THE Anglican Diocese of Ballarat has appointed the Reverend Michael George Hough as Ballarat's new bishop.
Bishop Hough will be enthroned as the ninth bishop of Ballarat on January 31.
He will assume the role after 10 months as the priest-in-charge of the Creswick-Clunes district and assistant bishop of the diocese.
Bishop Hough, 51, has been a priest for 25 years and a bishop for eight years.
He replaces Bishop David Silk, who retired from the position in July.
Anglican Diocese of Ballarat administrator Father Arthur Savage said he was pleased by the appointment of Bishop Hough.
Bishop Hough was an approachable man of prayer and spiritual depth, who "had an inspiring teaching ability", he said.
Bishop Hough said yesterday he was excited about his new role.
He said his family, which included wife Bennita and children Rebecca, 16, Michael, 14 and Sarah, 10, were looking forward to living in Ballarat.
"For us as a family, all our married life we have basically lived out of suitcases in houses in Papua New Guinea and Torres Strait, and haven't had anywhere where we've settled down for any period of time," he said.
"WE love Ballarat. It's very friendly and lots of interesting things are happening."
Bishop Hough said he hoped to bring the church and everyday living closer together.
"Here, religion and daily life are kind of separate. I'd like to think we can find a better connection between daily living and gospel living," he said.
"Church should be fun. It's not a chore, it's not an onerous task. We should enjoy going to church."
He said the basic principles of the church were often overshadowed by politics.
"I think we get too much caught in the politics of the way we do things. If you can enjoy being part of church, the theological things will get better," he said.
"I would hope to spend a lot of time preaching and teaching the gospels' good news.
"For me, the gospel helps me become what we are meant to be as human beings."
Raised in Eltham, Bishop Hough worked as a missionary in Papua New Guinea for 15 years.
He moved to Creswick in January, after spending two years in Camperdown.
Earlier this year, he made headlines in The Courier when he rejected the notion of homosexual bishops.