Archbishop of Athabasca
He obtained a bachelor’s degree at the University of Western Ontario in 1961, and three years later, a degree in divinity in the same university.
He and Rev. Arthur Brown, then the rector of St. Michael and All Angels, worked together to refurbish and rebuild the church, which had been physically and spiritually ravaged in the 1960s
In 1966 he went back to his home diocese and the parish of the Church of the Apostles in Moosonee, Ont., where he would stay for 18 years. Under his leadership, the Trinity solar heat project was initiated.
He became archdeacon for the diocese of Athabasca in Peace River, Alta., from 1984 to1991. In 1992, he was consecrated bishop of the diocese of Athabasca. He was consecrated metropolitan of the ecclesiastical province of Rupert’s Land in 2003.
He and his wife, Nadia, have three children. RODNEY O. ANDREWS, 64
Bishop of Saskatoon
He was the rector of St. Alban’s church, Richmond, B.C., before he was elected bishop in December 2003. He has served in various offices, notably as prolocutor of the General Synod which he helped chair in 2001. For three years he assisted Archbishop Michael Peers, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, with the chairing of the Council of the General Synod. Before he moved to the diocese of New Westminster, he was executive archdeacon of the diocese of Algoma. In the diocese of Montreal, he served as director of rural ministry for Montreal Diocesan Theological College and in the diocese of Calgary, as regional dean, executive committee member, delegate to five provincial synods, and area director for Anglicans in Mission.
He obtained a bachelor’s degree in Canadian history from the University of Saskatchewan in 1963, a bachelor of theology and a master of divinity from Saskatoon’s College of Emmanuel and St. Chad in 1965 and 1981, respectively.
He and his wife, Jacqueline, have two grown children. BENJAMIN T. ARREAK, 56
Suffragan Bishop, Arctic
He has been a member of various national committees and served as deputy prolocutor of General Synod from 1995 to 1998. He was part of a five-priest team that in 2002 produced an Inuktitut-language Bible, a project that took 24 years to complete.
He and his wife, Susan, have seven children.
Charles J. Arthurson, 67
Suffragan Bishop, Diocese of Saskatchewan
In 1983, he and his family moved to La Ronge, Sask., where he was elected suffragan bishop in 1989. He continues to live in La Ronge, where he serves half-time as parish priest and the other half in Episcopal ministry.
He and his wife, Faye, have two adult children. DAVID N. ASHDOWN, 53
Bishop of Keewatin
After his ordination as priest in 1978, he served at various parishes in the diocese of Qu’Appelle. He helped found the Davidson Christian Resource Centre Association, an ecumenical outreach program serving Davidson, Sask., and half a dozen other communities.
In 1992 he became executive archdeacon of the diocese of Athabasca, before moving to the same position at the diocese of Keewatin in 1999. He was elected bishop in 2002.
A member of four General Synods, he has served on several national church committees including stewardship and financial development, financial management and development, mission and co-ordination, eco-justice and the Anglican Appeal task force.
He and his wife, Penny, have three daughters. ANDREW PHILIP ATAGOTAALUK, 54
Diocean Bishop, Arctic
As well as being a fisher of men and women, he was previously involved with the federal Department of Fisheries as a guide and assistant in the beluga survey and polar bear tagging in 1994. A graduate of the Fisheries Guardian Training course, he also trained to become a marine surveyor with Transport Canada, where he later became a ship surveyor in 1998. He was co-ordinator of the Kativik School Board in 1995, and behavioural facilitator in 1996.
He and his wife, Mary, have six children. ANTHONY J. BURTON, 44
Bishop of Saskatchewan
He and Anna moved to Prince Albert, Sask., in 1991 where he served as dean and rector of St. Alban’s Cathedral. They have two children. He has been studying the Cree language to help him minister effectively to 65 per cent of parishioners and half of the active clergy who are Cree. An opera fan, he is also a writer and popular speaker across Canada. BARRY C.B. HOLLOWELL, 56
Bishop of Calgary
Born, raised and ordained in the United States, he received a bachelor’s degree at Valparaiso University, Indiana, in 1970 and a master’s degree in theology at Cambridge University in England in 1972. A year later, he received his master of divinity at the Episcopal Divinity School. He also holds master’s degrees in pastoral studies and psychology.
He came to Canada in 1974 as assistant curate at Fredericton’s Christ Church Cathedral. He served as Anglican chaplain at the University of New Brunswick from 1975 to 1986, when he was named rector of St. George’s church in St. Catharines, Ont.
He was archdeacon of Lincoln in the diocese of Niagara in 1991 before he was elected diocesan bishop of Calgary in 1999.
He and his wife, Linda, have three children. PAUL O. IDLOUT (retiring)
Suffragan Bishop, Arctic
(Baffin and Keewatin) VICTORIA MATTHEWS, 50
Bishop of Edmonton
She has served in various capacities at churches in the diocese of Toronto. From 1980 to 1984 she was priest advisor to the Anglican Youth Movement in the diocese of Toronto and was also involved in the Christian-Jewish dialogue for young people.
Since 1992 she has been a member of the National Executive Council (now the Council of General Synod) and the doctrine and worship committee.
From 2003 to early 2004, she chaired the house of bishops’ task force that examined alternative episcopal oversight for clergy and parishioners who strongly object to church decisions. JIM D. NJEGOVAN, 50
Bishop of Brandon
He received bachelor and master of divinity degrees from the University of Manitoba’s St. John’s College. He has attended several continuing education courses reflecting his advocacy for the environment and human rights, among them, Development and the Environment: a Theological Perspective (1993), Immigration and the Environment (1994), and The World Community in the 21st Century International Conflict Resolution (1996).
He spent his early adult years as a summer labourer for the Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Co. and as caretaker for Winnipeg’s St. Luke’s church.
He has been involved with non-church related groups like the Brandon Habitat for Humanity, the Canadian Mental Health Association, and Amnesty International, among others. He and his wife, Bernadette, have two children. DONALD D. PHILLIPS, 50
Bishop of Rupert’s Land
Well-versed in various forms of ministry, he was elected bishop in 2000.
He received his master of divinity degree from Huron College, University of Western Ontario, in London, Ont. He also holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in chemistry from the same university.
He enjoys listening to all kinds of music and singing in an a capella quartet, volunteering as a fitness instructor at the YMCA, ballroom dancing, gardening, camping, and making gourmet desserts. He and his wife, Nancy, were clergy team presenter for Canadian Anglican Marriage Encounter from 1990 to 1999 and served as national clergy executive couple from 1995 to 1997. They have two sons. LARRY D. ROBERTSON, 49
Suffragan Bishop, Arctic
(Mackenzie and Kitikmeot)
Bishop of Qu’Appelle
Born in Kitchener, Ont., he obtained his bachelor’s degree at the University of Manitoba and his master of divinity at St. John’s College, Winnipeg, which also conferred an honorary doctorate of divinity on him in 1993. He is interested in music and worship and in the role of cathedrals in the Anglican church. He and his wife, Mary Emily, have two grown children.