Linda Carol Nicholls (born 1954) is a Canadian Anglican bishop who has served as

Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada The Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada (referred to in older documents as the Primate of All Canada or the Primate of Canada "Thirty-seven Welfare Organisations Ask Your Help!", Federation for Community Service. ca 1934-6.) is the primate of ...

since 2019. She was previously Bishop of Huron from 2016 to 2019 and a suffragan bishop in the

Anglican Diocese of Toronto 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 ...

from 2008 to 2016. She is the first woman to head the Anglican Church of Canada and the second female primate 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 ...

Ordained ministry

Nicholls was educated at

Wycliffe College, Toronto Wycliffe College () is an evangelical graduate school of theology at the University of Toronto. Founded in 1877 as an evangelical seminary in the Anglican tradition, Wycliffe College today attracts students from many Christian denominations from ...

, and ordained in 1986. After a

curacy 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 ...

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

, she was the

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...

Georgina Georgina may refer to: Names * Georgina (name), a feminine given name Places Australia * Georgina, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Boulia, Queensland * Georgina Basin, a large sedimentary basin in Australia * Georgina River, a riv ...

from 1987 to 1991 and Thornhill from 1991 to 2005. She was also the Co-ordinator for Dialogue within the Anglican Church of Canada until her election as suffragan bishop in 2007. Internationally, Nicholls serves as a member of the Primate's Task Group of the Anglican Communion Office, a member of the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission III, a participant of

Indaba An indaba (; ) is an important conference held by the izinDuna (principal men) of the Zulu and Xhosa peoples of South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bo ...

and a faculty member of Living our Vows of the Episcopal Church College of Bishops. Nationally, Nicholls has served as a member of the Commission on the Marriage Canon from 2013 to 2016, the co-chair of the Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue in Canada from 2012–present, a member of the Faith, Worship and Ministry Committee of the Anglican Church of Canada from 2011 to 2016, first a member and the chair of the Standing Committee on Religious Orders of the Anglican Church of Canada House of Bishops, the chair of the Primate's Theological Commission of the Anglican Church of Canada from 2008 to 2010, a member of the Task Force on the Role of the Primacy in the Anglican Church of Canada from 2008 to 2010, co-chair of the Ecumenical Health Care Network of the Canadian Council of Churches, a member of the Canadian Christian Jewish Consultation from 2005 to 2008, co-chair of the National Muslim Christian Liaison Committee from 2005 to 2008, staff resource to the Human Life Task Force from 2005 to 2008, member of the Interfaith Task Group of the Canadian Council of Churches from 2005 to 2008, staff resource to the Faith, Worship and Ministry Committee of the Anglican Church of Canada from 2006 to 2008, a member of the Canadian Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue from 1989 to 1998, chaplain to Church House, national office of the Anglican Church of Canada, a

general synod The General Synod is the title of the governing body of some church organizations. Anglican Communion The General Synod of the Church of England, which was established in 1970 replacing the Church Assembly, is the legislative body of the Church of ...

delegate in 2004 and staff to general synod in 2007, a member of the Partners in Mission Committee of General Synod in 2005 and a member of the

Windsor Report In 2003, the Lambeth Commission on Communion was appointed by the Anglican Communion to study problems stemming from the consecration of Gene Robinson, the first noncelibate self-identifying gay priest to be ordained as an Anglican bishop, in the E ...

Response Task Force of the Anglican Church of Canada in 2004–2005.

Episcopal ministry

Nicholls was consecrated a bishop on 2 February 2008. She served as a suffragan bishop in the

, Canada from 2008 to 2016: she was in charge of the Trent Durham area of the diocese. On 13 February 2016, she was elected coadjutor bishop of the

Diocese of Huron 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 ...

– she was the first woman to be elected a bishop in the diocese – and she automatically succeeded to the role of

diocesan 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 associat ...

Bishop of Huron on 1 November 2016, upon the retirement of Robert Bennett. On 13 July 2019, Nicholls was elected the first female

. She was installed as primate on 16 July during a service at Christ Church Cathedral, Vancouver.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholls, Linda Carol 21st-century Anglican Church of Canada bishops Anglican Church in Ontario University of Toronto alumni 1954 births Living people Primates of the Anglican Church of Canada Women Anglican primates Anglican bishops of Huron