Updated March 22, 2025.
The Diocese of Montreal recently announced a slate of seven candidates for its next bishop to be elected on May 3, but almost half of the search committee’s members, including its chair, have resigned.
The search committee explained in a statement included in the election’s convening circular that it does not endorse the slate, and that all candidates who were nominated are being submitted for the election. The committee refers to concerns about Safe Church, the “integrity of the ballot,” and “external pressures that have deeply affected members of the Committee.”
The search committee’s chair, the Rev. Canon James Pratt, confirmed with TLC that he was among those who had resigned.
The Diocese of Montreal’s canons outline the duties of the search committee for the election of a bishop. They require that the committee prepare “a written description of the general qualifications and requirements for the position to be filled and any specific qualities that the Search Committee considers to be desirable in the person who will fill the position” (1.5.1.a)
Committee members must then “determine which of the persons proposed [in the required manner] in the opinion of the Committee meet the canonical requirements for election, and the qualifications and the Safe Church requirements of the Diocese” (1.5.1.c).
The canons also require that the committee “inform the proposers of any person proposed whom the Committee does not intend to nominate for election, as well as the person proposed, of that fact” (1.5.1.d).
Despite having broad flexibility in selecting candidates, search committee members mentioned “the limitations imposed by Canon law on the Committee’s ability to act in ways that might have further protected the integrity of the ballot.”
They also mentioned “the need for further refinement and clarity within our Safe Church Policy to ensure alignment with best practices and to safeguard the integrity of diocesan leadership selection.”
Safe Church policies in the Diocese of Montreal apply to “unacceptable behavior, abuse or maltreatment that includes physical or sexual assault, bullying, harassment and/or economic, emotional, physical or sexual misconduct.” This definition is broader than in some other Anglican provinces and encompasses a wider range of actions.
The letter does not indicate any particular candidate as problematic.
The Candidates
The slate includes the Rev. Rodney Clark, the Rev. Dr. Teresa Danieley, the Rev. Canon Dr. Neil Mancor, the Ven. Dr. Victor-David Mbuyi Bipungu, the Rev. Dr. Deborah Meister and the Very Rev. Bertrand Olivier, and the Rev. Graham Singh.
Fr. Singh is the incumbent of St. Jax, a church plant launched in 2016 in the historic church of St. James the Apostle in Montreal, which has experienced much growth and revitalization under his leadership.
Fr. Singh is also the founder and CEO of Relèven (formerly known as Trinity Centres Foundation). Singh’s CV describes Relèven’s mission as “serving the Canadian church through a transition in property ownership,” and he has written about its work and his ministry at St. Jax.
In 2021 and 2022, Singh was taken to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List) by the River City Christian Reformed Church of Cambridge, Ontario.
Barbara A. Bierman, the chair of River City Church Visionary Board’s legal team, shared copies of claims that the church has made against Relèven and Singh, including a series of “untrue, inaccurate, or misleading” representations about various aspects of their joint property purchase in 2020, the governance of a “community hub” created in their shared space, and fees associated with the operation.
“While the receivership proceedings have been completed, the trial related to this claim is set to begin at any time,” Bierman told TLC. Fr. Singh, however, asserted that a motion for security of costs is the next matter before the court.
Relèven’s website describes it as a charitable organization “that was created with the vision of lovingly preserving, restoring, and repurposing under-utilized churches into community hubs and affordable housing. Relèven™ is the new name for the Trinity Centres Foundation, a Registered Canadian Charity … Since our founding, we have become a leader in church transformation across North America. Our impact is measured in discounted rent affordability for families and charities.”
Canada is in the midst of a wave of church closures. In 2019 (before the COVID pandemic brought major declines in church attendance), the National Trust of Canada projected that 9,000 churches would close across the country in the next decade, about a third of the nation’s houses of worship.
The Diocese of Montreal has clearly been hit by the wave. In the Eastern Townships, a bucolic region filled with second homes, nine church buildings have been sold since 2020, the diocesan profile says. Reports from several other regions mention the expense and logistical challenges of maintaining historic buildings for dwindling congregations.
St. John the Evangelist, Montreal’s historic downtown Anglo-Catholic shrine church, was saved from closure last year by an emergency fundraising appeal. At least four other Anglican churches in the city—St. Stephen’s, Trinity, St. Matthew’s Hampstead, and St. Columba’s Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—have closed in the last decade.
The diocesan profile does not provide statistics about changes in attendance or membership, but in 2018, the diocese’s archdeacon, the Ven. Robert Camara, told the CBC that “every church is teetering,” after years of sustained decline in church attendance across the region.
Given greater Montreal’s hot real estate market, these trends are a valuable opportunity for Relèven—and a potential conflict of interest for Singh.
Fr. Singh disputes the claims of the lawsuit, Bierman’s characterization of the next steps in the legal proceedings, and any wrongdoings.
Another candidate, the Rev. Dr. Teresa Danieley, has been out of full-time church ministry for nine years, which is rather uncommon in a slate for an episcopal election. She was rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church, Tower Grove, in Saint Louis from July 2004 to March 2016. More recently, she was long-term supply for three months at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in the city.
Since 2017 she has been champions consultant for Missouri Jobs with Justice (MJJ), which she describes in her CV as a “statewide, non-partisan grassroots organization that advocates for an economy and a democracy that works for all Missourians.”
Her role at MJJ is an “approved Episcopal Extension of Ministry position.” She also volunteers as the bishop’s appointed Missioner for Public Advocacy for the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri.
The Search Committee’s Letter
In its letter, the nine-member search committee did not identify any names of problematic nominees. Instead, the members wrote:
Following a thorough vetting process, including verification of good standing, written responses, and video interviews, the Committee has arrived at a significant juncture. While we deeply respect the process and the commitment of all involved, we acknowledge concerns regarding:
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- The need for further refinement and clarity within our Safe Church Policy to ensure alignment with best practices and to safeguard the integrity of diocesan leadership selection.
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- The limitations imposed by Canon law on the Committee’s ability to act in ways that might have further protected the integrity of the ballot.
After careful consideration, and despite these concerns, we are forwarding all nominations without endorsement. This decision was made under challenging circumstances, including external pressures that have deeply affected members of the Committee. It is disheartening that members felt compelled to resign due to the weight of these challenges. However, the entire Committee, both members who are remaining and those who are resigning, remains united in its commitment to the integrity of this process and to the solemn work entrusted to Synod delegates.
We reaffirm that the election of a bishop is a sacred trust, requiring careful discernment in light of scripture, tradition, and the needs of the diocese. In this spirit, we invite Synod delegates to engage deeply with the Profile as the guiding document for discernment and to carefully read the candidates’ submissions, watch their video interviews, and, finally, reflect on 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, passages that have been central to our own reflections.
Besides Singh and Danieley, the other clergy on the slate are the Rev. Rodney Clark, the Rev. Canon Dr. Neil Mancor, the Ven. Dr. Victor-David Mbuyi Bipungu, the Rev. Dr. Deborah Meister and the Very Rev. Bertrand Olivier. Apart from Daniely, all candidates are canonically resident in the Diocese of Montreal.
According to the canons of the Province of Canada, of which the Diocese of Montreal is a member, the bishop-elect must be confirmed by the other bishops of the province within seven days of the election.
Bishops may object to the selection of the diocese, but the grounds are relatively narrow:
A bishop may object to an election on the ground that the person elected either has not attained 30 years of age, is not a priest or bishop of the Anglican Church of Canada or of a church in full communion therewith, is deficient in learning, training or experience, has either directly or indirectly secured or attempted to secure the office by improper means, is guilty of crime or immorality, or teaches or holds, or within the previous five years has taught or held, anything contrary to the doctrine or discipline of the Anglican Church of Canada.
This article was updated on March 22, 2025, to reflect Fr. Singh’s disputation of the claims of the lawsuit and his denial any wrongdoing.
Sue Careless is senior editor of The Anglican Planet and author of the series Discovering the Book of Common Prayer: A Hands-On Approach. She is based in Toronto.
The Rev. Mark Michael is editor-in-chief of The Living Church. An Episcopal priest, he has reported widely on global Anglicanism, and also writes about church history, liturgy, and pastoral ministry.
