An examination of the development of the Australian Anglican diocese of Armidale in the period from the 1960s from its historic Middle Church orientation to its current evangelical identity. Key figures include John S. Moyes, Clive Kerle, Peter Chiswell, John Chapman, and Evan Wetherell.

For 100 years, the Anglican Diocese of Armidale was generally Middle Church with traces of both High Church and Anglo-Catholic beliefs and practices. A missionary campaign caused the diocese to shift to evangelical doctrine and churchmanship. Taking seriously the witness of ordinary Anglicans, and hitherto ignored sources, this book carefully elaborates how traditional Anglican faith and practice was undermined against the wishes of the majority of its practitioners, both lay and clergy.

The narrative takes the reader back to a largely over-looked, if not forgotten, past when the Anglican Church in Armidale was not as it is today and reaches the conclusion that evangelicalism changed what it meant to be a Christian in Armidale.

Moyes, Kerle, Rothero, Chapman, Chiswell, Brasington, Daunton-Fear, Bowden, Lancaster, Howarth and, especially, Evan Wetherell are among the important figures featured in this drama. Boldly revisionist, this compelling story exposes conflicted Anglican identity, power politics, protracted theological wrangling, and ecclesiastical espionage while challenging the accepted narrative.

Thomas A. Fudge is Professor of History at the University of New England in Armidale

Title: Darkness: The Conversion of Anglican Armidale 1960-2019
Author: Thomas A Fudge
ISBN: 9798985989229
Publisher: Thomas Fudge
Date: 2024