BISHOP Keith Rayner, the fifth Bishop of the Wangaratta Anglican Diocese, passed away on Sunday, January 12, aged 95.

Bishop Rayner became the youngest bishop to be appointed in the Australian Anglican Church when he was selected at the age of 39 to come to Wangaratta, where he served between 1969 and 1975.

His appointment in Wangaratta followed his ordination in the Diocese of Brisbane in 1953, curacies at Auchenflower and Dalby, and incumbencies at the Brisbane parishes of Sunnybank and Wynnum.

Following his time locally, he served as Archbishop of Adelaide from 1975 until 1990 and was installed as Archbishop of Melbourne in 1990, where he ministered until he retired on his 70th birthday in 1999.

Bishop Rayner was Primate from 1991 until his retirement, and was a key figure in the eventual ordination of the first women to the priesthood in Australia.

The Very Reverend Neil Hicks, current Vicar of the Holy Trinity Parish and Dean of Holy Trinity Cathedral Wangaratta, said he had heard over the last couple of weeks from a number of people in the diocese who recalled their memories of Bishop Rayner during his time in the city.

"For some, he was their confirming bishop, and many others remembered him fondly," he said.

Rev Hicks said he had trained in Adelaide when Bishop Rayner was Archbishop, and was later in Melbourne for part of his time as Archbishop there.

He said Bishop Rayner was known to approach decisions "with great thought, research and prayer".

"He did an enormous amount of work putting the necessary steps in place so that more people would come along on the journey of any changes made," he said.

"When he retired from Melbourne, the general secretary of General Synod read out a list of acts of synod Bishop Keith had been involved in, and it was as long as your arm."

In addition to the ordination of women, these included making the way clear for divorced people to be remarried in the church.

"He never forgot a name; I remember as a student meeting him at a church service, and he always remembered me after that one meeting - he was the same with everybody," Rev Hicks said.

He said it was no surprise that an article in the Sydney Morning Herald following his passing had described Bishop Rayner as “one of the most significant Australian church leaders of the 20th century”.

The 11th and current Bishop of Wangaratta, Clarence Bester, met his predecessor in August last year, and also recalled the interaction fondly.

Bishop Rayner will be farewelled at St Peter’s Anglican Cathedral in Adelaide on Monday, February 3.