Frederick James Hiltz (born 3 December 1953) is a Canadian retired

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 ...

bishop. From 2007 to 2019, he served as Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada.

Early life and education

Hiltz was born and raised in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. He earned his

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree at

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

in 1975 (major in biology) and a

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 at the

Atlantic School of Theology Atlantic School of Theology (AST) is a Canadian public ecumenical university that provides graduate level theological Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taug ...

in 1978. He received an honorary

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 ...

degree in 2002 from the

University of King's College The University of King's College is a public university, public Liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia.Roper, Henry. "Aspects of the History of a Loyalist College: King's College, Windsor, and ...

, Halifax.Hiltz bio
Retrieved 7 July 2007

Ordained ministry

Hiltz was ordained a deacon on 3 June 1977 and a priest on 29 June 1979.
Retrieved 7 July 2007 He served in several parishes in the Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island: Christ Church, Sydney; Melford-Guysborough; Timberlea-Lakeside; The Cathedral Church of All Saints, Halifax; and St. John's Church, Lunenburg. In 1994, Hiltz was elected

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 ...

(an

assistant bishop An assistant bishop in the Anglican Communion is a bishop appointed to assist a diocesan bishop. Church of England In the established Church of England, assistant bishops are usually retired (diocesan or suffragan bishop, suffragan) bishops – in ...

without an automatic right of succession) of the Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. He was consecrated as a bishop the same year. He became diocesan bishop in 2002. Since 2007, he has been Anglican co-chair of the Anglican-Lutheran International Commission.

Primate

Hiltz was elected and installed as primate on 22 and 25 June, 2007 respectively. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' newspaper described him as a " liberal-leaning bishop". He is considered a moderate theological liberal and opposes the death penalty. He supports, and voted in favour of, the blessing of same-sex unions at the 2007 General Synod that elected him. In recent years, Hiltz has undertaken a televised joint Christmas message with the National Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, carrying into greater fulfillment past declarations of Anglican–Lutheran solidarity. In October 2009, he was reportedly dismayed by Pope

Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, his resignation on 28 Februar ...

's invitation to welcome groups of disaffected Anglicans into the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Hiltz announced in January 2018 that he had submitted his notice of intention to resign as primate as of the conclusion of the 42nd General Synod in July 2019.

Residential schools

In 2017, Hiltz issued a strongly-worded rebuke entitled "There was nothing good: An open letter to Canadian Senator Lynn Beyak" who had stated that Canadians ignore the "abundance of good" that happened in residential schools.

Personal life

Hiltz enjoys caring for animals (two Labrador retrievers and a cat), reading, gardening, and woodworking. He is married to Lynne Samways Hiltz.Lynne Samways Hiltz now looking forward to life in Toronto
Retrieved 7 July 2007 They have one son, Nathan (age 35 ), who is a jazz guitarist and music teacher in Toronto.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hiltz, Fred 1953 births 21st-century Anglican archbishops People from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia Trinity College (Canada) alumni Living people Canadian Anglican priests Canadian people of German descent Anglican bishops of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island Dalhousie University alumni Primates of the Anglican Church of Canada