Jane Alexander (born March 29, 1959) is a British-born Canadian Anglican bishop. She is a former Bishop of Edmonton, a

bishop 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 c ...

of the Anglican Church of Canada.Anglican Diocese of Edmonton
/ref> She was installed on May 11, 2008, at All Saints' Anglican Cathedral.New Anglican bishop ‘will play by the rules’
Until her consecration as a bishop, Alexander served as

Dean of Edmonton All Saints' Anglican Cathedral is a Canadian cathedral serving the Anglican Diocese of Edmonton, which covers central Alberta. It serves as the episcopal seat of the Bishop of Edmonton. History The Anglican Parish of All Saints was founded in ...

and

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 ...

All Saints' Cathedral All Saints Cathedral or variations may refer to: Argentina *All Saints Cathedral, Santa Fe Canada *All Saints' Anglican Cathedral, Edmonton, Alberta *All Saints Cathedral, Halifax, Nova Scotia China * All Saints' Cathedral, Hong Kong Egypt *All ...

. She is the first female diocesan bishop to succeed another female diocesan bishop in the

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...

. On 26 January 2020, Alexander announced her resignation as Bishop of Edmonton effective 31 July 2020. However, on 17 March 2020, she postponed her resignation until 31 December 2020 citing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Her resignation as Bishop of Edmonton took effect on 16 April 2021.

Early life and teaching career

Alexander grew up in England and attended Brunts Grammar School in Mansfield. As a child, she was forbidden from attending any religious classes at school by her father.Alexander elected Anglican bishop of Edmonton
It was not until she was 25 that she was baptized with her eldest child in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

. Alexander graduated from Newcastle University in 1980 with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree with honours, having completed a thesis on English liturgical music from 1370 to 1430. She then worked as a music teacher, eventually specializing in

special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

. After moving to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

with her family in 1990, Alexander earned a

Master of Education The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum a ...

degree in 1993, followed by a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

degree in educational psychology in 1996, both from the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a Public university, public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexande ...

. She then worked as a professor in educational psychology at the University of Alberta.

Ministry

In 1998, Alexander was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

. She was ordained as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

in 2001 after earning her Masters of Theological Studies from Newman Theological College, a private

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

college. She worked at a number of parishes in the Diocese of Edmonton. In 2006 she was appointed

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

. Before her ordination to the episcopate, she was involved in a movement to eliminate poverty in Edmonton caused by inequality. According to statistical data, it is the most unequal province in the country. She took leadership in a Call To End Poverty in Edmonton leading to coming up with concrete proposals on many fronts, including early childhood education, daycare, living wage, affordable transit and job training.

Episcopate

In 2007, Bishop

Victoria Matthews Victoria Matthews (born 1954) is a Canadian Anglican bishop. From 2008 until 2018, she served as Bishop of Christchurch in the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. In 1994, she became the first woman ordained bishop in the A ...

resigned as Bishop of Edmonton and Alexander became diocesan administrator in her capacity as dean of the

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

. She was elected to be the next bishop on 8 March 2008 on the third ballot. Alexander was consecrated as a

at All Saints' Cathedral and formally installed as Bishop of Edmonton on 11 May 2008, the feast of Pentecost. Alexander's succeeding of Matthews as Bishop of Edmonton was the first instance in the Anglican Communion in which a female diocesan bishop succeeded another. Matthews was Alexander's ordaining bishop for her diaconal and priestly ordinations and was a co-consecrator for her episcopal ordination. Alexander was going to step down as Bishop of Edmonton on 31 December 2020. However, due to the pandemic, she decided to stay on as Bishop of Edmonton to support the diocese. She stepped down as bishop on 16 April 2021. In January 2022, Alexander was appointed interim bishop for the Territory of the People, after Lincoln Mckoen resigned the See following allegations of misconduct.

Consecrators

The Most Reverend The Most Reverend is a style applied to certain religious figures, primarily within the historic denominations of Christianity, but occasionally in some more modern traditions also. It is a variant of the more common style "The Reverend". Angli ...

John Robert Clarke, 10th Archbishop of Athabasca and 15th Metropolitan of Rupert's Land * The Right Reverend Gregory Kerr-Wilson, 11th Bishop of Qu'Appelle (Previously Dean of Edmonton and Rector of

) * The Right Reverend

(9th Bishop of Edmonton; Bishop-Elect of Christchurch Diocese, New Zealand)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Jane 1959 births Living people Alumni of Newcastle University Anglican bishops of Edmonton Canadian Anglican priests Women Anglican bishops University of Alberta alumni