Andrew Hutchison

Andrew Sandford Hutchison (born in Toronto in 1938) is a retired Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada. Prior to his election at the General Synod of 2004, he was the bishop of Montreal and metropolitan of the ecclesiastical province of Canada (which, despite its name, covers southern Quebec, the Maritimes, and Newfoundland). He was viewed as one of the more liberal contenders in the primatial election, and was Canadian Chair of Affirming Catholicism.^[1]

He was elected amid controversy over his support for blessing of same-sex unions (he had stated he does not favour same-sex marriage as such).

Hutchison began his ecclesiastical career as a transitional deacon at Christ Church Deer Park in the Diocese of Toronto. He is a graduate and lifelong supporter of Upper Canada College. He studied at York University and the Trinity College, Toronto. Hutchison is fluent in English and French.

Following his confirmation as Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, Hutchison toured Cuba in February 2005, meeting with religious leaders of the Episcopal Church of Cuba and theology students in Cuba, as well as government officials and the Roman Catholic Archbishop.

Hutchison delivered a response in late 2005 to the call for the destruction of Israel by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, condemning Ahmadinejad for his remarks which incite "hatred of the Jewish people and supporting violence against them."

During the 2006 Canadian federal election, Hutchison co-authored a letter with the Bishop of Toronto and Bishop Michael Pryse of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada's Eastern Synod in delivering a plea for more funding to alleviate poverty in Canada.

In April 2006, Hutchison announced that he would be retiring in 2007 after the General Synod elected his successor. The Rt. Rev. Fred Hiltz, Bishop of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, was elected Primate on 22 June 2007.

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