Thorneloe University

You're invited to Thorneloe University's upcoming summer school event "Ancient Wisdom for Living in a Modern Day Empire". This is an IN-PERSON summer seminar with special guests Dr. Sylvia Keesmat & Dr. Brian Walsh.

Registration is $249 for credit, and 99$ to audit.

Accomodations are available in Thorneloe University's Residence by request.

To register, email [email protected]

Summer School event brought to you Thorneloe University, with support from the Loukidelis family.

Thorneloe University is grateful to the Anglican Foundation of Canada in support of the annual Lay Readers' conference we are honoured to host this September. 🙏

The Diocese of Algoma is pleased to announce that Thorneloe University has received a $5,000 grant from the Anglican Foundation of Canada to support the 2026 Diocese of Algoma Lay Readers’ Conference.

Taking place September 24–27, 2026, in Sudbury, the conference will gather Lay Readers from across the Diocese for a weekend of theological formation, ministry training, worship, and fellowship.

Lay Readers play a vital role in the life of our parishes and communities, offering leadership, pastoral support, and faithful service across Algoma. This grant will help strengthen and encourage that ministry through learning, connection, and spiritual renewal.

We give thanks to the Anglican Foundation of Canada for its ongoing commitment to leadership development and ministry formation across the Church.

Learn more:
https://www.dioceseofalgoma.com/2026/05/22/funding-announcement-for-2026-lay-readers-conference/

We have some news!

Thorneloe University has been awarded a US$30,000 grant from the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion to lead a two-year national project on what it takes to teach theology well when an institution is in upheaval.

Teaching Life in Disruption: Northern Pedagogies and the Renewal of the Teaching Life will bring up to 20 theological educators from across Canada together over two years — from large urban schools and from smaller regional ones often left out of national conversations.

The project sits on the campus where, forty years ago, the United Church of Canada offered its first apology to Indigenous peoples. The Elders present did not accept the apology — they received it, leaving open the work it would still require. That distinction shapes how we are building this work, with Indigenous partners whose role is constitutive rather than consultative, and with Anglican, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and United Church partners in the North and beyond.

Three residential retreats.
Sustained peer learning.
A podcast, open resources, and a closing public webinar.

We are grateful to the Wabash Center for backing this work — and for the trust of the partners now shaping it with us.

Spring term courses begin in just a few weeks, there's still time to register!

https://www.thorneloe.ca/course-registration

In Memoriam – The Very Rev. Dr. Jay Koyle

Dear friends in Christ,

It is with deep sadness that I share the news that The Very Rev. Dr. Jay Koyle, Dean of the Diocese of Algoma and Incumbent of St. Luke’s Cathedral, died peacefully on Friday, March 13, after a brief illness, with his family by his side.

We ask your prayers for Jay’s devoted wife, The Rev. Susan Montague-Koyle, and for their sons Stephen and Kevin. Please also remember in your prayers Jay’s mother, Mrs. Irene Koyle, and his sister Ms. Julie Koyle of London, Ontario, along with the many members of the cathedral congregation and the wider diocesan family who loved him dearly.

At this time of grief, Algoma Anglicans—indeed Anglicans across Canada who knew and loved Dean Jay—are united in our grief and mourn with his family and the cathedral community. Even as we grieve, we give thanks to God for Jay’s life, ministry, scholarship, and faithful witness to the Gospel.

Jay served the Church with distinction for many decades. Ordained to the priesthood in 1987, he exercised a wide-ranging ministry in parish leadership, theological education, and the life of the wider Church. In June 2024 he was installed as Dean of Algoma and Incumbent of St. Luke’s Cathedral, bringing to that ministry deep pastoral care, intellectual curiosity, and a generous spirit of leadership.

Alongside his cathedral ministry, Jay served as Provost and Director of the School of Theology at Thorneloe University, where he contributed significantly to theological education and leadership development within the Anglican Church of Canada. A respected liturgical scholar and teacher, he was widely known for his work in liturgy, preaching, and congregational renewal.

Jay held a Doctor of Ministry in Homiletics from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, a Master of Arts in Theology (Liturgical Studies) from the University of Notre Dame, a Master of Divinity from Huron University College, and a Bachelor of Music (Honours) in Music Education from Western University.

Throughout his ministry he served the wider Church through teaching, writing, and participation in national and international bodies devoted to liturgical life and renewal. He was a member of the North American Academy of Liturgy, Societas Liturgica, and the International Anglican Liturgical Consultation, and served as Chair of Faith, Worship and Ministry for the Anglican Church of Canada from 2016 to 2019.

Those who knew Jay experienced him as a gifted preacher, thoughtful theologian, and generous pastor. His warmth, humour, and deep love for the Church enriched the communities he served and the many students and colleagues who learned alongside him.

As we commend Jay to God’s eternal care, we give thanks for the compassionate care of doctors and nurses and for the love of family and friends who surrounded him in his final days.

Let us pray.

God of mercy and hope,
we give you thanks for your servant Jay,
for the gifts you entrusted to him
and for the love he shared with all who knew him.
Receive him now into the nearer presence of your peace.
Grant him rest from his labours
and the joy of your eternal kingdom.
Be close, we pray, to all who mourn his passing—
especially Susan, Stephen, and Kevin,
his mother Irene, his sister Julie,
and the community of St. Luke’s Cathedral
and the Diocese of Algoma.
Comfort them in their grief,
strengthen them in faith,
and assure them that nothing—not even death—
can separate us from your love
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

And we continue to pray:

“God our Father, be with all who love Jay. Watch over and protect them, strengthen their faith, unite them in your love and fill them with peace and confidence in your goodness, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
(South African Prayer Book)

Even in our grief, we hold fast to the hope Jay himself proclaimed throughout his ministry: that our Redeemer lives, and that the promise of resurrection life in Jesus Christ is sure.

Details regarding funeral arrangements and opportunities for prayer and remembrance will be shared as they become available.

I remain,
Yours in Christ,
✠ Anne
Archbishop of Algoma

The Thorneloe community is deeply saddened at the loss of our dear friend and Provost of our School of Theology. May he rest in peace and rise in glory as those of us left to mourn find comfort in our grief and loss. 🙏

In Memoriam – The Very Rev. Dr. Jay Koyle

Dear friends in Christ,

It is with deep sadness that I share the news that The Very Rev. Dr. Jay Koyle, Dean of the Diocese of Algoma and Incumbent of St. Luke’s Cathedral, died peacefully on Friday, March 13, after a brief illness, with his family by his side.

We ask your prayers for Jay’s devoted wife, The Rev. Susan Montague-Koyle, and for their sons Stephen and Kevin. Please also remember in your prayers Jay’s mother, Mrs. Irene Koyle, and his sister Ms. Julie Koyle of London, Ontario, along with the many members of the cathedral congregation and the wider diocesan family who loved him dearly.

At this time of grief, Algoma Anglicans—indeed Anglicans across Canada who knew and loved Dean Jay—are united in our grief and mourn with his family and the cathedral community. Even as we grieve, we give thanks to God for Jay’s life, ministry, scholarship, and faithful witness to the Gospel.

Jay served the Church with distinction for many decades. Ordained to the priesthood in 1987, he exercised a wide-ranging ministry in parish leadership, theological education, and the life of the wider Church. In June 2024 he was installed as Dean of Algoma and Incumbent of St. Luke’s Cathedral, bringing to that ministry deep pastoral care, intellectual curiosity, and a generous spirit of leadership.

Alongside his cathedral ministry, Jay served as Provost and Director of the School of Theology at Thorneloe University, where he contributed significantly to theological education and leadership development within the Anglican Church of Canada. A respected liturgical scholar and teacher, he was widely known for his work in liturgy, preaching, and congregational renewal.

Jay held a Doctor of Ministry in Homiletics from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, a Master of Arts in Theology (Liturgical Studies) from the University of Notre Dame, a Master of Divinity from Huron University College, and a Bachelor of Music (Honours) in Music Education from Western University.

Throughout his ministry he served the wider Church through teaching, writing, and participation in national and international bodies devoted to liturgical life and renewal. He was a member of the North American Academy of Liturgy, Societas Liturgica, and the International Anglican Liturgical Consultation, and served as Chair of Faith, Worship and Ministry for the Anglican Church of Canada from 2016 to 2019.

Those who knew Jay experienced him as a gifted preacher, thoughtful theologian, and generous pastor. His warmth, humour, and deep love for the Church enriched the communities he served and the many students and colleagues who learned alongside him.

As we commend Jay to God’s eternal care, we give thanks for the compassionate care of doctors and nurses and for the love of family and friends who surrounded him in his final days.

Let us pray.

God of mercy and hope,
we give you thanks for your servant Jay,
for the gifts you entrusted to him
and for the love he shared with all who knew him.
Receive him now into the nearer presence of your peace.
Grant him rest from his labours
and the joy of your eternal kingdom.
Be close, we pray, to all who mourn his passing—
especially Susan, Stephen, and Kevin,
his mother Irene, his sister Julie,
and the community of St. Luke’s Cathedral
and the Diocese of Algoma.
Comfort them in their grief,
strengthen them in faith,
and assure them that nothing—not even death—
can separate us from your love
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

And we continue to pray:

“God our Father, be with all who love Jay. Watch over and protect them, strengthen their faith, unite them in your love and fill them with peace and confidence in your goodness, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
(South African Prayer Book)

Even in our grief, we hold fast to the hope Jay himself proclaimed throughout his ministry: that our Redeemer lives, and that the promise of resurrection life in Jesus Christ is sure.

Details regarding funeral arrangements and opportunities for prayer and remembrance will be shared as they become available.

I remain,
Yours in Christ,
✠ Anne
Archbishop of Algoma

Dear friends in Christ,

Your prayers are requested for The Very Rev. Dr. Jay Koyle who is presently in ICU in Sault Ste Marie.

Dean Jay’s devoted wife Susan is with him. At this time visitors are restricted to family only. Please keep in your prayers, Dean Jay’s mother Mrs. Irene Koyle and his sister Ms. Julie Koyle in London, Ontario, as well as Susan and Jay’s sons Stephen and Kevin.

We pray that as he rests Dean Jay will experience the peace of Christ as it comes to him through the loving care of human hands in the days ahead; and that Susan will know the care that is all around her and be given the strength to meet the days ahead. We give thanks for the gift of medicine, the care of doctors and nurses and the support of family and friends in this difficult time.

Let us pray,

“Gracious God, Father of all mercy and giver of all comfort, look with compassion on Jay. Give him a clear understanding of your great love for him and that in quietness and trust he may find his rest in you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen”

“God our Father, be with all who love Jay. Watch over and protect them, strengthen their faith, unite them in your love and fill them with peace and confidence in your goodness, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen” ( South African Prayer book)

I remain yours in Christ,

+Anne

CONCLAVE (2024) — Week 2: Temptation
First Sunday in Lent | Matthew 4:1–11

The First Sunday in Lent brings us into the wilderness, where Jesus confronts temptation at the outset of his public ministry.

In Conclave, temptation unfolds not in desert isolation, but within the sacred walls of the Church, during the election of a new pope. The film explores the subtle and powerful forces at work when discernment, ambition, fear, and conscience intersect. It asks searching questions about power, loyalty, truth, and integrity—especially when spiritual authority and institutional responsibility are at stake.

As Lent begins, Conclave invites us to examine how temptation operates in our own lives and communities. Like the wilderness narrative, it challenges us to consider what we are willing to grasp for, what we are willing to surrender, and what faithfulness truly requires.

📖 Download the Week 2 Discussion Guide here:
https://www.dioceseofalgoma.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Discussion-Guide-Wk2-Conclave-Temptation.pdf