Trinity remembers Senior Canon, Bishop Barbara Darling

The Senior Canon of St Paul's Cathedral, the Right Reverend Barbara Brinsley Darling, died on the morning of Sunday 15 February in hospital after suffering a stroke.

Bishop Darling’s ministry was extensive.

She was the first female to be appointed as bishop in Melbourne in April 2008, just eight days after Bishop Kay Goldsworthy (TC 1981) was appointed to the position in Perth.

Bishop Darling was made deacon in the church of God in 1986, the first occasion when women were ordained in the Anglican Church of Australia. In 1992 she was ordained to the priesthood, the group being the first of women priests in the Diocese of Melbourne.

Trinity was honoured to host Bishop Darling at the College on several occasions.

In 2012, Trinity College Theological School celebrated the 20th anniversary of the ordination of women to the priesthood with a conference and book launch. The crowd included a number of pioneer figures in the ordination debate, including Bishop Darling.

At the conference, Bishop Darling launched her book, Preachers, Prophets & Heretics: Anglican Women’s Ministry, essays published to mark the 20th anniversary of the Anglican Church’s historic decision in 1992 and the ordinations that followed.

In launching the book, she reflected: ‘It is written so that the new generation can see how far we have come and give thanks for those who went before them … It is also written as a challenge for the way forward as women in ministry.’

Trinity College is proud to include a portrait of Bishop Darling in the Trinity College Theological School administration offices.

Her sudden and untimely death has shocked and saddened all who knew her and enjoyed her loving pastoral support, friendship and encouragement.

We invite you to read more about Bishop Darling’s life, and find details of the funeral arrangements, here.