft when he retires in a few years. One senior figure in the church told me that her taking up a full diocesan position would be seen as an important legitimising step towards returning to Perth as Metropolitan. The synod there will be looking for someone far more sympathetic to their liberalising agenda than Herft has proven to be.

Goldsworthy’s election comes less than one week before the beginning of the 2017 General Synod in Australia.

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  1. Ben

    Mmm just on two and a half years in the post at Gippsland, I feel sorry for them having to do through the Episcopal process again so soon. I wonder how she views on why her time as called to be chief pastor of the people of Gippsland was so short. Also does the Anglican Church of Australia need to put some sort of governance in place to stop people from ladder climbing? No further appointment to a sea for atlas five years I reckon and more like 7-10.

    1. PT

      Maybe they do. I don’t like Kay Goldsworthy. Her sermons were the most vacuous, pompous and utterly boring I ever had to sit through!

      The truth be told, Perth needs “regression towards the mean”! Carnley was very young when appointed Arch Bishop. This allowed him a very long time to stack the Diocese. If Herft is regarded as a “disappointment” he’s clearly unbalanced the region, as Herft is very liberal! Goldsworthy is not someone who can inspire the laity. Her style of sermon is like the speech getting laughs out of “in jokes” from theology students. Nor can she reconcile conservatives to her. Her interview with The West Australian has already destroyed any chance of that. I doubt that was her intention, but this only proves that she was the wrong candidate.

  2. Ben

    I see what you are saying but I am not quite sure how it relates to her small amount of time in Gippsland. Her time there seems to be a stepping stone into the Arch Bishops spot and I think that this sort of ladder climbing is deplorable. It has very little regard for the people in the diocese.

    To build on what you have said about her sermons & relationship to the laity. As a theology undergrad I have come to realise that most of the church’s hiarchy seem to be preaching for their own circles and not the greater body of Christ. I don’t think this is limited to Kaye but rather is a problem for anyone who is ladder climbing.

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