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Anglican bishops nominate four candidates for primatial election

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Published on 
April 19, 2007

Note: This is a corrected release.

NIAGARA FALLS, ONT.—Canadian Anglican bishops have nominated four from among their number to be candidates in the election of a successor to Archbishop Andrew Hutchison, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada.

Archbishop Hutchison, who was elected 12th Primate in 2004, has announced that he will retire after the Anglican General Synod in June. The synod, the Anglican church’s chief governing body, will choose the next primate on June 22 in Winnipeg.

The procedure to elect a Primate, or national leader, is that bishops nominate no more than five candidates at their last meeting before a General Synod. The bishops, however, do not vote in the actual election. Primates are elected by clergy and lay members of the synod.

Bishops nominated for the election of the 13th Primate are:

  • Bishop George Bruce of the diocese of Ontario
  • Bishop Fred Hiltz of the diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island
  • Bishop Bruce Howe of the diocese of Huron
  • Bishop Victoria Matthews of the diocese of Edmonton

Earlier, the bishops considered two motions on the future of the primacy from a task force they previously established. The bishops defeated a motion that would have suspended part of the Canon on the primacy requiring a newly elected Primate to resign his or her diocese. They approved a second motion asking June’s General Synod to establish a task force to undertake a “detailed and comprehensive study of the nature, role, duties and authority of the Primate.”

The Anglican General Synod, which convenes at the Marlborough Hotel in downtown Winnipeg on June 19, is the church’s chief legislative and governing body. It is made up of more than 300 delegates, including lay people, deacons, priests and bishops elected from each of the church’s 30 dioceses. General Synod meets every three years.

The primatial election will be held at a nearby church on June 22. The new Primate will be officially installed in office the evening of June 25.

For more information, please contact Vianney (Sam) Carriere, Director of Communication, 416 924 9199 ext. 306, [email protected] or Josie De Lucia, Assistant to the Director, 416 924 9199 ext. 294, [email protected]

Acknowledging the land and God’s creation

This acknowledgement is crafted in light of the Principles of Reconciliation by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, as we seek to live faithfully in Christ and in right relationship with all. 

We give thanks to the Creator for this land, its waters, forests and all living beings, and for the abiding presence of Christ among us. From coast to coast to coast, these have been cared for and nurtured by First Nations, Inuit and Métis through countless generations. 

We honour the enduring relationship Indigenous Peoples have cultivated with these lands and waters, and the treaties and agreements that reflect these sacred bonds. We acknowledge the harms caused by colonial expansion, through frameworks like the Doctrine of Discovery and structures like the residential school system. We recognize our past failures as a Church, including disruption of connections to the land and suppression of Indigenous spiritualities. 

Guided by the gospel of Jesus Christ, we confess our need for healing. We commit ourselves to seeking truth, pursuing reconciliation and nurturing harmony with all creation. We place our trust in Christ, through whom all things are reconciled to God. 

May God strengthen us to live faithfully as stewards of the Earth. Let us walk in love, justice and reconciliation, joining in God’s work to restore all creation.