Elizabeth Alfred

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Elizabeth Alfred
Born10 January 1914
Died2 February 2015(2015-02-02) (aged 101)
Melbourne, Australia
ChurchAnglican Church of Australia
Ordained1986
Congregations served
St James', Dandenong
TitleThe Reverend

Elizabeth Alfred (10 January 1914 – 2 February 2015) was an Anglican priest in Melbourne, Australia. She was the first woman to be ordained as a priest in the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne, in 1992.[1]

Early life and education[edit]

Elizabeth Alfred was born on 10 January 1914.[1] Her family often moved from place to place in the state of Victoria, and her father was a bank manager.[2] From 1928 to 1929 she attended Girton Grammar School in Bendigo.[2]

Alfred trained at Deaconess House in Melbourne, and in 1944 was placed at St Marks' Fitzroy.[3]

Career[edit]

After three years at Deaconess House, she transferred to the Mission of St John and St James in Dandenong. She was promoted to head deaconess in the Diocese of Melbourne; however, she was dissatisfied that as a woman she could not be ordained.[3] She met ordained women overseas, in the United States and Canada, and raised the issue of women's ordinations with Frank Woods, Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne, without success.[3] Nevertheless, she continued to campaign for change, often joined by close friend and ally Barbara Darling, who later became an assistant bishop in Melbourne.[2]

In 1979, Alfred was appointed chaplain at the Royal Women's Hospital in Melbourne, becoming the first woman to hold the position and[3] that year she was also given Permission to Officiate.[4] In 1981 the Melbourne synod voted in favour of the ordination of women and Alfred was one of a group of women who were ordained as deacons in 1986. She was ordained as a priest in 1992[3] by Archbishop Keith Rayner, although at 78 she was past the age of retirement.[1] Rayner made a promise to Alfred that when her ordination as a priest became a possibility, he would do so regardless of time constraints.[5] The day after her ordination, Alfred celebrated the Eucharist at St. James.[5]

Later life and death[edit]

Alfred presided at Holy Communion on her 100th birthday in 2014 at St James' Church in Dandenong.[1] She died three weeks after her 101st birthday, on 2 February 2015, in Melbourne.[6][7]

Awards and honours[edit]

In 2001, Alfred was added to the Victorian Honour Roll of Women for her achievements as head deaconess and for being the first woman ordained as a priest in Melbourne.[8]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "Elizabeth Alfred presides at her centenary Eucharist". www.anglicannews.org. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "Bendigo Weekly – News". Bendigo Weekly. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d e Melbourne, The University of. "Alfred, Elizabeth – Woman – The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia". www.womenaustralia.info. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  4. ^ Anglican Media. & Angela Grutzner & Associates.  1995,  The Australian Anglican directory
  5. ^ a b Zwartz, Barney (10 December 2012). "Anglican women clergy now 'part of new normal'". The Age. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  6. ^ Brolly, Mark (6 February 2016). "Centenarian priests Elizabeth Alfred and Laurence Eyers called home". Anglican Diocese of Melbourne. Archived from the original on 11 December 2015. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  7. ^ donnabryan (19 June 2021). "Reverend Elizabeth Alfred". ACW. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  8. ^ "Melbourne Diocese celebrates 20 years of women priests, 1992-2012". 5 December 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2019.[permanent dead link]
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