A New Primate

Following a close election which extended to five ballots, Bishop Fred Hiltz of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, 53, was elected to become the 13th Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, June 22. The election, which was held in Winnipeg's historic Holy Trinity Church, was closely contested between Bishops Hiltz and Victoria Matthews of Edmonton, who led the voting in the Order of Clergy through the first four ballots.

After the withdrawal of Bishops George Bruce of Ontario and Bruce Howe of Huron, who failed to attract 10% of support in either the Order of Clergy or Laity in the second ballot, Bishops Hiltz and Matthews obtained exactly the same number of votes in the third ballot (126), with the former winning a majority among laity and the latter achieving the same among clergy. Such pluralities were maintained on the fourth ballot and had they done so on the fifth, the decision would have been referred to the Order of Bishops meeting separately at the nearby Radisson Hotel. But in the end, the bishops were never called upon to make a decision, with final tallies yielding a slim majority of 60 to 56 for Bishop Hiltz in the Order of Clergy and a larger plurality of 81 to 56 in the Order of Laity.

In a gracious acceptance speech to delegates, the Primate-elect spoke of his desire to work to build and maintain the unity of the Anglican Church of Canada. He also cited Isaiah 61:1-2 and its fulfilment in Luke 4:18-21 through the ministry of Christ as a model for his primatial ministry.

Bishop Hiltz, whose installation was scheduled for June 25, was first consecrated a suffragan bishop in 1995, becoming Diocesan of Nova Scotia and PEI in 2002. He was ordained priest in 1978, serving in a variety of parishes in Nova Scotia prior to his episcopal consecration. Notable ministries in the wider church have included his position as Anglican Co-Chair of the Anglican-Lutheran International Commision since 2006.

Unlike Bishop Matthews, Bishop Hiltz was not known for his theological conservativism prior to his election. At a time of such obvious doctrinal (and electoral) division, a major challenge for the new Primate could thus be the extent to which he will prove practically willing and able to reach out to all parts of the church, including conservatives, in keeping with Synod's theme of "drawing the circle wide."