Derwyn Trevor Owen (29 July 1876— 9 April 1947) was the sixth Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada and the fifth

Bishop of Niagara The Diocese of Niagara is one of thirty regional divisions in the Anglican Church of Canada. The see city of the diocese is Hamilton, with the bishop's cathedra located at Christ's Church Cathedral on James Street North. Located within the eccles ...

then

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. Crockford's Clerical Directory1947-48 Oxford, OUP,1947

Early life and career

Educated at

Trinity College, Toronto Trinity College (occasionally referred to as The University of Trinity College) is a college federated with the University of Toronto, founded in 1851 by Bishop John Strachan. Strachan originally intended Trinity as a university of strong Angli ...

, he was ordained in 1901. He held

curacies A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

at St John's Church,

and then St James’ Cathedral in the same city. He was

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of Holy Trinity Church, Toronto from 1908 to 1914 and then the

Dean of Niagara The Dean of Niagara is an Anglican dean (Christianity), dean in the Anglican Diocese of Niagara of the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario, based at Christ's Church Cathedral (Hamilton, Ontario), Christ's Church Cathedral in Hamilton, Ontario. The i ...

until his ordination to the

episcopate A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Episcopate

Owen was consecrated as Bishop on 24 June 1925 and enthroned as Bishop of Niagara. He was translated in 1932 to be the Bishop of Toronto. In 1934 he was elected Primate of All Canada, and thereafter styled Archbishop of Toronto and Primate of All Canada (although he was not the Metropolitan of the Province of Ontario, of which Toronto diocese is a part).

Private life

Owen was a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, and a member of Ionic Lodge No 25, Toronto. He married Nora Grier Jellett. His son, Derwyn R.G. Owen, became Provost of Trinity College, Toronto, Owen Senior's old college. An oral history interview of Derwyn R.G. Owen, which includes an account of his family history, can be found at the University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services.

References

1876 births 1947 deaths 20th-century Anglican archbishops 20th-century Anglican Church of Canada bishops Anglican bishops of Toronto Anglican bishops of Niagara Canadian Freemasons Deans of Niagara Primates of the Anglican Church of Canada Trinity College (Canada) alumni {{Canada-Anglican-bishop-stub