Brisbane Diocese is situated in the southern area of Queensland and covers an area of 542.000 sq. km. from the coastal beaches to the South Australian & Northern Territory borders, adjoining Rockhampton Diocese to the north, and Grafton Diocese to the south.

Its population is estimated at close to 2½ million thus being about three quarters of the entire population of the State. The members of the Anglican Church comprise about 25% of this number. There are 445 clergy and 318 churches.

The diocese covers a large area involving tourism, secondary industry, mining, sheep and cattle grazing, tropical fruit growing, wheat, sorghum and other crops, cotton and wine production, to name just a few diocesan diversities.

On the east coast, and particularly in the southern area of the coast, are some of the best beaches in the country, while to the west of the Great Dividing Range the vast rolling plains give way further west to desert conditions.

The Most Reverend Dr Phillip Aspinall, Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia, is the 12^th Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane since the formation of the State in 1859. He is supported by three assistant bishops, The Right Reverend Geoff Smith, Southern Region, The Right Reverend Jonathan Holland, Northern Region, and the Right Reverend Robert Nolan, Western Region.

St. John’s Cathedral is a building in the Gothic-revival style designed by the eminent English architect, John Loughborough Pearson in 1888. The cathedral was built in stages, 1906-1910, 1964-1968, and consecration of the completed cathedral was celebrated with a Eucharist attended by over 1,000 people on 29th October 2009. This was also the Sesquicentenary of the Brisbane Diocese. The cathedral records much local history and contains many examples of Queensland arts and crafts in the form of woodcarving, needlework cushions and stained glass.

The diocese is divided into several Archdeaconries, thence to deaneries, and so to parishes, of which there are 150. Most parishes are stipendiary.

The welfare arm of the church - Anglicare and Anglicare Western Region provide numerous support groups for the welfare of the general community.

A large amount of time and effort is being put into dialogue with other main-line churches promoting ecumenism particularly in the western regions of the diocese, where it has become almost impossible to provide the type of ministry that was available in the past.

updated 1^st November 2009