On April 15, 2025 at a Chrism Mass at Christ Church Cathedral in Vancouver, Archbishop John Stephens was installed as the metropolitan of the ecclesiastical province of British Columbia and Yukon.
The first reading during the service was Isaiah 49:1-7, the second of the four servant songs read during Lent. Archbishop Lynne McNaughton, the outgoing metropolitan and Bishop of Kootenay, gave the homily and spoke about the themes of service and God’s calling to us all in the reading.
The reading begins, “Before I was born the Lord called me; from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.” That call from God, said Archbishop Lynne, takes shape around our individual gifts. “There is joy in using our God-given talents, what we’re good at, to serve a need in the world. That joy brings with it a feeling that God gathers up our created or our honed abilities and experience and what we love to do and uses it for God’s plan for mending the world.”
Archbishop Lynne spoke of the many gifts Archbishop John brings to the role of metropolitan. “He brings pastoral attention to people, presence, knowing how to listen in the midst of complex jurisdictions. He has the necessary sense of humour and perspective, imagination and courage.”
Archbishop Lynne’s sense of humour was also on display. While discussing Isaiah 49:6 (It’s too light a thing that you should be my servant to restore Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations), Archbishop Lynne joked to Archbishop John that this was like God saying, “It is too light a thing that you should be bishop of New Westminster, I will make you archbishop of BC and Yukon.”
Following the homily, Archbishop John was inducted and installed as archbishop and metropolitan of the Ecclesiastic Province of British Columbia and Yukon. During the installation, Andrew Halladay, the prolocutor of the ecclesiastical province and incumbent at St Andrew’s, Langley, presented Archbishop John with the metropolitical cross.
In his first duties as archbishop, John led the renewal of vows, which forms part of the Chrism Mass in the Anglican church. All baptized people present reaffirmed their commitment to Jesus, while all deacons, priests and bishops present also reaffirmed their commitment to their ministry.
Following the eucharist, Archbishop John performed the blessing of the holy oils. These oils are used for confirmations, baptisms, ordinations and anointing. The oil is olive oil made from olive trees cultivated on the West Bank, and the botanicals in the oil were gathered by members of Salal + Cedar, an emerging faith community in the Diocese of New Westminster that brings together Christians committed to climate justice. Clergy in attendance were able to take some of the oils for use in their own parishes.
