The Rt. Rev. Ronald W. Cutler, bishop of the Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island has been elected as the next Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada, succeeding Archbishop Percy Coffin.

The Archbishop-elect was ordained as deacon and priest in 1981 and elected a bishop in 2008 in the Diocese of Nova Scotia and PEI. In reflecting on Episcopal ministry, he said, “My experience of episcopal ministry as suffragan, coadjutor and as diocesan, has been one of journeying with people in transition. Working with those discerning a call to leadership both lay and ordained, with communities experiencing demographic shifts and parishes struggling with what it means to be faithful in this time and place.”

When asked to describe his vision for the Province of Canada, the new Archbishop-elect responded, “I believe that if the Provincial expression of our church is to have any relevance to the ongoing faith life of Anglicans in Eastern Canada, we must take seriously the ways in which the ‘political, economic, educational and social dimensions’ of our lives have been changing. The gatherings of the Province may be the place where we share the ways in which we are seeking to engage God’s mission in these times and how we might best resource the faith communities where disciples are made, nurtured and formed.”

The Ecclesiastical Province of Canada consists of the Dioceses of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Fredericton, Montreal, Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador, Central Newfoundland, and Western Newfoundland. The Provincial Synod normally meets every three years with delegates from all member dioceses.

The vote for the Metropolitan was taken electronically from May 2 to 6, 2017 by the Electoral Synod of the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada with Archbishop-elect Cutler receiving the required majority in the Houses of Laity, Clergy, and Bishops. The date of the Installation of the Archbishop-elect will be announced in the near future.

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Press release prepared by:

The Venerable Sam Rose

Communications for Province of Canada

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