Ivan Yin Lee is an assistant bishop in the Anglican Diocese of Sydney, the Bishop of the Western Region.
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Lee was appointed in 2002 to replace Bishop Brian King. He is the first Anglican bishop in Australia to have a Chinese ethnic background.
Early life and education
Lee's parents immigrated to Australia from Guangzhou province, China, in the 1950s. Lee describes his family as having been culturally Buddhist; he was excused from mandatory Christian religious instruction at James Cook Boys high school along with other non-Christian students. Lee converted ot Christianity at a church-run summer camp and later "horrified" his immigrant parents by taking a year off from medical school at the University of New South Wales to study at Moore Theological College. He completed a theology degree instead of returning to medical school.
Career
Lee has served as a priest in Manly, Beverly Hills, and Merrylands. He worked for eight years in an inner-city church in Melbourne, then became rector of St Aidan's Church in Hurstville Grove.
Theological positions
Lee has taken a traditionalist position on the question of women preaching, and on same-sex marriages, stating that, "We don't hold this position as a matter of mere tradition but as the scriptures dictate." Lee is part of the leadership of a theologically conservative and evangelically oriented movement within the Anglican Communion known as Global Anglican Future.
Lee has taken public positions opposing racism and, in particular, criticizing the anti-immigration positions taken by Drew Fraser, citing the Bible as his authority that "there is equality between all people."