Anglican Journal

12/05/2025

From parishes in the Diocese of Toronto, to the office of General Synod, to the Anglican Church of Uruguay, the Rt. Rev. Michele (Michael) Pollesel’s legacy is one of kindness in leadership and great faith in adversity.

Michele—also known as Michael—Pollesel, who served as general secretary of the Anglican Church of Canada from 2006 to 2011 and then as bishop of Uruguay, died Nov. 21 at the Ottawa Hospital after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 76.

12/02/2025

A unanimous vote at the Council of the General Synod set plans in motion for a national youth council. CoGS youth members described how school demands and distance limit involvement, and why a national body could open doors that local programs cannot.

The Council of General Synod (CoGS) has directed General Secretary Andrea Mann to form a task force and create terms of reference for a national youth council for the Anglican Church of Canada.

12/01/2025

The Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples has named the Rev. Catherine Askew and the Ven. Travis Enright as its co-chairs. Their appointment was welcomed at the Council of the General Synod, where they will begin their work next March.

The Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples (ACIP) elected two new co-chairs Nov. 27: Archdeacon Travis Enright, of the diocese of Edmonton, and the Rev. Catherine Askew, of the Anglican Military Ordinariate.

11/28/2025

The national office is negotiating its exit from a major Toronto lease, CoGS learned. While details remain confidential, leaders report positive movement and continued focus on planning the future of Church House.

A law firm contracted by the Anglican Church of Canada is in negotiations with the United Church of Canada on the former’s exit from an $8.18 million lease on 300 Bloor St. West, Toronto, Canon (lay) Clare Burns, chancellor of General Synod, told the Council of General Synod (CoGS) Nov. 27.

11/25/2025

News that last year’s fire at St. Anne’s Anglican Church is being treated as suspected arson has stirred shock and sorrow among parishioners, even as rebuilding plans move ahead and the community leans on shared faith.

Toronto police and Ontario’s fire marshal are treating the June 2024 fire that destroyed the historic St. Anne’s Anglican Church as suspected arson.

11/24/2025

Life in Bethlehem remains marked by occupation, limited movement and declining Christian presence. Residents and church leaders speak to the pressures facing the city as they prepare for a subdued Advent season.

While Muslims everywhere know where Mecca is, many Christians are at a loss to describe Bethlehem as a city in Palestine, let alone one under siege. Many Palestinian Christians feel abandoned by their Western brethren. There is often a jarring dissociation between the place and the biblical ideal—...

11/19/2025

From traditional honour songs and beaded altar frontals to cedar brushing on Maundy Thursday and a Moose Cree translation of the Book of Common Prayer, the worship practices of Indigenous Anglicans vary greatly across the country.

Archdeacon Travis Enright was raised Roman Catholic, then Anglican, and attended an Anglican seminary. But he says he feels most connected to Jesus in the sweat lodge—a traditional site of spiritual ceremonies, healing and prayer for many Indigenous peoples.

11/14/2025

Federal budget cuts could disrupt programs that help refugees rebuild their lives and support communities in crisis, Anglican coordinators caution, stressing the broader human and spiritual implications.

When Mimi Merrill fled to Canada in 2003 as a student and refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo, it was 17 years before she saw her mother again.

11/14/2025

The Rev. Catherine Short will resume her role as priest-in-charge at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, Corner Brook, on Dec. 1, following a review of the circumstances surrounding her dismissal.

The Rev. Catherine Short has been re-appointed to the position of priest-in-charge at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, Corner Brook in the diocese of Western Newfoundland.

11/13/2025

Primate Shane Parker announced on Nov. 12 that he had accepted Burns' resignation, which is to be effective no later than Dec. 31, 2025.

Canon (lay) Clare Burns has submitted her resignation as chancellor of General Synod and will step down from the position no later than Dec. 31.

11/09/2025

10/31/2025

Anglican theologians are weighing in on a recent statement by the chair of GAFCON—a network of traditionalist provinces—and what it suggests about the future shape of the Anglican Communion.

In the wake of the declaration by a coalition of conservative Anglican provinces of its intention to reorder the Anglican Communion around itself rather than Canterbury, two Canadian scholars with years of experience in the global South take different views on how much the apparent schism will divid...