Stringer, Isaac

Second Bishop of Selkirk ( title changed to Yukon); Third Metropolitan of Rupert's' Land (fourth Bishop and third Archbishop of Rupert's Land).

Isaac Stringer was born in the Township of Kincardine, Ontario in 1866. In 1891, he obtained a B.A. from the University of Toronto, and was ordained deacon in 1892, then priest in 1893. He worked as a missionary to the Inuit peoples in the Canadian Arctic, and translated portions of the bible, hymns, and prayer book into Inuktitut. He was married to Sarah Ann "Sadie" Alexander in 1896, and the couple would have five children. He spent 1902 to 1903 on furlough, and in 1903 became the Rector of Christ Church in Whitehorse. In 1905, he was consecrated Bishop of Selkirk, and received an honourary D.D. from St. John's College. The name of diocese changed to Yukon in 1907, and Stringer's title did with it, making him the Bishop of the Yukon. In 1909, he became known as the "Bishop who ate his boots," after surviving an ordeal in the Rocky Mountains while attempting to reach Dawson City from Fort McPherson. He and his companion ate their sealskin boots to survive. In 1918, he received an honourary D.D. from Wycliffe College, and in 1920, he founded St. Paul's Hostel. He was elected Metropolitan of Rupert's Land in 1931, and passed away suddenly in 1934.