Raffel was born on 6 November 1964[2] in London, England, to Sri Lankan parents, father, Lorenz a tea plantation supervisor and mother, Lilamani, a doctor.[8] They moved to Canada for a brief period but found it too cold and emigrated to Australia in 1972.[5][8]
Raised a Buddhist,[9] a friend, Andrew Shead, gave him a copy of the Gospel of John when in his third year of his arts-law degree at university.[8] At the age of 21, Raffel was convinced by the words of Jesus in John's Gospel: "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day" (John 6:44).[6]
Raffel was appointed Dean of St Andrew's Cathedral in 2016 and installed in that position on 4 February 2016. He was the first person from a non-European background to hold the position.[6]
As dean, Raffel was an active spokesman for Christianity, appearing on ABC radio[13][14] and on ABC TV's The Drum.[15] In 2021 he led the Sydney diocese's service commemorating the death of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.[5]
Archbishop of Sydney
As early as 2019, the Sydney Morning Herald had described Raffel as one of the "leading contenders" for the position of Anglican Archbishop of Sydney.[16] In 2021, he was announced as one of four nominees to replace Glenn Davies, alongside three bishops: the Bishop of North Sydney Chris Edwards, the Bishop of Wollongong Peter Hayward, and the Bishop of South Sydney Michael Stead.[17] On 6 May 2021, Raffel was elected to the position, at a special election synod.[3][4][18]
On 28 May 2021, Raffel was consecrated a bishop by Geoffrey Smith, and installed as archbishop in Sydney's St Andrew's Cathedral.[19][20] He is the first person from a non-European background to hold the diocesan bishop's position.[4][5][21]
Other roles
Raffel holds a number of other roles, including:
Member of the General Synod Standing Committee.[22]
