We are delighted to announce that the Revd Dr Garry Deverell has been appointed as a Cathedral Canon, becoming the third First Nations Canon to join the Cathedral’s ministry and leadership team.
Dr Garry Worete Deverell is a trawloolway man from northern lutruwita/Tasmania and has been an associate priest of the Cathedral since the beginning of 2022. He has worked in parish, agency and academic ministries for the past twenty-five years and is currently Lecturer and Research Fellow in the School of Indigenous Studies at the University of Divinity. He studied literature, philosophy and education at the University of Tasmania and theology at both the Melbourne College of Divinity and Monash University. He is the author of The Bonds of Freedom: vows, sacraments and the formation of the Christian Self (Paternoster, 2008) and Gondwana Theology: a trawloolway man reflects on Christian Faith (Morningstar, 2018). His current project is a book upon the christological meaning of country. Garry is a passionate advocate for the reformation of the church to more bravely embrace the sovereignty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the relational personhood of queer people.
With Dr Deverell’s installation, all licensed Aboriginal clergy of the Diocese of Melbourne will be Canons of the Cathedral – a significant moment in the history of both the Cathedral, and the Diocese. Announcing Dr Deverell’s appointment, the Very Revd Dr Andreas Loewe, Dean of St Paul’s, said
“I am delighted that the Revd Dr Garry Deverell has been appointed a First Nations Canon at St Paul’s Cathedral Melbourne. Canon Garry has been an Associate Priest of the Cathedral since 2022, and has contributed much to the Cathedral’s ongoing work towards reconciliation and partnership with Indigenous Peoples. We pray for God’s blessing on him, and his family, and look forward to his continued ministry at St Paul’s and throughout the wider Diocese”.
Canon-Designate, Dr Garry Deverell said
“I thank the Dean and Chapter for the honour. I hope to turn the honour into a mode of service for and with the Cathedral Community.”
Dr Deverell will be installed as a Cathedral Canon at a special Chapter Eucharist on Sunday 29 January 2022 at 4.00pm. All are very welcome to attend.