Sydney Anglican diocese at risk by funding ‘rebels’

A senior Anglican clergyman says the conservative Sydney diocese may violate church law if it bankrolls a breakaway evangelical movement.

Reverend Andrew Sempell, formerly rector of St James’ Church, Sydney, leads a service. Picture: Dan Himbrechts

A senior Anglican clergyman fears the conservative Sydney diocese may breach the law if it bankrolls a breakaway evangel­ical movement in the same way he says it funnelled $1m into the “no campaign” against same-sex marriage in 2017.

Reverend Andrew Sempell, who until last month was rector of St James’ Church in Sydney, told The Australian it was likely the defecting Diocese of the Southern Cross would soon receive fin­ancial support from the Sydney diocese because of its track record of backing breakaway evangelical movements and “planting churches” across NSW.

He said the powerful diocese could risk breaching the NSW Anglican Church of ­Australia Trust Property Act, comparing that approach to how it channelled $1m into the “no campaign” in Australia’s same-sex marriage postal survey in 2017.

“In 2017, I think the funding of the ‘no’ campaign went very close to breaking the law,” Mr Sempell said.

“Some of the lawyers that had a look at that said it was pretty close and just slipped under the radar because it was deemed not a party political issue.”

Reverend Andrew Sempell speaks at a service in Sydney. Picture: Craig Wilson

The Diocese of the Southern Cross, the breakaway church that formally split last week, has installed former Sydney archbishop Glenn Davies as its inaugural bishop, following a historic dispute over the church’s approach to same-sex marriage blessings, homosexuality and the ordination of female clergy.

The dispute has since reached the highest levels of the church and drawn the so-called “progressive” or “revisionist” bishops into bitter conflict with the powerful Sydney diocese and the fledgling Diocese of the Southern Cross.

Bishop Glenn Davies, left, Reverend Foley Beach and Bishop Richard Condie at the National Convention Centre in Canberra. Picture: Martin Ollman

Mr Sempell, a longstanding critic of the Sydney diocese and of its former archbishop, said any funding to the breakaway movement would have to comply with the strict rules of the church’s Trust Property Act and demonstrate that it was being used in the interests of the Anglican Church.

“It’s important to understand the church is governed by a Trust Property Act, which means that a diocese can’t simply take its assets and then use them for another purpose that is not associated with the Anglican Church.”

Mr Sempell said the Trust Property Act should raise serious concerns about how Sydney could justify using their funds to support a “new incorporated body” that was not associated with the church.

“The Endowment of the See is one organisation within the diocese that could provide support to the Diocese of the Southern Cross and not need to report it to the General Synod,” he said, adding that concerns about financial transparency were longstanding and could be improved.

“It’s a real grey area and perhaps shows how Sydney supported the planting and development of evangelical churches or congregations in other dioceses around NSW, particularly around Newcastle, which eventually separated and became incorporated bodies.”

Mr Sempell said the assets of the church were held in trusts ­exclusively for the purposes of the Anglican Church, including its parishes and other organisations.

“There are powers there that corporations simply don’t have, which allows for synod consent for the use of trust money, but you can’t just draw on a trust for something that is unrelated to the Anglican Church,” he said.

“I think most people think that each diocese can act wholly independently with their trusts, but there are limitations.”

A Sydney diocese spokesman said “no financial support has been given (to) or requested” by the breakaway group.