William Cliff | |
---|---|
Bishop of Ontario | |
Church | Anglican Church of Canada |
Diocese | Ontario |
In office | 2023–present |
Predecessor | Michael Oulton |
Other post(s) | Bishop of Brandon, 2016–2023 |
Orders | |
Ordination | May 14, 1992 (diaconate) November 30, 1992 (priesthood) by the Rt. Rev. Robert Townshend (diaconate) and the Most Rev. Percy O'Driscoll (priesthood) |
Consecration | March 1, 2016 by the Most Rev. Greg Kerr-Wilson |
Personal details | |
Born | April 26,1966 |
Nationality | Canadian |
Denomination | Anglican |
Alma mater | University of Western Ontario King's University College |
William Grant Cliff (born 1966) is a Canadian Anglican bishop and musician. Since 2023, Cliff has been the 13th bishop of the Diocese of Ontario, prior to which he was bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Brandon.
He was born in 1966, in Sarnia, Ontario and raised in nearby Wyoming, Ontario. Cliff attended his local primary school, Wyoming Public, before skipping Grade 8 and attending Lambton Central Collegiate and Vocational Institute in Petrolia from 1979 to 1984. Following this, he attended the University of Western Ontario Faculty of Music from 1984 to 1988. Following this, he attended King's at Western for a B.A. in Religious Studies before attending Huron University College from 1989 to 1992. He was ordained deacon on May 14, 1992, by Suffragan Bishop Robert Townshend of the Diocese of Huron, and ordained priest on November 30, 1992, by Archbishop Percy O'Driscoll of the Diocese of Huron.
Cliff served as Curate to The Rev. Terry Dance at Trinity Church in Simcoe, Ontario (1992-1995) before moving to his first parish as Rector in Grey County at Trinity Church, Durham and St. James' Church in Hanover, Ontario (1995-1998) and then to St. John the Evangelist Strathroy with St. Ann's Adelaide (1998-2002). In 2002, Cliff was appointed Rector of the Collegiate Chapel of St. John the Evangelist, Huron University College, Chaplain to Huron University College, and Anglican Chaplain to the University of Western Ontario. He served here for over 13 years with a vibrant outreach to undergraduate students and a busy worship life at Huron's Chapel. A regular speaker across Canada on issues facing young people and their faith he has been published in journals and periodicals especially on the topic of the needs of youth and intentional Bible study and discipleship.
Cliff was elected bishop in 2015 and consecrated after moving to Brandon in 2016. [1] He was consecrated Bishop on March 1, 2016, by Archbishop Greg Kerr-Wilson, assisted by the Primate of Canada and the bishops of Edmonton, Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Qu'Appelle, Rupert's Land, Niagara, Huron, the retired bishop of the Diocese of Brandon, and the Lutheran bishop of the Manitoba and Northern Synod of the ELCIC.
He continues to serve the Diocese of Brandon as well as the National Church as Secretary to the House of Bishops, Member of the Communications and Information Committee and as a Pension Trustee for the General Synod Pension Plan.
On May 2, 2023, only three days following his election as bishop of Ontario, Cliff was inhibited by the Most Rev. Anne Germond, metropolitan of the Province of Ontario. Sitting Ontario Bishop Michael Oulton and Germond wrote that they had received "allegations" against Cliff and that "proper authorities have been informed." In light of these allegations, Germond paused the process of ratifying Cliff's election in favour of an investigation into this allegation. Cliff was also inhibited from his duties in the Province of Rupert's Land by Kerr-Wilson, who nevertheless stated that:“The Inhibition does not imply, or presume guilt on Bishop Cliff’s part, but is enacted in keeping with our church’s commitment to take all allegations seriously and to facilitate transparency in the investigation process.” [2] Following the investigation, Germond announced on August 1, 2023, that the allegations were not supported by evidence, all inhibitions had been lifted, concurrence from the Ontario house of bishops had been received, and there was no remaining impediment to Cliff's installation as the 13th bishop of the Diocese of Ontario. [3] The result of the investigation was presented as clear and unambiguous. [4]
Cliff was installed as bishop of Ontario on October 21, 2023, at St. George's Cathedral in Kingston. [5]
Cliff, a singer, who played trumpet as a youth, but switched to voice as a student at the University of Western Ontario, [6] has performed at charity fundraising events as a member of a vocal trio of three Anglican priests since the 1990s, the "Three Cantors." The group includes Dean Peter Wall and Archdeacon David Pickett. [1] [6]
Cliff, who was raised in the Pentecostal Church, where the music "grabs you by the soul and shakes you," has said that he discovered his vocation through music when one of his music professors took him to a cathedral. He joined the choir and not long afterward spoke to the dean of the cathedral about attending a seminary. Cliff earned his master of divinity degree in 1992. [6]
From 1997 to 2004 Cliff served as a commissioner of the Human Rights Commission of Ontario under Chief Commissioner Keith Norton. He was appointed a Canon of the Cathedral Chapter of St. Paul's Cathedral, London, Ontario in 2003 and named Canon Precentor of the Diocese of Huron in 2009. While in the Diocese of Huron he served as a liturgical Master of Ceremonies from 1995 until his election and departure to Brandon in 2016. In that time, he also compiled and published a volume for use in the Diocese of Huron called "Eucharistic Canons of the Anglican Communion" (2013) [7] to better assist the liturgy and prayer in the Diocese of Huron. Cliff also earned an M.A. in historical theology while working at Huron with a Thesis on the Chapel Royal and influences of Elizabeth I on politics in her day. [8]
Along with the other singers of the Three Cantors and Mr. Angus Sinclair their accompanist, Cliff was awarded a Doctor of Divinity degree (honoris causa) while still at Huron in 2013. He was also awarded the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal for services to higher education in 2013.
St. Paul's Cathedral in London, Ontario, Canada, is the seat of the Diocese of Huron of the Anglican Church of Canada. It was designed in the Gothic revival style by William Thomas and built between 1844 and 1846, replacing the previous church, which was built in 1834 and burned down in 1844. It is the oldest church in the city. Sculptors John Cochrane and Brothers undertook the work on the cathedral's interior.
St Matthew's Anglican Church is an Anglican church in the Glebe neighbourhood of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1898 and is among the oldest Anglican parishes in central Ottawa.
Charles Ellsworth Bennison Jr. is an American bishop. He was the 15th bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania.
The Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario is one of four ecclesiastical provinces in the Anglican Church of Canada. It was established in 1912 out of six dioceses of the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada located in the civil province of Ontario, and the Diocese of Moosonee from the Province of Rupert's Land.
The Diocese of Toronto is an administrative division of the Anglican Church of Canada covering the central part of southern Ontario. It was founded in 1839 and is the oldest of the seven dioceses comprising the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario. It has the most members of any Anglican diocese in Canada. It is also one of the biggest Anglican dioceses in the Americas in terms of numbers of parishioners, clergy and parishes. As of 2018, the diocese has around 230 congregations and ministries in 183 parishes, with approximately 54,000 Anglicans identified on parish rolls.
The Anglican Diocese of Armidale is a diocese of the Anglican Church of Australia located in the state of New South Wales. As the Diocese of Grafton and Armidale, it was created by letters patent in 1863. When the Anglican Diocese of Grafton was split off in 1914, the remaining portion was renamed Armidale, retaining its legal continuity and its incumbent bishop.
The Diocese of Ontario is a diocese of the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario of the Anglican Church of Canada, itself a province of the Anglican Communion. Its See city is Kingston, Ontario, and its cathedral is St. George's, Kingston. The diocese is not coterminous with the Canadian civil province of Ontario, but rather encompasses approximately 17,700 square kilometres of it, comprising the counties of Prince Edward, Hastings, Lennox and Addington, Frontenac, and Leeds and Grenville. Apart from Kingston, other major centres included in the diocese are Belleville, Brockville, and Trenton. The diocese ministers to approximately 8,500 Anglicans in 45 parishes.
Maurice Scollard Baldwin was a Canadian Anglican Bishop from Toronto, Upper Canada.
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 See city is London, and its parish rolls of 50,000 are served by 177 congregations.
The Diocese of Algoma is a diocese of the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario of the Anglican Church of Canada. It comprises nearly 182,000 square kilometres of the Ontario districts of Algoma, Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Manitoulin, and parts of the districts of Nipissing and Timiskaming. The diocese forms a wide band stretching from just west of Thunder Bay on the northern shore of Lake Superior east to the border of Ontario and Quebec. Neighbouring Anglican dioceses are Rupert's Land to the west, Moosonee to the north, Ottawa to the east, and Ontario, Toronto, Huron to the south.
The Diocese of Moosonee is a diocese of the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario of the Anglican Church of Canada. It was created in 1872 from part of the Diocese of Rupert's Land, in what is now the Province of the Northern Lights, and transferred in 1912 to the new Province of Ontario. Now headquartered in Timmins, Ontario, it was originally headquartered in Moose Factory. Its first bishop was John Horden.
Michael Francis Perham was a British Anglican bishop. From 2004 to 2014, he served as the Bishop of Gloucester in the Church of England.
St. Paul's, Bloor Street, is an Anglican church located at 227 Bloor Street East in Toronto, Ontario. The present church building, completed in 1913, was designed by E. J. Lennox in the Gothic Revival style. At 10,000 square metres (110,000 sq ft), it is the largest church in the Diocese of Toronto. The building is designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act as being of cultural heritage value or interest. It is the regimental church of The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada.
The Rt Rev William Lennox Mills was Bishop of Ontario from 1901 until 1917.
The Anglican Church of Canada is the third largest church in Canada, after the Roman Catholic Church and the United Church of Canada. After many years of debate, the first blessing of a same-sex partnership took place in 2003, by the Diocese of New Westminster, in Vancouver. This was not considered a marriage ceremony, but rather a blessing of "permanent and faithful commitments" between persons of the same sex.
William Lockridge Wright was a Canadian Anglican bishop in the 20th century.
James Lafayette Hobby Jr. is a former American bishop of the Anglican Church in North America. He was elected the second bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh on 23 April 2016 and enthroned on 10 September 2016. He is married to Shari, also an Anglican priest, and they have three daughters.
Kevin Robertson is a Canadian Anglican bishop.
Anne Germond is a South African-born Anglican bishop in Canada. Since 10 October 2018, she has served as Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario, as well as Archbishop of Algoma and Archbishop of Moosonee, in the Anglican Church of Canada. She had served as Bishop of Algoma from February 2017 until becoming its archbishop upon election as 19th Metropolitan of Ontario.
Peter Wall is a Canadian Anglican priest and the retired Dean of Niagara. From October 2022 to January 2024, he has been Interim Dean of Toronto and Priest-in-Charge of the Cathedral Church of St. James.