Andrew Hutchison

Andrew Sandford Hutchison (born 19 September 1938) is a Canadian retired Anglican bishop who served as Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada from 2004 to 2007. Prior to his election at the General Synod of 2004, he was the Bishop of Montreal and Metropolitan of the ecclesiastical province of Canada (which, despite its name, covers southern Quebec, the Maritimes, and Newfoundland). He was viewed as one of the more liberal contenders in the primatial election, and was Canadian Chair of Affirming Catholicism. He was elected amid controversy over his support for blessing same-sex unions (he had stated he does not favour same-sex marriage as such).

Life and career

Hutchison began his ecclesiastical career as a transitional deacon at Christ Church Deer Park in the Diocese of Toronto. He is a graduate and lifelong supporter of Upper Canada College. Hutchison studied at York University and the University of Trinity College, and he is fluent in English and French.

Following his confirmation as Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, Hutchison toured Cuba in February 2005, meeting with religious leaders of the Episcopal Church of Cuba and theology students in Cuba, as well as government officials and the Roman Catholic Archbishop.

Hutchison delivered a response in late 2005 to the call for the destruction of Israel by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, condemning Ahmadinejad for his remarks which incite "hatred of the Jewish people and supporting violence against them."

During the 2006 Canadian federal election, Hutchison co-authored a letter (with the Bishop of Toronto and Bishop Michael Pryse of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada's Eastern Synod) to deliver a plea for more funding to alleviate poverty in Canada.

In April 2006, Hutchison announced that he would be retiring in 2007, just after the General Synod elected his successor as well as attaining the retirement age for Anglican clergy (between 65–70 years of age), as he reached his 70th birthday that year.