Peter Coffin (bishop)

Coffin holds a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from the University of King's College, a Bachelor of Sacred Theology from Trinity College, and a Master of Arts in international affairs and development from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs. He also received an honorary Doctor of Divinity from the University of King's College in 1997 and from Trinity College in 2004.[1]

Coffin was ordained a priest in 1971. After serving as assistant curate at St. Matthew's Anglican Church in Ottawa, he moved to Malaysia to teach Biblical theology at the House of the Epiphany, the theological seminary of the Diocese of Kuching in Sarawak. When he returned to Canada, he was appointed to various parishes in West Quebec and in the Ottawa area and served as the Archdeacon of West Quebec and of Carleton until 1990, when he became the rector of Christ Church Cathedral and the Dean of Ottawa. In 1999 he was ordained a bishop and became the eighth bishop of Ottawa on September 1, 1999, a role in which he continued until 2007. In 2004 he was appointed as Bishop Ordinary to the Canadian Forces;[1] he was succeeded by Nigel Shaw on May 28, 2016.[2]

In 2006, Coffin allowed the Rev. Linda Privitera, an American priest in a same-sex marriage, to work as a priest in Ottawa. This caused some controversy within the diocese of Ottawa due to the ongoing debate in the Anglican Church regarding same-sex marriage.[3] A group of seven priests wrote an open letter condemning this decision, saying it was a "breach of the General Synod process in place in this country and puts our relationship with the world-wide Anglican Communion in jeopardy."[4] Coffin afterward commented: "I may be called a liberal and unorthodox. But I firmly believe that people need to be treated with respect and dignity and that loving someone faithfully and in total commitment until death do them part is a blessing, regardless of sexual orientation."[3]