John R. Stephens is a Canadian Anglican archbishop. Since 28 February 2021, he has been the tenth bishop of

New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the cap ...

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 ...

(ACC), and in January 2025 he was elected metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of British Columbia and Yukon.

Biography

Stephens grew up in the

Lower Mainland The Lower Mainland is a geographic and cultural region of the mainland coast of British Columbia that generally comprises the regional districts of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. Home to approximately 3.05million people as of the 2021 ...

region of

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

and was raised in the Anglican Church. He earned an undergraduate degree in science 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 ...

and graduated from the College of Emmanuel and St. Chad 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 ...

. After ordination, he served a rural three-point parish in the

Diocese of Huron The Diocese of Huron is a diocese of the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario of the Anglican Church of Canada. The diocese comprises just over 31,000 square kilometres in southwestern Ontario, sandwiched between Lake Huron and Lake Erie. Its Episc ...

. In 1995, Stephens returned to British Columbia and became rector of St. John the Divine, Squamish. He was appointed rector of St. Philip's Church in

Dunbar Dunbar () is a town on the North Sea coast in East Lothian in the south-east of Scotland, approximately east of Edinburgh and from the Anglo–Scottish border, English border north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Dunbar is a former royal burgh, and ...

in 2001 and assumed an additional role as an

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...

of the diocese. In 2016, Stephens became rector of St. John's Shaughnessy, which was rebuilding in the wake of the departure of most of the congregation during the

Anglican realignment The Anglican realignment is a movement among some Anglicans to align themselves under new or alternative oversight within or outside the Anglican Communion. This movement is primarily active in parts of the Episcopal Church (United States), Episco ...

. In October 2020, Stephens was elected

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese. The coa ...

of the Diocese of New Westminster to succeed Melissa M. Skelton. She consecrated him a bishop at Christ Church Cathedral on January 23, 2021, in a mostly unattended service due to

COVID-19 restrictions During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions, particularly lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions), were implemented in numero ...

. Bishop David Lehman of the Diocese of Caledonia and Bishop Lynne McNaughton of the Diocese of the Kootneys were co-consecrators. Stephens was installed as bishop on February 28, 2021. In January 2025, Stephens was elected to succeed Lynne McNaughton as metropolitan of the province, assuming the title of archbishop of New Westminster. He is married to Ruth, and they have two adult children.

References

External links

Profile on diocesan website
Living people 21st-century Anglican Church of Canada bishops Anglican bishops of New Westminster Year of birth missing (living people) {{Canada-Anglican-bishop-stub