The Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, Archbishop Andrew Hutchison, has announced that he will retire after next year’s General Synod and the election of his successor.
The announcement was made at a meeting of the Canadian House of Bishops in Niagara Falls, Canada, after he has previously given private notification to the four Canadian Metropolitan Archbishops of his decision.
Archbishop Hutchison, who was only elected at the last General Synod in St Catharines, Ont., reminded Anglican bishops that he had said right after his election in June 2004 that his would be a one-triennium primacy.
Since the General Synod met three years ago, the Archbishop has said that there had to be discussions held regarding whether that original term in office should be extended. However, “despite a good deal of urging for me to do so, I believe the best answer is for me to stick to my original statement,” Archbishop Hutchison said.
Prior to his election as primate, Archbishop Hutchison had told that he was ready to retire at that time. He had already held posts as the Archbishop of Montreal and Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada.
The gathering of bishops were told by the Archbishop that his decision was based primarily on personal and family reasons.
Winnipeg will be the location for the Anglican Church of Canada’s next General Synod in the summer of 2007, and it will now place on its agenda electing a successor to Archbishop Hutchison.
The process for the election will be that the House of Bishops submits a list of no more than five nominees to the General Synod, where clergy and lay members elect a Primate.
The current Primate explained that he had timed his announcement during this period, as it would allow a new Primate time to prepare for the next meeting of the Lambeth Conference, where all Anglican bishops across the world will gather together. The next Lambeth Conference is scheduled to be held in 2008.
Daniel Blake
Christian Today Correspondent