Bishop Hill

Bishop Hill was ordained in the Anglican Church as Deacon in 1948 and priest in 1950 (Diocese of Ontario). He served parishes in that Diocese, spent several years at St. John's College, Cambridge England, where he also served as Chaplain, and he was a professor of Church History at Canterbury College, University of Windsor.

From January 1975 to January 1981 he served as Bishop of the Diocese of Ontario, followed by two years as Assistant Bishop of Montreal where he lived as an ecumenical Oblate of Dom John Main's Benedictine Priory.

In 1981, Bishop Hill was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Runcie, to serve as the Anglican Co Chair of the Anglican Orthodox Joint Doctrinal Discussions. From 1981 to 1998, he travelled widely among the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches, at the request of the worldwide Anglican Primates. He did his ecumenical work primarily through personal conversation and by praying with the various orthodox communities he visited.

The friendships he created between the Anglican Communion and the Orthodox churches deepened the association between the churches and continue to have a profound effect on our mutual understanding. He founded the Scholarship of St. Basil the Great, to continue to promote friendship between the Anglican Church in Canada and the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Assyrian Church of the East.

From his days at St. John?s College in Cambridge, Bishop Hill was a member of the Oratory of the Good Shepherd, an international association of Anglican priests, and was responsible for establishing a strong presence of the Oratory in Canada.

He was also an Associate of the Sisterhood of St. John the Divine, and in 1984 came to live at St. John's Convent, in an apartment attached to the Convent. He was a spiritual mentor to the Sisters, broadened their international and ecumenical vision, and brought to the Convent many friends from across Christian and other faith traditions. He was a spiritual mentor and soul friend to many throughout the Church, forming many ecumenical and inter-faith friendships.

He was the Episcopal Visitor of the Community of Jesus in Cape Cod, MA and had close connections with the Grenville Christian College in Brockville, ON.

Bishop Hill's most profound gift as teacher, preacher, bishop, and ecumenist was undoubtedly the gift of prayer and spiritual friendship.

Visitation: Thursday October 26, 2:30 - 4:30 pm and 7 - 9 pm at St. John's Convent, 233 Cummer Avenue, Toronto. Please check website www.ssjd.ca for a map and directions.

Requiem Eucharist Friday October 27, 10:30 am at St. James? Cathedral, King and Church Streets, Toronto. Reception to follow in the Cathedral Hall. Please check the Cathedral website www.stjamescathedral.on.ca for a map and directions.

Interment: Friday October 27, 3:00 pm at York Cemetery, 160 Beecroft Road, Toronto (one block west of Yonge Street and 5 blocks north of Sheppard Ave.) Maps will be available at the reception or google 'York Cemetery Toronto'.

In lieu of flowers, donations to the Anglican Foundation for the Scholarship of St. Basil (80 Hayden St., Toronto, ON M4Y 3G2).