Anglican Diocese of Algoma
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The Diocese of Algoma is a diocese of the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario of the Anglican Church of Canada. It comprises nearly 182,000 square kilometres of the Ontario districts of Algoma (from which it takes its name), Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Manitoulin, and parts of the districts of Nipissing and Timiskaming. The diocese forms a wide band stretching from just west of Thunder Bay on the northern shore of Lake Superior east to the border of Ontario and Quebec. Neighbouring Anglican dioceses are Keewatin to the west, Moosonee to the north, Ottawa to the east, and Ontario, Toronto, Huron to the south.
Algoma's See city is Sault Ste. Marie, and its Anglican population of 18,000 on the parish rolls is served by 50 parishes. The diocesan bishop (the ninth) is The Right Rev. Ronald Ferris, and the Dean of St. Luke's Cathedral is The Very Rev. Nelson Small. Apart from Sault Ste. Marie, other major centres in the diocese include North Bay, Sudbury, and Thunder Bay. Nineteen of the diocese's fifty parishes are located in these communities. Most of the rest of the parishes are located in small towns and First Nations communities.
The Diocese of Algoma, founded in 1873, was one of four carved off from the original Diocese of Toronto. Consisting of a large First Nations population, the primary focus of the new diocese was intended to be missionary activity combined with ministry to the growing European settlements in the Muskoka and Parry Sound areas around Lake Huron. By the turn of the twentieth century, the demographics of the territory had shifted considerably, as mining and forestry attracted more European settlement. By 1906, Algoma ceased to be a missionary diocese of the ecclesiastical province and held its first synod.
The diocese maintains active chaplaincies at Thorneloe University located in Sudbury and the Mission to Seafarers, located in Thunder Bay.
[edit] External links
- Article on the diocese from the Anglican Journal.
- Deanery of Thunder Bay website.
- Website of Camp Gitchigomee, the diocesan camp and retreat centre.
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