The diocese of Calgary and its bishop, Barry Hollowell, reached agreement on a separation package in July and, 
at press time, Bishop Hollowell announced that he intended to retire as of August 31, 2005.
The details of the compensation agreement were confidential, said diocesan finance director Stephen Koning. When asked if the financial amount would have an effect on diocesan finances, he said, “There will be an impact but it won’t be insurmountable.”
As previously reported in the Journal, the diocese had been in some turmoil since March, when Bishop Hollowell, 57, announced he intended to resign. In late June, he reported to the diocesan executive committee that no agreement had been reached on a separation package and he would not therefore resign, but requested a three-month sabbatical.
Now, said Mr. Koning, “there’s a sense of relief that a resolution has happened. The uncertainty was disconcerting.” In a letter to clergy and laity dated July 19, Bishop Hollowell said Archdeacon Derek Hoskin, of St. Leonard-on-the-Hill in Red Deer, Alta., would become administrator of the diocese as of Sept. 1 until a new bishop is elected and installed.
Mr. Koning said the executive committee will be meeting this month to decide whether to proceed with an episcopal election in the near future or ask that the metropolitan (area archbishop) of the province of Rupert’s Land, Archbishop John Clarke, appoint an interim bishop for two or three years.
In his letter, Bishop Hollowell said he would seek “to discover the manner in which I am being called to live out this order of ministry (of bishop) following retirement – in the church and/or reaching beyond its borders.” He said that he and his family are staying in Calgary.
