What’s in a Name?

The Anglican Diocese of Edmonton’s name has a long history. “Edmonton” originally referred to the “farmstead of Eadhelm”, someone lost to history in the years before William the Conqueror ordered the survey of much of England and Wales (1) in 1086. The site of Eadhelm’s farm eventually grew into a village until it was big enough for a train station in the 19th Century, which led to its absorption into Greater London, UK.

During the intervening years, and through many colonial initiatives, Edmonton House was built by the North Saskatchewan River in 1795. Its founders sadly ignored the Cree name amiskwacîwâskahikan and borrowed a name from the London (2) borough of Enfield, the hometown of several influential Hudson’s Bay Company members (3).

In 1870, Canada acquired Rupert’s Land (4), and the CP Railway arrived, leading to growth. The inauguration of Edmonton as a city in 1904 involved absorbing five adjacent municipalities (7). It was designated as the provincial capital in 1905 (8).

When the Diocese of Edmonton was established in 1913, having been divided from the Diocese of Calgary (9). Its name was available because the Diocese of Edmonton (Catholic) had been elevated to an Archdiocese the previous year. The Synod Office of the Diocese of Edmonton (Anglican), which still regularly receives misplaced phone calls for the Archdiocese of Edmonton (Catholic), offers no comment.

The Diocese of Edmonton sat securely in the middle of Alberta for the following fifty-seven years, until events back in England challenged its governance (10). As Bishop Stephen (11) often observes, “every solution leads to more complications.” In our case, the complication came in the form of a June 11, 1970, royal decree, which allowed for suffragan bishops in the Diocese of London (14) and resulted in a multiplicity of Dioceses of Edmonton. This has caused worldwide confusion and even necessitated a disambiguation on Wikipedia. 

This confusing state of affairs shows no sign of ending, as the Diocese of Edmonton and the Diocese of Edmonton both claim the name. The Diocese of Edmonton (15), however, has elected a Bishop London (16), which some may take as a sign of reconciliation. To the best of our knowledge, the other Diocese of Edmonton has not yet elected a Bishop Alberta.

Bishop London of the Diocese of Edmonton looks forward to welcoming Bishop Jeremiah of the Diocese of Edmonton, who will be travelling from London to the Diocese of Edmonton in August, to further solidify good relations between the Diocese of Edmonton and the Diocese of Edmonton (17).

Footnotes:

i. not that one

1. neither the sea mammal nor the early-20th-Century Queen of Norway nor the Canadian Arctic island

2. UK, not Ontario       

3. none of whom, presumably, were related to Eadhelm

4. the Hudson’s Bay drainage basin, not the ecclesiastical province (5) or the diocese (6)

5. now the Ecclesiastical province of the Northern Lights

6. Still the Diocese of Rupert’s Land

7. Strathcona, North Edmonton, West Edmonton, Beverley, and Jasper Place, which may or may not still carry resentment

8. Calgary may or may not still carry resentment

9. refer to footnote 8

10. this isn’t familiar at all…

11. Not to be confused with Bishop Stephens of New Westminster (12)

12. British Columbia, not Westminster, London (13)

13. the city (see footnote 2), not the Bishop (see footnote 11)

14. refer to footnote 2

15. Canada

16. refer to the inverse of footnote 13

17. Gahh!