Clergy
Vicar
Fr. Alex Ross
The Reverend Dr Alexander Ross was born and bred in Melbourne: his parents were married at St John’s East Malvern and he was baptised at St Agnes’ Glen Huntly. He completed his schooling at Caulfield Grammar and undergraduate studies in History, Classics and Education at the University of Melbourne.
Fr Alex trained for ministry at both Trinity College Theological School, Melbourne, and Ripon College Cuddesdon in the UK, completing undergraduate studies in theology at the Melbourne College of Divinity before graduating Master of Theology with Distinction at the University of Oxford, supervised by Martyn Percy and examined by Graham Ward. He served as Assistant Curate of Christ Church South Yarra, before returning to the UK to undertake doctoral study at the University of Cambridge as a Commonwealth Scholar under the supervision of former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.
During his time in Cambridge he continued in ministry as a chaplain at Emmanuel College and upon completing his PhD in 2018 was appointed Associate Dean and Bye-Fellow. His doctoral dissertation, which offers a paradigm-shift in understanding authority and polity within the Anglican Communion, was published by SCM Press in July 2020 and is described by Rowan Williams in his Foreword as “groundbreaking and profoundly illuminating”.
Beyond his parish responsibilities, Fr Alex is an Archbishop’s Examining Chaplain for the Diocese of Melbourne and assists in the delivery of the post-ordination training programme for newly ordained curates. He is a member of School Council of Melbourne Grammar School, the Theological School Committee of Trinity College Melbourne, and the Board of the Brotherhood of St Laurence where he was for two years a member of its Quality and Care Governance Committee and now also serves as a member of School Council of the David Scott School. He is an elected delegate to the Provincial Council of the Anglican Province of Victoria, as well as the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Australia. He is Sharwood Lecturer in Canon Law at Trinity College Melbourne, an Honorary Postdoctoral Associate of the University of Divinity, and one of nine Anglican theologians appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury and Secretary-General of the Anglican Communion to be a member of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC).
Fr Alex is married to Kirsty, Chaplain of Melbourne Girls’ Grammar School, and they have two young children, William and Isabella.
