The Company of the Cross was a lay religious order which was affiliated with the Anglican Church of Canada when founded in 1957 by Frank Wiems and Ted Byfield. For many years, the Company operated under the authority of the Anglican bishops in Winnipeg (diocese of Rupert's Land), the diocese of Edmonton and the diocese of Toronto[1] On November 17, 1990, the Company of the Cross was unincorporated in Manitoba.[2]
In legal fact the company is ... operated under the auspices of an Anglican bishop. Since the bishops renew the members in the company's service annually, they could presumably dissolve the company by refusing to admit new members.... Each time the one of the company's activities raises public question or controversy ... the bishops find themselves assailed with the same questions: Are these people part of the church, or are they not, and if they are what controls does the church have over them?