The Office of the General Secretary of the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada originated as a volunteer position.  The position of Honourary Clerical Secretary was an elected position for the Lower House (Clergy and Laity), 1893-1946.  Its role was to keep the minutes for the Lower House and messages between the Upper House (House of Bishops) and Lower House during General Synod sessions and the Executive Council meetings and to make the arrangements for future meetings of the Executive Council and the General Synod.   In 1946 the position of a permanent Secretary for the General Synod was approved but wasn’t filled until April 1950.

The position of General Secretary has evolved into being the chief operations officer for General Synod, and is responsible to the Primate.  As chief operating officer, the General Secretary is responsible for the day to day operations of Church House and has oversight of the work of the General Synod, its committees, councils, boards and commissions, the planning for General Synod and the Council of General Synod.  To ensure coordination of this work the General Secretary meets monthly with the Church House Management Team that is comprised of the Primate, and the Directors of Church House Departments.

The General Secretary also plays a key role in issues arising from native residential schools legacy and works closely with the Anglican Council of Indigenous People and the federal government.  In addition to the General Secretary and the administrative staff, the department includes the General Synod Archivist, Human Resources Manager, and the Anglican Healing Fund Coordinator.

 The following people held the position in the following roles:

Executive Secretary:

• Hiltz, Robert Arthur (1950-1953)
• Hunt, Henry Robert (1954, Acting)

General Secretary:

• Hunt, Henry Robert (1954-1960)
• Hatfield, Leonard Fraser (1960, Acting)
• Maddocks, Edward Henry (1960-1964)
• Latimer, Ralph Robertson (1964-1968)
• Light, Edwin Stanley (1968-1979)
• Hilchey, Harry St. Clair (1979-1987)
• Woeller, David John (1987-1993)
• Boyles, James Bruce (1993-2005)
• Pollesel, Michael Frank (2006-2011)
• Thompson, Michael James (2011-2020)
• Perry, Alan Thomas (2020- )

The fonds consists of correspondence, minutes, meeting files, financial records, subject files, legal files, and personnel files.

The records are organized in the following record groups:  Honourable Clerical Secretary (1894-1944); the General Secretary (1943-2018).