The Constitution of The Diocese of Saskatchewan: Part I
Tuesday, November 22, 2005 at 08:10PM 1.00 INCORPORATION AND HISTORICAL
1.01 Incorporation
B I L L
No. 03 of 1933
An Act to incorporate The Synod of the
Diocese of Saskatchewan
(Assented to March 27th, 1933)
WHEREAS the Synod of the Diocese of Saskatchewan was incorporated by an Act of Parliament of Canada entitled "An Act to incorporate the Synod of the Diocese of Saskatchewan and for other purposes connected therewith " being chapter 126 of the Statutes of Canada, 1882; and
WHEREAS the present Diocese of Saskatchewan consists of all that portion of the Province of Saskatchewan, lying to the North of the line between Townships 34 and 35, and between the Manitoba boundary on the East and the Alberta boundary on the West; and
WHEREAS it has been found expedient to divide the said Diocese of Saskatchewan into two, the dividing line being as follows:
From the Manitoba border between Townships 43 and 44 due West along the township line to the South Saskatchewan River, thence North along the East bank of the river to a point opposite the line between Townships 45 and 46, thence West along the township line to the North and South line between ranges 7 and 8, West of the Third Meridian, thence North two townships and West along the township line between Townships 47 and 48 to the North Saskatchewan River, thence along the East bank of the river to the Alberta border; and
WHEREAS that portion of the existing Diocese of Saskatchewan which lies to the South of the said dividing line is to be known as the Diocese of Saskatoon and that portion of the existing Diocese which lies North of the said dividing line is to be known as the Diocese of Saskatchewan; and
WHEREAS it has been agreed between the two proposed dioceses that all existing legislation shall be made applicable to the Diocese of Saskatoon and, therefore, a petition has been presented to the Parliament of Canada, praying that the said Act first above mentioned shall be so amended as to make it applicable to the new Diocese of Saskatoon, to be so named therein, and
WHEREAS a petition has been presented praying that the bishop, clergy and laity of the Church of England in the new Diocese of Saskatchewan be incorporated under the name of "The Synod of the Diocese of Saskatchewan", with the rights, powers and privileges incidental to such incorporation; and
WHEREAS it is expedient to grant the prayer of such petition:
THEREFORE His Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, enacts as follows:
The bishop, clergy and laity of the Church of England in the Diocese of Saskatchewan are hereby constituted a body politic and corporate under the name of The Synod of the Diocese of Saskatchewan.
SCHEDULE I. HISTORICAL MEMORANDUM
Sanction for the setting up of the Diocese of Saskatchewan was officially given by the Synod of the Diocese of Rupert's Land at a meeting held in Winnipeg on January 8th, 1873.
The Venerable John McLean, Archdeacon of Manitoba, was consecrated the first Bishop of Saskatchewan in the Parish Church of St. Mary, Lambeth, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, assisted by the Bishops of London, St. Asaph's, Winchester and others. The Notarial Act, signed by F.H. Dyke, Registrar, and the Commission, signed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, are printed in full in the earlier deposited copies of the Constitution and Canons of the Diocese.
Ordinance No. 8 of 1881, passed at Ottawa on June 10th of that year, had the effect of incorporating the Bishops of Saskatchewan as a corporate body in fact and name under the style and title of "The Bishop of Saskatchewan". The Synod of the Diocese of Saskatchewan was incorporated under 45 Victoria Chapter 26, and an amending act assented to on April 19th, 1884. On September 7th, 1894 Ordinance_38 incorporated all congregations organized according to the constitution of the Diocese.
The original boundaries of the Diocese were defined by Bishop McLean at the first Synod held in Prince Albert on August 31st 1882 as "the territory of Montana, U.S. on the South, the Diocese of Athabasca on the North, the Rocky Mountains on the West, and the Diocese of Rupert's Land on the East".
The Diocese of Qu'Appelle (Assiniboia) was constituted a separate diocese by Act of the Provincial Synod on August 10th 1883, and the Act of Incorporation was assented to on May 1st 1885, the first Synod of Qu'Appelle being held on June 3rd in the same year.
In 1887 the Provincial Synod, meeting in Winnipeg on August 12th, gave consent for the civil territory of Alberta to be formed into a separate diocese to be known as the Diocese of Calgary. The Right Reverend Cyprian Pinkham, the second Bishop of Saskatchewan concurred, and for a time continued to act as Bishop of both Dioceses while living in Calgary. The Act of Incorporation of the Diocese of Calgary is dated January 5th 1892, but it was not until June 1903 that the Metropolitan of Rupert's Land was advised that the Calgary Episcopal Endowment was complete. Accordingly Bishop Pinkham relinquished the See of Saskatchewan, and the Provincial Synod on October 1st 1903 elected the Right Reverend Jervois Arthur Newnham, then Bishop of Moosonee, to be the third Bishop of Saskatchewan.
At the Diocesan Synod in June 1926 a resolution was passed asking that the Provincial Synod recognize the necessity for division of the Diocese into Northern and Central Saskatchewan, and grant permission for such division into two dioceses. The request was granted and endorsed by the Provincial Synod meeting in Regina in the same year, and in 1929 at the next meeting in Calgary the Metropolitan expressed keen regret that the division had not yet taken place.
A further resolution from the Diocesan Synod in June 1931 placed the matter in the hands of a joint committee, and division was finally completed on November 10th 1932. A special Synod of the undivided diocese had elected the Reverend W.T. Hallam as fifth Bishop of Saskatchewan in 1931 to succeed the Right Reverend G. E. Lloyd upon his retirement. Bishop Hallam was consecrated on October 28th 1931 and with the division of the Diocese became Bishop of Saskatoon. The Venerable Walter Burd was elected Bishop of Saskatchewan on December 8th 1932 and was consecrated sixth Bishop of Saskatchewan on March 12th 1933.
The new Act of Incorporation of the Diocese of Saskatchewan - Bill 03 of 1933 - was assented to on March 27, 1933.
Bishops of the Diocese of Saskatchewan
- John McLean 1874 - 1886
- William Cyprian Pinkham 1887 - 1903
- Jervois Arthur Newnham 1903 - 1921
- George Exton Lloyd 1922 - 1931
- Thomas Hallam 1931 - 1932
- Walter Burd 1933 - 1939
- Henry David Martin 1939 - 1959
- William Henry Howes Crump 1960 - 1970
- Hedley Vicars Roycraft Short 1970 - 1985
- Thomas Oliver Morgan 1985 - 1993
- Anthony John Burton 1993 – 2008
- Michael William Hawkins 2009 -
Suffragan Bishops of the Diocese of Saskatchewan
1. Charles John Arthurson 1989 - 2008
Special events during 1974 marked the 100th anniversary of the Diocese.
In April 1988 Diocesan Synod authorized the Diocese to petition the Metropolitan for permission to elect a Cree speaking Indian as suffragan bishop. Provincial Synod granted authorization in June 1988. Charles John Arthurson was elected suffragan bishop at a special synod October 22, 1988, and was consecrated January 25, 1989.
