Gregory Keith Kerr-Wilson is a Canadian Anglican bishop. Since 2012, he has been bishop of Calgary, and since 2015, he has been archbishop of Calgary and

metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

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 ...

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 ...

. Earlier in his career, he was bishop of Qu'Appelle and dean of Edmonton and rector of All Saints' Anglican Cathedral in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

. He was twice a candidate for

Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada The Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada (referred to in older documents as the Primate of All Canada or the Primate of Canada:File:Thirty-Seven Welfare Organizations Ask Your Help.JPG, "Thirty-seven Welfare Organisations Ask Your Help!", Fed ...

Early life and education

Kerr-Wilson was born in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

and raised in an Anglican family in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

and

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

. He received a

bachelor of applied science A Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS or BASc) is an undergraduate academic degree of applied sciences. Usage In Canada, the Netherlands and other places the Bachelor of Applied Science (BASc) is equivalent to the Bachelor of Engineering, and is cl ...

from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

in 1985. Kerr-Wilson experienced a call to ordained ministry in the Diocese of New Westminster and married Vicki, a fellow UBC graduate, 1986, after which they moved to Wisconsin for his

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

studies at

Nashotah House Nashotah House is an Anglican seminary in Nashotah, Wisconsin. The seminary opened in 1842 and received its official charter in 1847. The institution is independent and generally regarded as one of the more theologically conservative seminaries ...

. Kerr-Wilson completed his theological training at

Trinity College, Toronto Trinity College (occasionally referred to as the University of Trinity College) is a University of Toronto#Colleges, federated college of the University of Toronto located at the University of Toronto#St. George campus, St. George campus in Down ...

, and was ordained to the diaconate in 1989 and the priesthood in 1990. The Kerr-Wilsons also had three now-grown children.

Ordained ministry

Kerr-Wilson began his ministry as

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

of St. Paul's, Bloor Street,

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. He then was rector of the Church of the Holy Family,

Brampton Brampton is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario, and the regional seat of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#L ...

. In that role, he was for nearly two years regional dean of North Peel in the Diocese of Toronto. At Holy Family, he helped the congregation become financially self-sustaining. He was also active as liturgical consultant for the Credit Valley area and a member of the liturgy planning committee for the 1994 visit of Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey to Toronto. He headed west to become dean of Edmonton and rector of All Saints' Cathedral in 1998. During his years as dean, he served as bishop's

commissary A commissary is a government official charged with oversight or an ecclesiastical official who exercises in special circumstances the jurisdiction of a bishop. In many countries, the term is used as an administrative or police title. It often c ...

during a leave of absence by Bishop

Victoria Matthews Victoria Matthews (born 1954) is a Canadian Anglican bishop. From 2008 until 2018, she served as Bishop of Christchurch in the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. In 1994, she became the first woman ordained bishop in the A ...

Episcopacy

Kerr-Wilson was elected bishop of Qu'Appelle in November 2005 and consecrated a bishop at

St. Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina ( ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 Canadian census, ...

, in May 2006. In June 2012, he was elected bishop of Calgary, and his enthronement at the Cathedral Church of the Redeemer occurred on September 29, 2012. In 2017, he presided over the election and consecration of Sidney Black as the first-ever

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 ...

suffragan bishop for the Diocese of Calgary. In June 2015, Kerr-Wilson was elected metropolitan of

Rupert's Land Rupert's Land (), or Prince Rupert's Land (), was a territory in British North America which comprised the Hudson Bay drainage basin. The right to "sole trade and commerce" over Rupert's Land was granted to Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), based a ...

, later renamed the Province of the Northern Lights. He has also been lead bishop for science representing the ACC on the

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...

Science Commission. Kerr-Wilson has twice been a candidate for primate of the ACC, first in 2019 (when

Linda Nicholls Linda Carol Nicholls (born October 25, 1954) is a Canadian Anglican bishop who served as Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada from 2019 until her retirement in 2024. She was previously Bishop of Huron from 2016 to 2019 and a suffragan bishop ...

was elected) and again in the June 2025 election by the

General Synod The General Synod is the title of the governing body of some church organizations. Anglican Communion The General Synod of the Church of England, which was established in 1970 replacing the Church Assembly, is the legislative body of the Church ...

(when Shane Parker was elected). In 2025, he proposed that the primate should no longer be a bishop without see and should return to being selected from among the ACC's diocesan bishops. If elected, he pledged to serve a single three-year term focused on making the necessary changes so that the 2028 General Synod would be able to elect a new primate under a new structure.

Churchmanship

Kerr-Wilson has described himself as "an

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 ...

Charismatic Charisma () is a personal quality of magnetic charm, persuasion, or appeal. In the fields of sociology and political science, psychology, and management, the term ''charismatic'' describes a type of leadership. In Christian theology, the term ...

Catholic 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 ...

, with

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

and

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

tendencies." Kerr-Wilson has maintained a middle ground on

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

, affirming "the real goods that are present within same sex relationships" while declining to grant permission to bless same-sex couples or perform same-sex marriages. In October 2017, Kerr-Wilson sent a pastoral letter to the diocese of Calgary on same-sex marriage and the pastoral care of LGBT persons in the diocese. "As baptized members of our Church we all together, regardless of sexual orientation, share in the Holy Eucharist, are gifted for ministry, and receive the pastoral ministry of the Church, offered in the sacraments, in spiritual counsel, direction and teaching," he wrote. However, since sacramental rites "are offered to the whole of the Church for building it up and healing the brokenness of its members," he said the ACC's canon on marriage constrained the diocese. "Diocesan Synods do not, in our church, have the authority to make decisions on doctrinal matters. Further, it is not within the Diocesan Synod’s authority to grant permission to clergy to perform public liturgical acts." He instead suggested the development of "some intercessory prayers for use in the context of a Eucharistic celebration oask God’s grace for the couple as they seek to grow in their faith and in their partnership." Shortly thereafter, the Calgary diocesan synod approved a motion with 57 percent of the vote asking Kerr-Wilson to authorize clergy to perform blessings of same-sex couples. In the wake of an insufficient majority in the 2019 General Synod to change the ACC's

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

on marriage—leaving in place the status quo that recognizes marriage as between a man and a woman—Kerr-Wilson did not authorize same-sex blessings or recognition of marriage in the Diocese of Calgary as several dioceses did under a "local option." "For Calgary, this is an issue of much concern and hurt, particularly for the LGBT members of our church," Kerr-Wilson wrote following the 2019 General Synod. "I recognize and am deeply grieved by the pain this causes. We will, however, continue to abide by the terms of the Marriage Canon and the ACoC constitutional commitments and documents on which it rests." As of 2025, the Calgary diocese continued to hold the traditional position on the marriage canon.

Works

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr-Wilson, Greg Living people Nashotah House alumni University of British Columbia alumni Deans of Edmonton 21st-century Anglican Church of Canada bishops Anglican bishops of Qu'Appelle Anglican bishops of Calgary Year of birth missing (living people)