Diocese of the Arctic
{{Short description|Diocese of the Anglican Church in Canada}}
{{Infobox diocese
|jurisdiction = Diocese
|name = the Arctic
|rite = Anglican
|image = Diocese of the Arctic YK.jpg
|caption = Church emblem in Yellowknife
|province = Northern Lights
|coordinates = {{coord|63|44|51|N|068|31|00|W|type:landmark_scale:5000_region:CA-NU|display=inline,title|name=St. Jude's Cathedral, Iqaluit}}
|churches =
|bishop = Alexander Pryor
|suffragans = Annie Ittoshat, Ann Martha Keenainak, Jared Osborn
|cathedral = St. Jude's Cathedral, Iqaluit
|archdeaconries =
|website = [http://www.arcticnet.org/ www.arcticnet.org]
|map = Diocese of the Arctic locator map.png
|map_caption = Location of the Diocese of the Arctic within the Province of the Northern Lights
}}
The Diocese of the Arctic is a diocese of the Ecclesiastical Province of the Northern Lights of the Anglican Church of Canada. It is by far the largest of the thirty dioceses in Canada, comprising almost {{convert|4000000|km2|abbr=on}}, or one-third the land mass of the country. As the name indicates, the diocese encompasses the Arctic region of Canada including the entirety of the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and the Nunavik region of northern Quebec.[http://www.arcticnet.org/map Map of the diocese] The see city is Iqaluit, Nunavut, and the diocese's nearly 34,000 Anglicans (roughly one-third of the total population) are served by 48 parishes. The administrative offices of the diocese are located in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.
The diocese is well known for its igloo-shaped cathedral, St. Jude's, which was destroyed by fire in 2005 but subsequently rebuilt and opened in 2012.[http://www.arcticnet.org/~igloocathedral/ St.Jude's Anglican Cathedral] It maintains a theological school, the Arthur Turner Training School in Iqaluit.[http://www.arcticnet.org/~atts/ Arthur Turner Training School] In 1996, Paul Idlout became the first Inuk bishop of the diocese (as suffragan bishop).
History
Originally, the region was part of the vast and sprawling Diocese of Rupert's Land, which at the time encompassed all of present-day Canada west of Ontario. Anglican activity in the Far North primarily took the form of missionary work among the Aboriginal First Nations and Inuit, undertaken for the most part by the evangelical Church Mission Society. In 1874, the Diocese of Rupert's Land was split into four dioceses one of which, Athabasca, included the present-day Diocese of the Arctic. In 1892, Athabasca was subdivided to create the Diocese of Selkirk (coterminous with the Yukon) and the Diocese of Mackenzie River (coterminous with the Northwest Territories).
The Diocese of the Arctic was created from Athabasca in 1933, subsuming the Diocese of Mackenzie River and carving northern Quebec from the Diocese of Quebec, where—like Nunavut and the Northwest Territories—the majority of the population is indigenous. The first constituted synod was not convened, however, until 1972.{{Cite web |url=http://www.arcticnet.org/story |title=History |access-date=2010-05-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715183059/http://arcticnet.org/story |archive-date=2014-07-15 |url-status=dead }}
In 2002, Andrew Atagotaaluk became the first Inuk diocesan bishop of the diocese and the fifth bishop of the Arctic. Atagotaaluk retired at the end of 2012.
In June 2012, an electoral synod was held. David W. Parsons was elected to succeed as diocesan bishop and Darren McCartney as suffragan.
At the Diocesan Synod held in Yellowknife on 28 March 2019, Joey Royal, Annie Ittoshat and Lucy Netser were elected as suffragan bishops. They were consecrated on 31 March 2019 in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.[https://www.arcticnet.org/our-bishops Diocese of the Arctic Official Website]
Theology
Both the missionary history of the diocese and its particular cultural context contributes to its theology, which tends towards evangelicalism and conservatism.
Anglican realignment
Bishops David Parsons and Darren McCartney were the only Anglican Church of Canada bishops to attend GAFCON II, held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 21 to 26 October 2013.{{Cite web |url=http://www.anglicannetwork.ca/nl_111113.htm |title=ANiC Newsletter: 11 November 2013 |access-date=19 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220044523/http://www.anglicannetwork.ca/nl_111113.htm |archive-date=20 December 2013 |url-status=dead }}
On 18 July 2019, the Diocese of the Arctic declared itself in "impaired communion" with dioceses in the Anglican Church of Canada whose bishops have permitted same-sex marriages.[http://anglican.ink/2019/07/19/diocese-of-the-arctic-withdraws-from-the-anglican-church-of-canada/ Diocese of the Arctic withdraws from the Anglican Church of Canada, Anglican Ink, 19 July 2019]
{{Anchor|Bishop of the Arctic}}
List of bishops of the Arctic
| class="wikitable" style="width: 95%;" |
| colspan="4" style="background-color: #7F1734; color: white;" | Bishops of the Arctic |
|---|
| style="background-color: #D4B1BB; width: 10%;" | From
! style="background-color: #D4B1BB; width: 10%;" | Until ! style="background-color: #D4B1BB; width: 33%;" | Incumbent ! style="background-color: #D4B1BB; width: 42%;" | Notes |
| valign="top" style="background-color: white;"
| style="text-align: center;" | 1933 | style="text-align: center;" | 1949 | |
| valign="top" style="background-color: #F7F0F2;"
| style="text-align: center;" | 1950 | style="text-align: center;" | 1973 | Died in office. |
| valign="top" style="background-color: white;"
| style="text-align: center;" | 1974 | style="text-align: center;" | 1990 | |
| valign="top" style="background-color: #F7F0F2;"
| style="text-align: center;" | 1991 | style="text-align: center;" | 2002 | Elected Suffragan bishop in 1987; Elected coadjutor bishop in 1990. |
| valign="top" style="background-color: white;"
| style="text-align: center;" | 2002 | style="text-align: center;" | 2012 | First Inuk diocesan bishop. Retired on 31 December 2012.[https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/anglican-arctic-diocese-to-elect-new-bishop-wednesday-1.1141808 CBC News – Anglican Arctic diocese to elect new bishop Wednesday] |
| valign="top" style="background-color: #F7F0F2;"
| style="text-align: center;" | 2012 | style="text-align: center;" | 2024 | Consecrated coadjutor bishop at New St Jude's Cathedral, Iqaluit on 3 June 2012;{{cite web|title=Parsons elected bishop|url=http://thresholdministries.ca/2012/05/parsons-elected-bishop/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130115131609/http://thresholdministries.ca/2012/05/parsons-elected-bishop/|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 January 2013|publisher=Threshold Ministries|access-date=17 August 2013}} Succeeded as diocesan bishop on 1 January 2013. |
| valign="top" style="background-color: white;"
| style="text-align: center;" | 2025 | style="text-align: center;" | present | |
List of suffragan bishops
| class="wikitable" style="width: 95%;" |
| colspan="4" style="background-color: #7F1734; color: white;" | Suffragan bishops in the Arctic Diocese |
|---|
| style="background-color: #D4B1BB; width: 10%;" | From
! style="background-color: #D4B1BB; width: 10%;" | Until ! style="background-color: #D4B1BB; width: 33%;" | Incumbent ! style="background-color: #D4B1BB; width: 42%;" | Notes |
| valign="top" style="background-color: white;"
| style="text-align: center;" | 1962 | style="text-align: center;" | 1974 | H. G. Cook. |
| valign="top" style="background-color: #F7F0F2;"
| style="text-align: center;" | 1980 | style="text-align: center;" | 1987 | Translated to Military Ordinariate of the Canadian Forces. |
| valign="top" style="background-color: white;"
| style="text-align: center;" | 1987 | style="text-align: center;" | 1991 | Coadjutor bishop from 1990; diocesan bishop, 1991–2002 |
| valign="top" style="background-color: #F7F0F2;"
| style="text-align: center;" | 1996 | style="text-align: center;" | 2004 | First Inuk to become a bishop. |
| valign="top" style="background-color: white;"
| style="text-align: center;" | 1999 | style="text-align: center;" | 2002 | Coadjutor bishop from 2002; diocesan bishop, 2002–2012. |
| valign="top" style="background-color: #F7F0F2;"
| style="text-align: center;" | 1999 | style="text-align: center;" | 2010 | Translated to Yukon. |
| valign="top" style="background-color: white;"
| style="text-align: center;" | 2002 | style="text-align: center;" | 2010 | Was the team coordinator of the Inuktitut translation of the Bible, completed in 2012. |
| valign="top" style="background-color: #F7F0F2;"
| style="text-align: center;" | 2012 | style="text-align: center;" | 2019 | Consecrated 3 June 2012 at New St Jude's.[http://www.downanddromore.org/news/2012/05/Knocknamuckley-rector-is-elected-Suffragan-Bishop-in-Arctic-Diocese Diocese of Down & Dromore – Knocknamuckley rector is elected Suffragan Bishop in Arctic Diocese] |
| valign="top" style="background-color: white;"
| style="text-align: center;" | 2019 | style="text-align: center;" | 2024 | Director of the Arthur Turner Training School. |
| valign="top" style="background-color: #F7F0F2;"
| style="text-align: center;" | 2019 | style="text-align: center;" | present | Previously ministered in the Diocese of Montreal. |
| valign="top" style="background-color: white;"
| style="text-align: center;" | 2019 | style="text-align: center;" | 2025 | |
| valign="top" style="background-color: #F7F0F2;"
| style="text-align: center;" | 2025 | style="text-align: center;" | present | |
| valign="top" style="background-color: white;"
| style="text-align: center;" | 2025 | style="text-align: center;" | present | |
References
{{reflist|2}}
External links
- [http://www.arcticnet.org/ Diocesan website].
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070116113838/http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/BishopStringer/english/mission-bompas.html William Carpenter Bompas].
{{Anglican Church of Canada}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arctic, Anglican Diocese of The}}
Category:Christian organizations established in 1933
Category:Anglican Church of Canada dioceses
Category:Culture of the Arctic
Category:Anglican realignment dioceses