Penny Mulvey
22 December 2024
Eighteen years ago, The Right Reverend Dr Philip Freier left his role as Bishop of Northern Territory and moved to Victoria, having been elected archbishop by the synod of the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne.
A stranger in this diocese, it didn’t take long for him to break down walls and win over hearts and minds as he and his wife Joy embraced their new home.
Now this diocese is preparing to release him. On 9 February next year, the archbishop turns 70 and, according to synod regulations, archbishops must conclude their tenure no later than three score years and ten. At an Evening Prayer service, the archbishop will lay down his pastoral staff at the altar, relinquishing his role as chief shepherd to the bishops, vicars, deacons and parishioners of the Melbourne diocese.
Bishop Philip visited Melbourne for a media conference prior to his installation in 2006. Held at Federation Square, the camera crews and journalists fired questions at him. In what proved to be typical Archbishop Philip style, at its conclusion he sat down on one of the Fed Square steps and chatted with two tradies.
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He reflected on that event in our conversation, saying how much the media relationship with the Church has changed. Will the media report on the departure of an archbishop who has faithfully served Melbourne and beyond for nearly 20 years?
From a very early age the archbishop had a love for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. He trained as a schoolteacher and his first placement was on Thursday Island where he met Joy. She had previously been teaching at Mornington Island and they married at the end of that year.
They started a secondary school at Kowanyama in western Cape York and a few years later another secondary school at Yarrabah.
“I was an advisory teacher travelling around the Cape and Gulf schools and also developing science and maths teaching materials for teachers.
“There was a desire in the Queensland education department to lift the opportunity for young people in those communities, so it was really exciting to be part of a cohort of people who were motivated by their Christian principles to do that.”
But it wasn’t just education. He and Joy encountered a deep faith, despite the obstacles, among the people they met.
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“When we went to Kowanyama in 1977 it had no television, you had to listen to short wave radio to listen to any radio programs. There were no telephones. The only contact with the outside world was by letter or the Royal Flying Doctor Service radio.”
These were formative years for Philip and Joy, and they have kept relationships into the present time.
God was leading the young couple into a lifetime relationship with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. After five years of teaching, Philip enrolled in theology because of their involvement with the local Anglican Church.
Addressing synod in October, a much older and experienced Philip Freier acknowledged the work being done within the diocese to honour the First Peoples of this land.
“We have made a significant step in the life of the diocese to recognise that there were people who lived on, cared for, and have sovereignty in what is now known as Australia before European settlement.
“As Anglican Christians in Australia we want to see Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people take their full place within the church. By this we will be made rich,” he said as part of his Presidential Charge in his final Melbourne Synod.
Coming to Melbourne nearly twenty years ago demanded another cross-cultural adjustment. Looking back on his arrival in this city, the archbishop said he had learned that you don’t assume that everything is the same as what you are used to and that each city has its own distinct differences.
The prayer4melbourne quest was launched to introduce the archbishop to Melbourne, and to help him understand what made its people tick.
The archbishop wandered around shopping centres, railway stations, factory sites, talking to people. He participated in a public conversation with Cats supporters at the Geelong Football Club hosted by then president, Frank Costa. He sat with an elderly man at a Donut King outlet at Fountain Gate, who told him he came for a $2 donut and coffee every Wednesday in the hope he might get to talk to someone. He met with a group of aging parents in Geelong, who gathered regularly to share about their daily struggles caring for their adult disabled children.
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At the end of that first year as archbishop, a prayer was released, to capture the yearnings and needs as expressed to him over the 10 months of travelling the breadth of the diocese.
The archbishop’s breakfast conversations also started that year, stemming from a desire by the Federation Square leadership to become closer to the Cathedral. Their generosity, in the provision of The Edge, led to a lengthy partnership: 65 public conversations and a clear statement that Christianity and the church belonged in the public square as much as any other group.
Archbishop Philip consumes information. He has a Master of Educational Studies from the University of Newcastle, a Bachelor of Divinity from the Melbourne College of Divinity, a Diploma of Education from the University of Queensland and a Bachelor of Applied Science from the Queensland Institute of Technology.
When the conversation turned to climate change, it was his first degree in Applied Science, that he mentioned.
“I’ve grown up all my adult life with the knowledge and fact of these things and you can certainly see it. I think people are less disputing the science now than they were.”
He described climate change as ‘a weighty matter’.
“The science seems well demonstrated, pretty elementary and incontrovertible that putting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere has a very predictable effect.
“I can imagine,” he adds, “that young people as they become adults will wonder why we left them the legacy we have without more urgent action.”
Time is ticking on, and there is still so much to discuss, but the archbishop smiles warmly. He is willing to give me more of his time.
We discuss faith and secularism. Archbishop Philip thinks that Victoria is leading the states and territories in an ideology of secularism.
“I think humans have a profound sense for things that are important and are radically dissatisfied. Even with a life of abundance and excess, they are radically dissatisfied.”
He continued, “and you only have to look at the extent of injury, depression and all the conditions, addictions, needs and searching. I encounter that in people”.
“I measure it by the packed Christmas and Easter attendance at the Cathedral. People are searching for purpose.”
The archbishop has strong relationships with our Anglican schools and is very aware about issues relating to mental health, addiction to pornography, depression and self-harm among our youths.
He is supportive of the federal government’s determination to put the responsibility on social media companies to ensure people under 16 do not have access to social media apps.
Citing American social psychologist and The Anxious Generation author Jonathan Haidt, Archbishop Philip says “Kids can’t do it on their own, parents can’t do it on their own. You really need a whole society to do that, which I welcome.”
What are three significant changes the archbishop has observed and actively participated in over the last 18 years?
“We have more women in senior leadership roles. Before my time there were no women bishops. We now have two among the four assistant bishops. Ever since Barbara Darling’s consecration we’ve had a woman in the role of bishop in the diocese. That’s a fundamental change.
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“We have a growth and greater visibility of people coming from non-English speaking backgrounds.
“And the third, opportunities for people to take ministry initiatives. We have developed what we call Authorised Anglican Congregations and principles about Ministry Presence.
“These initiatives are part of the vitality and renewal of the church.”
The ordinations of deacons and priests and the consecration of bishops have been a high point for the archbishop because it is a regular reminder of the renewal of the church’s leadership, which is something he can do.
“At a congregational level, you are renewing the church’s leadership by gathering people from a new generation, by reaching across cultural differences. In your role as a bishop, others do those things, and they must do that for the church to prosper.
“But the renewal of leadership is something which is uniquely given to my role.
“We are getting called and gifted and capable people coming into ministry, and there have been many hundreds that I am glad to have ordained in my time in Melbourne.”
“The relationship with the schools has also been greatly encouraging,” he adds.
“It’s a relationship of mutuality and friendship and the archbishop is a significant person in the mediation of that role.”
Time for one more question. What are some of the greatest strengths of the Anglican Church?
“There are many,” the archbishop said. “But I think our commitment to intellectual rigour – we have very high expectations of academic achievement by our leaders.
“We still have the aspiration to reach into local community. The Anglican Church at its best is very connected to local community.”
Amid a loaded schedule, the archbishop had carved out time. Time to reflect and reminisce. But also to look forward with optimism and faith, in the knowledge the Anglican Diocese would remain in good hands with strong leadership at both diocesan and parish levels.
Archbishop Philip will lay down his pastoral staff in February, having built a sure foundation here in Melbourne over the last 18 years.
“By the grace God has given me, I laid a sure foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care.” (1 Corinthians 3:10)
If you would like to express your thanks to the Archbishop and Joy, financial contributions can be made via the following ADF account:
Account Name Archbishop’s Farewell Gift
BSB 703 122
Account Number 05010565
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