Diocese of the Anglican Church in Canada
The Diocese of Montreal is a diocese of the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada of the Anglican Church of Canada, in turn a province of the Anglican Communion. The diocese comprises the 21,400 square kilometres (8,300 sq mi) encompassing the City and Island of Montreal, the Laurentians, the South Shore opposite Montreal, and part of the Eastern Townships. The See city is Montreal, and the cathedral is Christ Church. The diocese maintains approximately 9,000 on its parish rolls[1] in about seventy parishes.
History
The diocese was established in 1850, having been carved off from the Diocese of Quebec (where there was a suffragan bishop of Montreal from 1836). The first synod was organised nine years later. Its first bishop, Francis Fulford, was influenced by the Oxford Movement.
In 1866, there was one archdeaconry: J. Scott was Archdeacon of Montreal.[2]
Present status
While Montreal was the largest Canadian city and the centre of commerce in the country, the diocese thrived. In recent decades, however, as these attributes have shifted to Toronto, the English-Canadian population in the diocese has shrunk dramatically, forcing the merger and the closure of parishes. The diocese's original membership of 25,000 150 years ago has shrunk by over one-third, even as the total population in the civil region has expanded from about 70,000 to over 3,000,000[3]—a 9000% decrease in its proportional importance. The diocese's decline thus far exceeds Montreal's relative loss of prestige to Toronto.
With both the dioceses of Montreal and Quebec now having less than 10,000 members, and decreasing membership, discussions are underway for the eventual merger of the two fading dioceses, beginning with an exploration of opportunities for combined administration.[1]
Today, like the Anglican Church of Canada generally, liberal theology dominates, with the bishop approving a form for blessings for same-sex unions in 2010.[1]
The present bishop is Mary Irwin-Gibson.
