Andrew Atagotaaluk

Andrew Philip Atagotaaluk (born 1950 ) is a Canadian Anglican bishop and Bible translator. The first Inuk diocesan bishop in the Anglican Communion, he was the bishop of the Arctic in the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC) from 2002 to 2012. Atagotaaluk and his successor as bishop, David Parsons, built the Diocese of the Arctic into a growing outpost of evangelicalism within the shrinking and liberalizing Anglican Church of Canada. Atagotaaluk presided over the reconstruction of St. Jude's Cathedral in Iqaluit following a fire and was also one of the translation team members for the first complete Bible in Inuktitut, which was published in full in 2012.

Early life, education, and ordination Atagotaaluk was born in 1950 in a traditional Inuit sod house in a hunting camp near Resolute Bay. He attended a residential school in Inuvik. Atagotaaluk and his wife, Mary, had six children.

As a priest, Atagotaaluk was known for his evangelical ministry. He served churches in Pond Inlet, Inukjuak, Spence Bay, Iqaluit, and Salluit. In the late 1970s, Bishop John Sperry convened several Inuit clergy for a workshop with prominent linguist and Bible translator Eugene Nida. Atagotaaluk was assigned to the project alongside Arreak (the team leader), Allooloo and James Nashak. The New Testament was completed in 1991, and the full Bible―the first to be translated into Inuktitut entirely by native speakers―was published in 2012.

Episcopacy

Atagotaaluk was elected and consecrated as a suffragan bishop for the diocese alongside Larry Robertson in June 1999. In 2002, he was elected diocesan bishop—the first Inuk diocesan bishop in the Anglican Church and the second Inuk bishop overall after Paul Idlout. He was also the first Canadian-born bishop of the diocese; the four previous bishops had been British missionaries to Canada. As bishop, he maintained his residence in Salluit while traveling across the diocese.

Amid debates about same-sex blessings in the Anglican Church of Canada, Atagotaaluk emphasized the importance of the Diocese of the Arctic remaining in the ACC while opposing blessings for same-sex unions. In 2003, he wrote to the premier of Nunavut that that "here are many people within our jurisdiction, including myself, who see [same-sex marriage] as another step toward increasing disobedience to God’s holy ordinances. It is encouraging and paving the way for increasing immoral behaviour and it goes against the traditional and doctrinal teachings of our Christian faith and the Word of God." Amid membership declines in the broader ACC, Atagotaaluk's diocese grew during his tenure and became more evangelical in character.

In November 2005, St. Jude's Cathedral was badly burned by arson. Atagotaaluk put funds that had been designated toward a renovation to use for reconstructing the church. In June 2012, Atagotaaluk presided over the dedication of the newly built St. Jude's Cathedral and the celebration of the Inuktitut Bible. His successor, David Parsons, was made a bishop at that time and succeeded Atagotaaluk at the end of 2012. Atagotaaluk's last ordination prior his retirement was of Georgina Bassett, the first Slavey First Nation person ordained to the priesthood.

Later life In retirement, Atagotaaluk lived in Inukjuak.