IN AN extraordinary turn of
events, the Rt Revd Dr Glenn Davies, a regional Sydney bishop, has
been elected Archbishop of Sydney on the second night of the Sydney
synod election.
A recount of the votes taken
on Monday night, the first night of the election, revealed that Dr
Davies's only rival - a Sydney rector, Canon Rick Smith - did not,
after all, have sufficient votes to become formally a candidate in
the election.
The voting figures released
on Tuesday had suggested that Canon Smith had achieved a majority
of votes in the House of Laity, but not in the Clergy; while Dr
Davies had achieved majorities in both Houses.
To become a
candidate, a nominee had to receive a majority in at least one
House.
At the second session, Canon
Smith eliminated, Dr Davies was swiftly and overwhelmingly elected
"without dissent in either House", the Sydney diocesan media
statement said.
He will be installed as Archbishop in St Andrew's
Cathedral, Sydney, on 23 August.
The election brings to a
close a fiercely fought media campaign that has run for several
months between supporters of Dr Davies and Canon Smith.
Dr Davies,
who is 62, was strongly supported by more moderate members of the
Sydney Synod, and was formally nominated by 182 people.
Canon Smith's 194 nominators
included a significant number of the hardline Sydney leadership,
led by the Dean of Sydney, the Very Revd Phillip Jensen, brother of
the recently retired Archbishop of Sydney, Dr Peter Jensen.
After the vote was
announced, the Archbishop-elect entered the theatre with his wife,
Dianne, to sustained applause and a standing ovation.
Canon Smith
said in a statement to the synod: "Our first responsibility now is
to pray for Glenn . . . that he will . . . with the strength and
wisdom that only God can give . . . be enabled to serve and
shepherd, love and listen to this wonderful diocese.
"I know that parts of this
process have been characterised by tension, as will always be the
case in a political process. But it has been my great joy that,
through this process, the friendship or fellowship that Glenn and I
enjoy has not been impacted at all."
With just two nominations,
the election process for the 12 Archbishop of Sydney differed
markedly from previous elections.
In 2001, when Dr Jensen was
elected, there were five nominations; and in 1993, when Archbishop
Henry Goodhew was elected, there were nine nominations.
Dr Davies, a biblical
scholar with a doctorate from Sheffield, has been Bishop of North
Sydney since 2002.