We Anglicans have funny names for a lot of things. For instance, we call our presiding bishop “the primate,” and we call the primate’s elected right-hand person “the prolocutor.” That’s the position I currently have the honour of holding — though I sometimes have trouble pronouncing it!
One of the most important things the approximately 300 delegates to the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada will do when they meet at London, Ontario in the last week of June is elect a new primate for our church. The former primate, Linda Nicholls, reached mandatory retirement age last fall; since then, we’ve been led by an acting primate, Anne Germond, who is also bishop of Algoma and metropolitan of the ecclesiastical province of Ontario.
The primate is not “the boss of all the bishops.” But the primate is the bishops’ convenor and pastor, and “first among equals” with the other archbishops. The primate is also, under our constitution, the president and CEO of the General Synod, chair of the Council of General Synod, and an ex officio member of all national church committees, councils, boards and commissions.
The primate exercises pastoral and spiritual leadership throughout the Anglican Church of Canada, regularly visits every diocese across the country, speaks prophetically to the church and the world about matters of faith and social justice, and represents the Anglican Church of Canada ecumenically and internationally.
Our next primate will be elected by a majority of the members of the Order of Clergy and the Order of Laity at the General Synod. One of my last duties as prolocutor will be to preside over that election.
But the process of the primatial election is beginning right now, as this edition of Faith Tides is being published. This week, the Order of Bishops is meeting at Mount Carmel Monastery in Niagara Falls, to discern three to five of their number as nominees for primate.
Those names will be announced on Thursday, April 3, on a special web page created to share information about the primatial election. About a week after that, by Friday, April 11, biographical and other written information about the nominees will be posted, and later in April (likely by April 22), nominees’ video responses to questions will be added.
This is considerably more background on primatial nominees than has ever been provided before, intended to create a more open, transparent and inclusive electoral process for all Canadian Anglicans. You’re encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity. You can start now, by visiting the web page and watching the two short videos already posted there, about the primacy and the election.
Other tabs on the same web site will carry other important information about the business of General Synod, including the agenda, reports and resolutions. Check back often to stay up to date about the business of your national church. And please pray for the delegates to General Synod — including the eight of us from the Diocese of Islands and Inlets.
