As the editor of a diocesan newspaper, I have taken an interest in the recent discussions around communications and the Anglican Journal at the national level and the reports published by the primate’s commission, as well as the recent resolutions at General Synod. I thought I’d offer readers of Faith Tides an overview of these discussions. While I will be keeping an eye on further developments, I don’t offer an opinion, one way or another, on how the question in the title of this piece should be answered. But I would be delighted to hear from readers, and you are always welcome to send a letter to the editor to [email protected].
In 2023, a primatial commission, officially titled Reimagining the Church: Proclaiming the Gospel in the 21st Century, Structures & Resources, was set up to find solutions to some of the church’s challenges. Last summer, the commission released a document with seven “hypotheses” that were intended to be provocative and stimulate creative solutions.
The seventh hypothesis states: “It is time to end independent editorial journalism funded by General Synod.” Although it doesn’t specify the Anglican Journal, the Journal is the only independent journalism funded by General Synod.
Most of the dioceses in the Anglican Church of Canada have their own version of Faith Tides (you can see a list of them on the Anglican Journal website), and these regional newspapers are closely intertwined with the Anglican Journal as they are all printed together. The cost of that printing is largely subsidized by a Canadian Heritage grant. An end to a printed Anglican Journal would likely spell the end of printed diocesan newspapers.
Faith Tides (then the Diocesan Post) reduced the number of print issues it put out in 2021 and moved to an online-only format at the start of 2022. The Faith Tides website is hosted on the Anglican News Canada platform. The Anglican Journal and eleven diocesan newspapers now use this platform, with more planning to join, and it is provided by the national office at no cost to the dioceses.
At the time that we made the decision to move to online-only, the national church’s director of communications had reported to the 2021 Anglican Editor’s Association conference that while the Journal and diocesan newspapers would be in print until at least 2026, declining circulation of the Journal would impact how much money it received from Canadian Heritage.
Another motivation to move our diocesan newspaper online was that the lead-in time needed to print the paper and post it out from Toronto (where the Anglican Journal is based) means that the deadline for completing an issue is usually a month in advance of the publication date. The Journal also does not publish a print edition in July or August. So, reporting on a Synod happening between the end of May and the end of August might not appear in the newspaper until the October issue goes to press.
In fact, that very scenario played out recently as the 2025 General Synod took place on June 23-29. To provide timely reporting, the Anglican Journal posted news updates on its website. The Journal may have begun life in 1875 as the Dominion Churchman, but most readers in 2025 expect news to travel faster than the printing press and postal service can allow. I say most because there are readers who do not, for various reasons including geographic location, have the option of accessing an online-only publication.
The debate around the circulation and printing costs of the Anglican Journal and the diocesan newspapers has been rumbling on for many years. When the primatial commission released its seven hypotheses, it seemed as though the future of the newspapers might once again be under threat. However, at the March 2025 Council of General Synod meeting, council voted to recommend that the print format and journalistic mandate of the Anglican Journal be scrutinized, but that there should be no changes to the format of the Journal for the next three years.
The new members of the Council of General Synod elected at General Synod in June could decide to change this three-year timeline. Assuming that doesn’t happen, the Anglican Journal and its diocesan sections would continue to publish in print until at least 2028.
At issue is also the journalistic mandate of the Journal. The Journal is an independent entity that exists to provide journalistic reporting on the Anglican Church of Canada, while also being funded by the Anglican Church of Canada.
At the same Council of General Synod meeting where members voted to maintain the status quo with regards to the Journal’s format and mandate, the primate’s commission presented six “pathways” for the national church to explore to meet the needs of a smaller membership base.
The fourth pathway, as outlined in the document Creative Pathways is about communications and would involve the communications committee and the director of communications (at the national church level) “examining the current mandate, format and funding model of the communications department.” This would include exploring the purpose of the Anglican Journal and hearing from Anglicans across the country to gather their perspectives on whether the Journal is valued as a journalistic enterprise or as a communications tool.
The Council of General Synod voted to commend the six pathways to General Synod for discussion and further action. At General Synod in London, Ontario, a resolution to pursue the six pathways passed 199 to 14. The resolution also asks that the primate and Council of General Synod report back to the members of General Synod annually on the steps being taken to implement the pathways. So, Anglican editors across the country will be watching and waiting to see how the church decides to communicate in the future.
