Friends to sponsor biography of former primate Ted Scott.

A GROUP OF FRIENDS and colleagues of Archbishop Edward (Ted) Scott is sponsoring a biography of the former primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, an international figure in the fields of religion and social activism.

"During his term, 1971 to 1986, he was the pre-eminent church leader in Canada and recognized as such, and he was also one of the pre-eminent church persons in the world," said Hugh McCullum, a former editor of the Anglican Journal who will write the book.

"(Archbishop Scott's) role as moderator of the central committee of the World Council of Churches was grounded in deep respect for other traditions within Christianity and for other living faiths," wrote the current primate, Archbishop Michael Peers, in a brochure seeking financial help for the Ted Scott Biography Project.

Archbishop Peers also noted that Archbishop Scott was a member of the so-called Eminent Persons Group, a committee of distinguished individuals from the British Commonwealth that helped South Africa work toward a peaceful end to apartheid.

"During his time, he deeply influenced the church, the country and the world. In the Anglican Church of Canada, women were ordained, a new relationship with the First Nations began to take shape and ecumenical relationships flourished," Archbishop Peers wrote.

Archbishop Scott said he resisted cooperating with such a project for a long time and is taking part now "under pressure" from supporters. "I agreed to cooperate if the book focused on the life and times of (Ted Scott) and did not imply things were done alone by a particular person," he said.

Rev. Clarke Raymond and Canon Ruth Jefferson are co-chairs of the biography project group, which has about eight members. Mr. Raymond, who lives in Toronto, was a former director of program at General Synod and Canon Jefferson is a retired priest living in Ancaster, Ont., diocese of Niagara.

Mr. McCullum, the biography's author, said in an interview that he started work on the project in April, sitting down with Archbishop Scott for some 30 hours of interviews. "I'm interviewing many of his church colleagues and doing research at the church archives," he added. He plans to have a final manuscript ready in 12 to 13 months, he said.

Members of the biography project group are seeking donations to help with Mr. McCullum's costs and with publicity and publishing costs. The book will be published by the Anglican Book Centre and the fundraising goal is $140,000.