St James' Church is an Anglican parish church in Sydney, Australia. Named in honour of St James the Great, it is the oldest extant church building in the city's inner region and has been in continuous service since it was consecrated in February 1824. Its original ministry was to the early convict population of Sydney as well as to the administrative élite. In succeeding centuries, the church has maintained a special role in the city's religious, civic and musical life as well as close associations with the legal and medical professions. The church building was designed in the style of a Georgian town church by the transported convict architect Francis Greenway. Worship is in a style commonly found in the High Church and moderate Anglo-Catholic traditions of Anglicanism, in contrast to the majority of churches in its diocese where services are generally in the style associated with Low Church. The teaching at St James' has a more liberal perspective than most churches in the diocese on issues of gender and the ordination of women. Part of a historical precinct, it is listed on the Register of the National Estate and has been described as one of the world's 80 greatest man-made treasures. (Full article...)
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