Montreal's Archbishop Andrew Hutchison, regarded as a liberal in the divisive dispute over homosexuality, was elected Monday as new national leader of Anglican Church of Canada.
Hutchison was chosen as primate on the fourth ballot over Bishop Ronald Ferris of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, a conservative on the issue.
Church delegates face a Wednesday night showdown on whether to give dioceses the go-ahead to provide blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples.
In 1998, after a meeting the world's Anglican bishops voted overwhelmingly to oppose actively gay clergy and blessing rituals for same-sex couples as "incompatible with Scripture," Hutchison joined 146 bishops in issuing a dissent.
The group, which included Canada's retiring primate, Archbishop Michael Peers, apologized to gays and lesbians over the action and pledged to "work for your full inclusion in the life of the church."
Hutchison, who speaks French fluently, has headed the Montreal Diocese since 1990 and later added the post of archbishop, supervising one of four sectors in the denomination.
Hutchison styled himself as an option for electors seeking an interim leader because — at age 65 — he will likely serve only one three-year term. Peers and his predecessor, Edward Scott, both identified with the church's liberal wing, held office for 18 and 15 years respectively.
Hutchison immediately becomes a pivotal player in the gay dispute in the international Anglican Communion of 77 million members, which includes the Episcopal Church in the United States.
Canada's New Westminster (Vancouver area) Diocese authorized same-sex blessings on its own in 2002, provoking an ongoing ruckus within the diocese, the Canadian church and world Anglicanism.
A go-ahead vote Wednesday would further complicate matters just as a special international commission seeks to overcome the Anglican divide, which also stems from last year's consecration of the first openly gay Anglican bishop, V. Gene Robinson, by the U.S. Episcopal Church.
The commission's report will go to the body of 38 primates, now including Hutchison, who head Anglicanism's national branches.
The man who led Bishop Robinson's consecration, U.S. Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, will preach at Hutchison's formal installation Friday.
Hutchison takes charge of a financially pinched denomination with 651,000 members (42 percent below the 1970 total), based in Toronto.
The new primate has spent his entire career in urban settings, serving in Toronto parishes and as dean of Montreal's cathedral before becoming a bishop. He is also the bishop supervising Canada's 35 Anglican military chaplains.
His ministry has stressed reconciliation not only with homosexuals but between Canada's French- and English-speakers (he is fluent in both languages) and between Christians and Jews.
Hutchison's campaign statement said the church's internal division must not distract it from proclaiming the message of Jesus and "commitment to God's kingdom of justice and peace."
Another nominee for primate, Bishop Victoria Matthews of Edmonton, Alberta, withdrew from the slate two weeks ago after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. If elected, she would have been the first woman among the 38 Anglican primates.