Mark Lawrence MacDonald (born 15 January 1954) is a former

Anglican bishop The Anglican ministry is both the leadership and agency of Christian service in the Anglican Communion. ''Ministry'' commonly refers to the office of ordained clergy: the ''threefold order'' of bishops, priests and deacons. Anglican ministry incl ...

in the

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and

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. From 2007 to 2022, he served as the National Indigenous Anglican Bishop (

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

, from 2019) for 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 ...

; as such, he had pastoral oversight over all

indigenous Canadian Indigenous peoples in Canada (also known as Aboriginals) are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples within the boundaries of Canada. They comprise the First Nations in Canada, First Nations, Inuit, and Métis#Métis people in ...

Anglicans. In April 2022, he resigned and relinquished his ministry following acknowledged sexual misconduct. MacDonald previously served in the Episcopal Church in the United States as Bishop of Alaska (1997 to 2007) and as

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 ...

of the Navajoland Area Mission (2007 to 2009).

Ordained ministry

Episcopal ministry

MacDonald was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

as a bishop on 13 September 1997. From 1997 to 2007, he was Bishop of Alaska in the Episcopal Church. In 2006, it was announced that he had been appointed

of the Navajoland Area Mission, and he was affirmed in that appointment in 2007. He held the appointment co-currently with his Canadian bishopric until his term as assistant bishop ended in 2009. In January 2007, it was announced that he would become the first National Indigenous Anglican Bishop in the Anglican Church of Canada. He took up the appointment on 22 June 2007. His post was elevated to the status of an archbishopric in 2019. He was also the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, most jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodo ...

(WCC) president for North America from 2013. MacDonald resigned as archbishop and relinquished his ministry following allegations of acknowledged sexual misconduct in April 2022. In a statement to the ''Anglican Journal'', Archbishop

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 ...

clarified that the misconduct did not involve allegations of criminal behavior.

Personal life

On 11 November 1989, MacDonald married Virginia Sha Lynn. Together, they have three children: two daughters and one son. MacDonald is classified as a

non-status Indian In Canada, the term non-status Indian () refers to any First Nations person who for whatever reason is not registered with the federal government, or is not registered to a band recognized under the Indian Act. For several decades, status Indian ...

in Canada. He has native ancestry through both his parents.

Honours

In February 2013, MacDonald was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal () or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. There are four versions of the medal: one iss ...

in recognition of his "spiritual leadership while serving Aboriginal communities and his contributions to environmental awareness of Canadians". In March 2022, MacDonald was awarded the Archbishop of Canterbury's

Cross of St Augustine The Cross of St Augustine is an award of merit in the gift of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is awarded to members of the Anglican Communion who have made significant contributions to the life of the worldwide Communion, or to a particular auton ...

"for outstanding service to support the Communion’s role in creation care and climate justice, including the voice of Indigenous peoples". In May 2022, Lambeth Palace confirmed that this award had been withdrawn, following an April 2022 announcement of acknowledged sexual misconduct by MacDonald and his resignation and relinquishment of ministry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacDonald, Mark 1954 births Living people 20th-century Anglican Church of Canada bishops 21st-century Anglican Church of Canada bishops Indigenous Christianity Native American Episcopalians American Episcopalians Non-Status Indians Episcopal bishops of Alaska Episcopal bishops of Navajoland 20th-century Anglican bishops in the United States 21st-century Anglican bishops in the United States Recipients of the Cross of St Augustine