Colin Robert Johnson (born 1952) is the former

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

archbishop of Toronto and Moosonee, and he served as Metropolitan of the

Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario The Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario is one of four ecclesiastical provinces in the Anglican Church of Canada. It was established in 1912 out of six dioceses of the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada located in the civil Provinces and territories ...

from 2009 to 2018. He was the 11th Bishop of Toronto, the largest

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

in the

Anglican Church of Canada The Anglican Church of Canada (ACC or ACoC) is the Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French-language name is ''l'Église anglicane du Canada''. In 2016, the Anglican Church of ...

Early life and education

Born in 1952, Johnson was educated at the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...

and then received his

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

degree in 1977 from Trinity College in the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

. He was awarded the degree of

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...

(''

honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

'') by

Wycliffe College Wycliffe College () is an evangelical Colleges of the University of Toronto, graduate school of theology of the University of Toronto located at the University of Toronto#St. George campus, St. George campus in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded i ...

and Trinity College, both in 2005, and by Huron College in 2015. Johnson was made an Honorary Senior Fellow of Renison University College in 2017. He was elected an honorary Fellow of Trinity College by its Corporation in 2019.

Ordained ministry

He was made a deacon in 1977, ordained to the priesthood in 1978, and served a number of parishes in the Diocese of Toronto before becoming executive assistant to the diocesan bishop in 1992 and archdeacon of York in 1994.

Episcopal ministry

Johnson was elected

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...

bishop by the diocesan

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

on April 23, 2003, at the Cathedral Church of St. James (Toronto) and was consecrated on June 21, 2003, to serve as the area bishop of Trent-Durham, the eastern region of the diocese. He was elected diocesan bishop on June 12, 2004, and installed as the 11th bishop of Toronto on September 12, 2004. He succeeded Terence Finlay, who retired on June 4, 2004, after serving ''

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by r ...

'' as diocesan bishop for over 15 years. John Strachan was the first bishop of Toronto when the diocese was created in 1839. On October 15, 2009, Johnson was elected the 18th metropolitan of the

. The Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario includes the dioceses of Moosonee, Algoma, Ontario, Ottawa, Toronto, Niagara and Huron. It extends from the Great Lakes in the south to the shores of James Bay in the north and from Martin Falls (Ogoki Post) in western Ontario to Val D'Or in northern Quebec and Cornwall, Ontario in the east. Collectively, Anglicans in the province represent more than half of the Anglican population in all of Canada. Johnson succeeded Caleb Lawrence of the Diocese of Moosonee, who had been the metropolitan since 2004. When the 9th Bishop of Moosonee, Tom Corston, retired on December 31, 2013, the Diocese of Moosonee was reorganized as a mission area of the Province of Ontario, with Johnson, as metropolitan, serving as bishop of Moosonee in addition to his jurisdiction in the Diocese of Toronto. He was formally installed as the 10th Bishop of Moosonee on April 1, 2014 at Bishop Anderson Memorial Church, Cochrane and enthroned at St. Matthew's Cathedral, Timmins the next day. He was elected episcopal visitor of the Sisterhood of St. John the Divine in 2005 and re-elected in 2010, serving until 2015. In 2009, he was named episcopal visitor to the Ontario chapter of the newly constituted North American branch of the Society of Catholic Priests (SCP). Johnson chaired the Theological Education for the Anglican Communion (TEAC2) Working Group and was a member of the Council of General Synod (2008–2013), the executive body of the Anglican Church of Canada. He is a member of the board of directors of the College for Bishops], of the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church, a member of its faculty and a coach for new bishops. He represented the Anglican Church on the National Church Council of the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of the Christian g ...

and is honorary patron of a number of not-for-profit or social service organisations. For several years (1996–2003) he was a member of the Ontario Press Council. He is a founding member of the Bishops in Dialogue consultation to build understanding and respect among diverse leaders within the Anglican Communion. In October 2018, Johnson stepped down as Metropolitan of Ontario and as Bishop of Moosonee. He retired as Bishop of Toronto on December 31, 2018.

Personal life

Johnson is married to Ellen (''née'' Smith). They have three children (Andrea, Rachel and Timothy) and three granddaughters.

Coat of arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Colin Robert 1952 births 21st-century Anglican archbishops 21st-century Anglican Church of Canada bishops Anglican bishops of Toronto Anglican bishops of Moosonee Anglo-Catholic bishops Canadian Anglo-Catholics Recipients of the Cross of St Augustine Living people Trinity College (Canada) alumni University of Toronto alumni