Rev. Chris Barrigar

Lead Pastor

Born in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Chris grew up mostly in Ottawa and England. At about age 12, while living in Ottawa, Chris first committed his life to Christ. He did his B.A. in Political Science and Commerce at the University of Toronto, after which he worked for several years as a truck-body assembler then real estate agent. Chris then did his M.Div. and Th.M. degrees at Wycliffe College, University of Toronto. During his MDiv studies Chris gave up his faith for some time, even withdrawing from his theology studies, though, through a circuitous journey, eventually returned to faith. Chris was later ordained, in Toronto in 1989, where he served in two parishes. After this he moved to Montreal to do his PhD in Philosophy at McGill University. In Montreal Chris met Fiona Crossling and they were married in 1995. In 1998 they moved to India for six-and-a-half years, living first in Bangalore then in Chennai. Chris and Fiona have two adult children, Devadas and Amudha. Chris is the editor or author of several books, most recently Freedom All the Way Up: God and the Meaning of Life in a Scientific Age (2017). He is also convenor of the Montreal Universities Christian Faculty Fellowship, a Fellow of the American Scientific Affiliation, and a member of the Society of Christian Philosophers and the North American Society for Social Philosophy. Chris’s theological leadership of CMP could be described by a contemporary definition of the Gospel he often uses: “Through Jesus of Nazareth, God is at work healing and redeeming the world—and you and I are invited to be recipients of, and co-workers in, this transformative work of God.”