Communion nod came ‘completely out of the blue’

Archbishop Colin Johnson of the diocese of Toronto has been appointed chair of the international steering committee for Theological Education for the Anglican Communion (TEAC).

Archbishop Johnson, who was recently elected as metropolitan of the ecclesiastical province of Ontario, said he was surprised and honoured to receive the
offer of the position from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams. “It was completely out of the blue.”

The committee Archbishop Johnson will head is a more streamlined version of TEAC than has been in place, with eight to 10 members instead of 35. The new committee will continue the work of establishing basic grids for theological education.

Archbishop Johnson said TEAC is, among other things, working to ensure that normative texts for Anglican theological education are available in seminaries around the world. “It is to make sure that we understand one another, can speak a common theological language…. [The work is about] development of relationships as well as theological education standards.”