The Importance of the Gospel

Moore College welcomes the election of the new Archbishop of Sydney, Kanishka Raffel. Kanishka is married to Cailey and they have two adult daughters, Hannah and Lucy. He is a graduate of the College having studied here from 1992–1995. While exercising a powerfully effective ministry at St Matthew’s Wanniassa in Canberra (1996–99) and St Matthews’ Shenton Park in Perth (1999–2015), he completed a MA (Theol) from the College as well (2010). Since returning to Sydney as Dean of Sydney in 2016, Kanishka and Cailey have been frequent visitors to the College.

Kanishka is well known to Moore College faculty, students and alumni as an outstanding preacher and a national evangelical leader. His determination to live under the authority of God’s word, to preach the gospel of redeeming love in Jesus Christ, and to encourage others in the exercise of the ministry gifts with which the Lord has endowed them, has been evident throughout his ministry.

“It is a particular delight and a cause of great thankfulness that the Lord has given us Kanishka as our next Archbishop”, commented the College Principal, Dr Mark Thompson. “His commitment to the work of the College is undoubted and his own preaching, teaching and pastoral ministry is an inspiration to many. We look forward to partnership on a new level as he takes over from Archbishop Davies as the President of the Moore College Governing Board. We look forward, too, with great excitement to the continuing ministry of Cailey among the women of the College.”

“Our brother has accepted a difficult role at a challenging time in history. Please join us in praying that our Lord would empower Kanishka to defend the faith boldly and commend Christ winsomely, to lead with great wisdom and integrity, and through every circumstance to grow in perseverance, character, hope, and love.”
– Andrew Shead, Head of Old Testament

“God in his kindness has given us Kanishka Raffel for our next Archbishop for which I am deeply thankful. I first met Kanishka and Cailey in 1993 at Moore College, and since then, they have consistently been a source of joy to me because of their love of God’s purposes and plans, their love for God’s word, their dependence on God in prayer, and their faithfulness to the gospel of Jesus Christ. In both of their ministries they demonstrate a deep love for the church and for the lost. It was a privilege to have Cailey speak at the 2021 Priscilla & Aquila Centre conference where her love for the lost was once again evident. She is a very able speaker who demonstrates great pastoral insight and wisdom. When speaking one to one with Cailey, you always feel she is listening to you, that she loves and cares for you, and that her confidence is in God’s word. It has been excellent to work alongside Kanishka for many years now with The Gospel Coalition Australia Council. In meetings, he brings a deep understanding of what matters most, an ability and a desire to listen and learn from others, and he has a great and appropriate sense of humour about himself and others. He is also able to see the gifts of others and rejoice in them. All these things make it great to be in a team with him. I very much look forward to having him as our next Archbishop, and I am very pleased this means he will have even more to do with Moore College than he already does.”
– Jane Tooher, Director of the Priscilla and Aquila Centre

Take the time to watch synod pray for Kanishka and Cailey, and listen to Kanishka addressing the synod, published by Sydney Anglican Media.

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