James Ferry
Encyclopedia
James Ferry is a priest of the Anglican Church of Canada
. In 1992 he was removed from his parish
after it was revealed that he was gay
and in a relationship with another man.
Raised in the United Church of Canada
, later a member of a Baptist
congregation, Ferry joined the Anglican Church in his twenties. He studied at the University of Toronto at Scarborough, Tyndale University College
(then Ontario Bible College) and Wycliffe College
.
He was inhibited from functioning as a priest and later became affiliated with the Metropolitan Community Church
, a gay and lesbian founded church which has taken an explicitly gay-affirming stance including the ordination of openly gay candidates for the ministry. He was later partially reinstated as an Anglican priest and now occasionally celebrates the Eucharist and preaches at the Church of the Holy Trinity, Toronto
.
Ferry published a book about his experience, In the Courts of the Lord, in 1994.
In 2006 Archbishop Terence Finlay
, who had inhibited Ferry, married a lesbian couple in a United Church of Canada church, prompting Ferry to publicly demand an apology for Finlay's treatment of him.
Finlay's successor, Archbishop Colin Johnson
, reinstated Ferry's licence on 26 June 2011 and appointed him an honorary assistant priest at the Church of the Holy Trinity.
Anglican Church of Canada
The Anglican Church of Canada is the Province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French name is l'Église Anglicane du Canada. The ACC is the third largest church in Canada after the Roman Catholic Church and the United Church of Canada, consisting of 800,000 registered members...
. In 1992 he was removed from his parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
after it was revealed that he was gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
and in a relationship with another man.
Raised in the United Church of Canada
United Church of Canada
The United Church of Canada is a Protestant Christian denomination in Canada. It is the largest Protestant church and, after the Roman Catholic Church, the second-largest Christian church in Canada...
, later a member of a Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
congregation, Ferry joined the Anglican Church in his twenties. He studied at the University of Toronto at Scarborough, Tyndale University College
Tyndale University College and Seminary
Tyndale University College and Seminary is an accredited Christian institution of higher education in the Protestant Evangelical tradition located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Tyndale students come from over 40 different Christian denominations and more than 30 different ethnic groups. Tyndale...
(then Ontario Bible College) and Wycliffe College
Wycliffe College
Wycliffe College is an Anglican Church of Canada seminary federated with the University of Toronto. It is evangelical and Low church in orientation. On the other hand, the University of Toronto's other Anglican college, the University of Trinity College is Anglo-Catholic in outlook. While being an...
.
He was inhibited from functioning as a priest and later became affiliated with the Metropolitan Community Church
Metropolitan Community Church
The Metropolitan Community Church or The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches is an international Protestant Christian denomination...
, a gay and lesbian founded church which has taken an explicitly gay-affirming stance including the ordination of openly gay candidates for the ministry. He was later partially reinstated as an Anglican priest and now occasionally celebrates the Eucharist and preaches at the Church of the Holy Trinity, Toronto
Church of the Holy Trinity, Toronto
The Church of the Holy Trinity is an Anglican church in downtown Toronto, Canada at Trinity Square.-History:The modest Gothic Revival structure was built in 1847 by architect Henry Bowyer Lane, who also designed Little Trinity Anglican Church on King Street and St. George the Martyr Church in Toronto...
.
Ferry published a book about his experience, In the Courts of the Lord, in 1994.
In 2006 Archbishop Terence Finlay
Terence Finlay
Terence Edward Finlay graduated from University of Western Ontario in 1959, where he became a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. He became a priest in the Anglican Church of Canada, was the tenth Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Toronto, and later the Archbishop of the Ecclesiastical Province of...
, who had inhibited Ferry, married a lesbian couple in a United Church of Canada church, prompting Ferry to publicly demand an apology for Finlay's treatment of him.
Finlay's successor, Archbishop Colin Johnson
Colin Johnson
Colin Robert Johnson SCP is the current Anglican Archbishop of Toronto and the Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario. He is an alumnus of Trinity College in the University of Toronto and the 11th bishop of the diocese, the largest in the Anglican Church of Canada.Johnson was...
, reinstated Ferry's licence on 26 June 2011 and appointed him an honorary assistant priest at the Church of the Holy Trinity.