Foundation and early history (1820s–1880s) The Church of England's missionary activity in the Canadian North-West began in the early 19th century, initially through chaplains at fur trade posts. The first permanent Anglican church was
Holy Trinity at
Stanley Mission, built between 1854 and 1860 by Cree craftsmen under Rev. Robert Hunt. Early Indigenous Christian leaders like
Henry Budd (a Cree catechist ordained in 1853) were instrumental in laying the groundwork for Anglican ministry in what became Saskatchewan. Budd established missions at places such as
The Pas (Cumberland) and
Nipawin (Nepowewin) in the mid-19th century and is credited with building "solid foundations" for the church's later expansion into the northwest. By the 1860s, Anglican missionaries and Indigenous catechists were active at scattered settlements and reserves, though no local diocesan structure yet existed. Plans to organize an Anglican diocese in the Northwest took shape after Canada acquired the territory. In 1873, the Synod of the Diocese of Rupert's Land passed an act to create a new diocese for the Saskatchewan district, with approval from the Church Missionary Society granted the year before. The Diocese of Saskatchewan was formally established in 1873 (effective 1874) to oversee missionary work among the Indigenous peoples and incoming settlers of the region. The
Rev. John McLean was selected as the first Bishop of Saskatchewan; he was consecrated in England on 3 May 1874 and arrived at the mission settlement of Prince Albert in early 1875 to take up his post. At the time of its creation, the diocese was an immense jurisdiction described by McLean as "a vast area containing about 30,000 Indians, with a few small settlements of white people... no endowments, no missionaries, no churches". Bishop McLean immediately set about organizing the fledgling diocese: he established a headquarters and school west of Prince Albert and oversaw the construction of a small pro-cathedral church (St. Mary's) by 1876. In 1879 he founded
Emmanuel College in Prince Albert, a theological training school primarily conceived as a center for educating Indigenous and Métis catechists and future clergy. Leadership of the Diocese of Saskatchewan passed in 1903 to
Jervois Arthur Newnham, formerly Bishop of
Moosonee, who served in Saskatchewan until 1921. Under Newnham and his successor,
George Exton Lloyd (Bishop 1922–1931), the diocese continued its missionary mandate while gradually relinquishing outlying territories as separate dioceses were formed. The northern portion of the District of Alberta remained under Saskatchewan's jurisdiction until 1914, when the
Diocese of Edmonton was carved out to serve central and northern Alberta. The Anglican administration of residential schools in the diocese gradually shifted to national church bodies in the early 20th century – by 1922, direct diocesan management of certain schools had been handed over to the Missionary Society of the Church of England in Canada. All Anglican-run residential schools, including those in Saskatchewan, had ceased operation or been turned over to the federal government by the late 1960s. The diocese's historical involvement in the residential school system has been the subject of reflection and efforts at reconciliation. In the later 20th century, the Diocese of Saskatchewan continued to affirm Indigenous leadership within the church. The diocese has been officially bilingual (Cree and English) in its liturgies and publications, and many parishes use the Cree translation of the Book of Common Prayer. In 1989, Saskatchewan became one of the first Anglican dioceses in Canada to appoint an Indigenous suffragan bishop:
Charles Arthurson, a Cree priest from La Ronge, was consecrated that year to assist the diocesan bishop and to pastor the predominantly First Nations congregations. The experiment of an Indigenous bishop proved successful, and in 2012 a full-time area bishopric (the
Bishop of Missinippi) was established to further serve the Cree region of northern Saskatchewan.
James Settee College James Settee College for Ministry is an independent theological training program that prepares Indigenous clergy and lay leaders for service in the Anglican Diocese of Saskatchewan. It was founded in 1997 and named for James Settee, a 19th-century Cree catechist and missionary who helped establish Anglican missions in northern Saskatchewan. The college is the latest in a series of diocesan initiatives to develop Indigenous church leadership, following earlier efforts such as the establishment of Emmanuel College in 1879 by Bishop John McLean and a short-lived James Settee training program in the 1980s. The College provides theological education by extension, allowing First Nations students to pursue ministry training without leaving their home communities. Its curriculum covers biblical studies, theology, ethics, church history, pastoral leadership, preaching, counselling, and youth ministry, adapted from a program developed at the
Cook College & Theological School in Tempe, Arizona, to meet the needs of indigenous communities in northern Saskatchewan. Students attend week-long intensive sessions in Prince Albert three times per year and take additional weekend courses in various First Nations communities. The costs of administering the College are borne by an annual grant from the
New England Company.
Contemporary history and mission priorities In recent years the Diocese of Saskatchewan has reinforced its focus on ministry among its largely Indigenous and rural communities. In 2024 the Rev. Richard Reed was elected the 13th bishop of Saskatchewan, and he has made strengthening ties between Indigenous (primarily Cree) and non-Indigenous Anglicans a key priority. Reed notes that Cree people form the largest segment of the diocese and has spoken of the need to "recover that sense that we're one church," emphasizing relationship-building and discipleship across cultural lines. Consistent with this emphasis, the diocese continues longstanding programs to equip Indigenous leadership – for example, through theological education offered by the James Settee College. Youth and family ministry remain important as well: the diocese sponsors multiple annual youth retreats and a summer
Camp Okema, engaging young people across northern Saskatchewan in Christian fellowship and formation.
Ecclesial identity and worship The Diocese of Saskatchewan is generally regarded as one of the more
theologically conservative jurisdictions within the Anglican Church of Canada. A 2001 profile in the
Anglican Journal observed that "most Anglicans in the diocese [are] theologically conservative". Its official materials underscore classical
Anglican doctrine and worship, for instance stating that worship "has always been primarily from the Cree and English editions of the
Book of Common Prayer," which it describes as
"the official standard of doctrine and worship of the Anglican Church of Canada". The diocese also publicly acknowledges its partnership with the
Prayer Book Society of Canada, reflecting its commitment to traditional prayer-book liturgy. In practice this means that the 1962 Canadian Prayer Book remains normative for the sacraments and daily offices in the diocese, and the newer
Book of Alternative Services (introduced nationally in 1985) is generally not adopted for ordinary parish worship. == Bishops of Saskatchewan ==