The Diocese of the Arctic is a

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 ...

of the

Ecclesiastical Province of the Northern Lights The Ecclesiastical Province of the Northern Lights, founded in 1875 as the Province of Rupert's Land, forms one of four ecclesiastical provinces in the Anglican Church of Canada. Territorial evolution The territory covered by the province is r ...

of 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 ...

. It is by far the largest of the thirty dioceses in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, comprising almost , or one-third the land mass of the country. As the name indicates, the diocese encompasses the

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

region of Canada including the entirety of the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...

, and the

Nunavik Nunavik (; ; ) is an area in Canada which comprises the northern third of the province of Quebec, part of the Nord-du-Québec region and nearly coterminous with Kativik. Covering a land area of north of the 55th parallel, it is the homelan ...

region of northern

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. The

see city See or SEE may refer to: * Visual perception Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Televisio ...

Iqaluit Iqaluit is the capital of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. It is the territory's largest community and its only city, and the northernmost city in Canada. It was known as Frobisher Bay from 1942 to 1987, after the large bay on the coast on ...

, Nunavut, and the diocese's nearly 34,000 Anglicans (roughly one-third of the total population) are served by 48 parishes. The administrative offices of the diocese are located in

Yellowknife Yellowknife is the capital, largest community, and the only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the outlet of t ...

, Northwest Territories. The diocese is well known for its

igloo An igloo (Inuit languages: , Inuktitut syllabics (plural: )), also known as a snow house or snow hut, is a type of shelter built of suitable snow. Although igloos are often associated with all Inuit, they were traditionally used only by the ...

-shaped

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

, St. Jude's, which was destroyed by fire in 2005 but subsequently rebuilt and opened in 2012. It maintains a theological school, the

Arthur Turner Training School Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

in Iqaluit. In 1996,

Paul Idlout Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo P ...

became the first

Inuk Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labr ...

bishop of the diocese (as

suffragan bishop 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 b ...

History

Originally, the region was part of the vast and sprawling

Diocese of Rupert's Land The Diocese of Rupert's Land is a diocese of the Ecclesiastical Province of the Northern Lights of the Anglican Church of Canada. It is named for the historical British North American territory of Rupert's Land, which was contained within the ...

, which at the time encompassed all of present-day Canada west of

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

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 ...

activity in the Far North primarily took the form of

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

work among the Aboriginal

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

and

Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

, undertaken for the most part by the

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

Church Mission Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British Anglican mission society working with Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as ...

. In 1874, the Diocese of Rupert's Land was split into four dioceses one of which, Athabasca, included the present-day Diocese of the Arctic. In 1892, Athabasca was subdivided to create the Diocese of Selkirk (coterminous with the

Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...

) and the Diocese of Mackenzie River (coterminous with the

). The Diocese of the Arctic was created from Athabasca in 1933, subsuming the Diocese of Mackenzie River and carving northern Quebec from the Diocese of Quebec, where—like Nunavut and the Northwest Territories—the majority of the population is indigenous. The first constituted

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, ...

was not convened, however, until 1972. In 2002, Andrew Atagotaaluk became the first Inuk diocesan bishop of the diocese and the fifth bishop of the Arctic. Atagotaaluk retired at the end of 2012. In June 2012, an electoral synod was held.

David W. Parsons David W. Parsons (born 1954) is a Canadian Anglican bishop. He was the bishop of the Diocese of the Arctic, Diocese of The Arctic in northern Canada from 2012 until his retirement at the end of 2024. He had previously served as regional dean of t ...

was elected to succeed as diocesan bishop and Darren McCartney as suffragan. At the Diocesan Synod held in

on 28 March 2019,

Joey Royal Joseph "Joey" Royal (born 1980 or 1981) is a Canadian Anglican bishop. From 2019 to 2024, he was one of three suffragan bishops of the Diocese of the Arctic in the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC). Early life and education Royal grew up in north ...

Annie Ittoshat Annie Napartuk Ittoshat (born 1970) is an Inuk Canadian Anglican bishop. Since 2019, she has been one of three suffragan bishops of the Diocese of the Arctic in the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC). Alongside Lucy Netser, who was elected and conse ...

and

Lucy Netser Lucy Netser is an Inuk Canadian Anglican bishop. From 2019 to 2025, she was one of three suffragan bishops of the Diocese of the Arctic in the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC). Alongside Annie Ittoshat, who was elected and consecrated at the same t ...

were elected as suffragan bishops. They were consecrated on 31 March 2019 in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.

Theology

Both the missionary history of the diocese and its particular cultural context contributes to its

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

, which tends towards

evangelicalism Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

and

conservatism Conservatism is a Philosophy of culture, cultural, Social philosophy, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, Convention (norm), customs, and Value (ethics and social science ...

Anglican realignment

Bishops David Parsons and Darren McCartney were the only

bishops to attend GAFCON II, held in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

, from 21 to 26 October 2013. On 18 July 2019, the Diocese of the Arctic declared itself in "impaired communion" with dioceses in the

whose bishops have permitted same-sex marriages.Diocese of the Arctic withdraws from the Anglican Church of Canada, Anglican Ink, 19 July 2019
/ref>

List of bishops of the Arctic

List of suffragan bishops

References

External links

Diocesan website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arctic, Anglican Diocese of The Christian organizations established in 1933 Anglican Church of Canada dioceses Culture of the Arctic Anglican realignment dioceses 1933 establishments in Canada Anglican Province of Rupert's Land