William James Robinson was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

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 ca ...

in the second half of the 20th century. Robinson was born on 8 September 1916,

Kemptville Kemptville is a community located in the Municipality of North Grenville in Eastern Ontario, Canada in the northernmost part of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville. It is located approximately south of the downtown core of Ottawa and s ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, educated at Bishop's University, Lennoxville and ordained in 1940. Crockford's Clerical Directory1940-41 Oxford,

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,1941 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 ...

in Trenton 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 ...

Madoc Madoc ab Owain Gwynedd (also spelled Madog) was, according to folklore, a Welsh prince who sailed to America in 1170, over three hundred years before Christopher Columbus's voyage in 1492. According to the story, he was a son of Owain Gwyned ...

. Further incumbencies in

Napanee Greater Napanee is a town in Eastern Ontario, southeastern Ontario, Canada, approximately west of Kingston, Ontario, Kingston and the county seat of Lennox and Addington County. It is located on the eastern end of the Bay of Quinte. Greater Nap ...

, Belleville,

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

; Canon/Incumbent in Hamilton (Hamilton/Niagara Diocese), appointed to Guelph, as

Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...

of Trafalgar (comprising the area surrounding Oakville, Burlington, and Halton in the

Diocese 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, Ontario, Hamilton, with the bishop's cathedra located at Christ's Church Cathedral (Hamilton), Christ's Church Ca ...

) in 1968. He was a member of the joint hymnal committee of the Anglican and United churches, which ultimately released together in 1971 The Hymn Book of the Anglican Church of Canada and the United Church of Canada, also known simply as “the red book.” The Canadian primate, Archbishop Michael Peers, said of Bishop Robinson, “I remember Bill as a priest in Ottawa diocese and as a member of the house of bishops. In both roles, he was an articulate and gentle pastor.” Bishop Robinson was a strong advocate of the ordination of women into the Anglican priesthood. In 1970 he became the Bishop of Ottawa, retiring in 1981. He resided in Kingston, Ontario at the time of his death on 9 July 2002.

References

1916 births Bishop's University alumni 20th-century Anglican Church of Canada bishops Anglican archdeacons in North America Anglican bishops of Ottawa 2002 deaths {{Canada-Anglican-bishop-stub