The general definition of a Bishop is an ordained member of clergy in a Christian Church with authority, both spiritual and administrative. The Macquarie dictionary defines a Bishop as, “A clergyman consecrated for the spiritual direction of a Diocese.”
Within the Anglican Church of Australia, a diocesan Bishop oversees all the Anglican Churches in his diocese.
Some functions and roles of a Bishop are:
To care for and oversee both the clergy and lay people within the diocese.
To ordain priests and deacons.
To confirm people- the ceremony which admits a baptized person to full participation in Church.
A Bishop’s role is to teach and maintain the doctrine and discipline of the Anglican Church of Australia as acknowledged and received by the Synod of the Diocese.
The Bishop is bound by the Constitution of the Church, those of the state, his Diocese and by the canons, statutes, ordinances and rules.
Metropolitan dioceses’ leaders are known as Archbishops and some dioceses also have assistant Bishops.
Only men can be ordained as bishops in The Anglican Church of Australia, at this point in time. In fact, some dioceses in Australia do not ordain women as priests or deacons. Women have been ordained as bishops in other parts of the Anglican Communion.
