Greg Thompson (bishop)

Gregory Edwin Thompson (born 1956) is a retired Australian Anglican bishop.[1] From 2014 to 2017 he was the Bishop of Newcastle.[2] He was previously, from 2007 to 2013, the Bishop of the Northern Territory.

The Right Reverend Greg Thompson
Bishop of Newcastle
Province	Province of New South Wales
Diocese	Diocese of Newcastle
In office	2013 to 2017
Predecessor	Brian Farran
Successor	Peter Stuart
Other posts	Bishop of the Northern Territory (2007–2013)
Orders
Ordination	1986
Consecration	31 May 2007
Personal details
Birth name	Gregory Edwin Thompson
Born	1956 (age 64–65) Muswellbrook, New South Wales, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Denomination	Anglicanism

Early life and education

Thompson was born in Muswellbrook, New South Wales, Australia.[3] He studied at the University of Newcastle.[4] He trained for ordained ministry at Ridley College, an Evangelical Anglican theological college in Melbourne.

Ordained ministry

Thompson was ordained in 1986.[5] From 1988 to 1994, he was Parish Priest of Darwin in the Northern Territory.[3] Then, from 1994 to 1999, he was the New South Wales State Secretary of the Bush Church Aid Society. Having returned to parish ministry, he was Rector of St John's Church, Darlinghurst in Sydney between 1999 and 2004, and then Rector of St John's Church in Canberra.[3]

Thompson was ordained to the episcopate on 31 May 2007 at Christ Church Cathedral, Darwin.[6][7] He then became the Bishop of the Northern Territory.[8] In September 2012, he was elected as the next Bishop of Newcastle.[4] He took up the appointment on 2 February 2013, becoming the 13th Bishop of Newcastle.[9] Thompson concluded his ministry on 31 May 2017. His farewell service was held in Christ Church Cathedral Newcastle on 21 May 2017.[10]

Personal life

Thompson is married to Kerry.[3]

In 2015, Thompson reported that he had been sexually abused by Ian Shevill as a young man when he was 19 and interested in the priesthood.[11] Shevill has been identified as a sexual predator by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in 2016.

See also

• Brian Farran
• List of Bishops of Newcastle

References

1. "Second Hour: Greg Thompson". ABC. 15 July 2007.
2. "Australian bishop quits after working hard to deal with abuse issues". Episcopal Cafe. 16 March 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2017 – via Anglican Communion News Service.
3. "Our Bishop". eastmaitlandanglican.net. Saint Peter's Anglican Church, East Maitland. Archived from the original on 1 February 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
4. Gregory, Helen (15 October 2013). "Anglican bishop keen to build community". The Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
5. "Clerical Directory". Archived from the original on 8 October 2009.
6. "Ordination of Bishop Greg Thompson". The Mendicant Mind and Body. WordPress. 1 June 2007.
7. Christchurch Cathedral website
8. "Provincial Directory: Northern Territory, The". Anglican Communion. Archived from the original on 25 February 2012.
9. Rigney, Sam (2 February 2014). "New Anglican bishop promises justice, compassion". Newcastle Herald.
10. McCarthy, Joanne (22 May 2017). "Bishop told 'good to have you in cathedral'". Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
11. McCarthy, Joanne (26 October 2015). "Anglican bishop Greg Thompson sexually abused by late Bishop Ian Shevill". The Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 15 January 2017.