Adapted from Montreal Diocesan Theological College
The Rev. Jesse Zink will become the next principal of Montreal Diocesan Theological College on Aug. 1. Zink is director of the Cambridge Centre for Christianity Worldwide, a member institution of the ecumenical Cambridge Theological Federation. He is also an affiliated lecturer on Cambridge University’s faculty of divinity.
Zink was born in Vancouver and grew up in the United States. His doctoral research at Cambridge University was a study of the growth of the Anglican church during Sudan’s second civil war. He also has degrees from Acadia University, the University of Chicago, and Yale Divinity School. He worked as a news reporter at a radio station in Alaska and as a missionary in South Africa before his ordination in the Diocese of Western Massachusetts.
“Dr. Zink brings with him a commitment to the future of the college and its community, showing a readiness to engage with the majority francophone, diverse, and secular environment in which the college and the Anglican Church in Quebec minister,” said the Rt. Rev. Mary Irwin-Gibson, Bishop of Montreal and president of the college.
Zink cited “many existing strengths” of the college: “Strong ecumenical relations, an innovative and mission-focused MDiv program, the long-standing relationship with McGill, one of Canada’s leading universities, and the low costs relative to comparable programs in North America. I look forward to working with partners and colleagues in the Montreal School of Theology, the alumni community, the Dioceses of Montreal and Quebec, and churches more broadly to build on these strengths, raise the profile of the college, and chart a sustainable future in coming years.”
Zink is the author of three books about theology, mission, and the global church, including A Faith for the Future and Backpacking through the Anglican Communion: A Search for Unity.
