The Bishop of Calgary has resigned in the midst of a heated controversy with his clergy and lay leaders over the structure of the Anglican Church in southern Alberta, Canada.

Writing on March 8 that he had “been engaged in the past few weeks in multiple conversations regarding what direction in leadership is in the best interest of the diocese,” the Rt. Rev. Barry C.B. Hollowell announced his “intent to resign” effective Aug. 31.

Born and raised in the United States, Bishop Hollowell graduated from the Episcopal Theological Seminary and served as a deacon in the Diocese of Northern Indiana before taking a post in Canada in 1974.

Elected Bishop of Calgary in 1999, Bishop Hollowell sought to revitalize the predominantly rural diocese through structural innovations. Last year he closed three Calgary parishes and revoked the cathedral designation of the Church of the Redeemer in downtown Calgary.

While amalgamating marginal neighborhood churches, Bishop Hollowell invested $600,000 in building a “mega church” for the diocese: Holy Trinity in suburban Hidden Valley. The subsequent failure of Holy Trinity’s fund-raising drive, clergy layoffs, church closures and an emphasis on “big box” suburban churches provoked a backlash within the diocese, prompting Bishop Hollowell’s resignation.

“When I first discerned a call to ordained ministry, it was pastoral ministry that provided the initial and sustaining place of call,” Bishop Hollowell said. “It is back to pastoral ministry that I now seek to return.”