Ric Thorpe

Richard Charles "Ric" Thorpe (born 3 February 1965) is a British Anglican bishop and church planter. Since November 2025 he has been Archbishop of Melbourne, Australia; previously he was the Bishop of Islington in the Diocese of London and the Church of England's "bishop for church plants".

Early life Thorpe was born on 3 February 1965. He was educated at Stowe School, a private school in Stowe, Buckinghamshire. In 1993, he entered Wycliffe Hall, an Evangelical Anglican theological college, to study theology and train for ordained ministry. He graduated from the University of Oxford with a Bachelor of Theology (BTh) degree in 1996.

Ordained ministry Thorpe was ordained in the Church of England: deaconed at Petertide 1996 (30 June) by Richard Chartres, Bishop of London at St Paul's Cathedral and priested the Petertide following (29 June 1997) by Michael Colclough, Bishop of Kensington at Holy Trinity Church, Hounslow. He began his ministry as a curate at Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) in the Diocese of London. After almost 10 years of ordained ministry, he was chosen to lead a church plant from HTB to St Paul's Church, Shadwell. This involved moving 100 parishioners and a number of clergy from HTB to St Paul's to revitalise the church. From 2015 until 2025, he led the Gregory Centre for Church Multiplication.

Episcopal ministry In May 2015, it was announced that the See of Islington would be brought out of abeyance to create a "bishop for church plants". The bishop would be a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of London but would be free from territorial responsibilities and work with the whole Church of England. Thorpe was appointed to this role on 9 July 2015

On 24 May 2025, it was announced that Thorpe had been elected as the next Archbishop of Melbourne, Australia. His election was confirmed and he was installed on 30 November 2025 at St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne.

Views In 2023, following the news that the House of Bishops of the Church of England was to introduce proposals for blessing same-sex relationships, he signed an open letter which stated: many Christians in the Church of England and the Anglican Communion, together with Christians from across the churches of world Christianity, continue to believe that marriage is given by God for the union of a man and woman and that it cannot be extended to those who are of the same sex. [...] Without seeking to diminish the value of many committed same-sex relationships, for which there is much to give thanks, we find ourselves constrained by what we sincerely believe the Scriptures teach which cannot be set aside. He also voted against introducing "standalone services for same-sex couples" on a trial basis during a General Synod meeting in November 2023; the motion passed.