Jim Boyles was born in Toronto, in 1940. Boyles, graduated from the University of Toronto in 1962 with an honours degree in political science and economics. From 1932-1936 he worked for the Department of National Revenue and the Canadian Board of Transport. In 1965, he decided to pursue divinity studies. He received his bachelor of divinity from Yale University in 1968 and was ordained in 1968 in the diocese of Ottawa. He served in the Ottawa diocese until 1972 when he was appointed ecumenical officer of the national church.
Mr. Boyles has held key leadership positions within the Anglican Church, including: Deputy Prolocutor of the General Synod (1992-93); President of the Calgary Council of Churches (1988-90); Vice-President of the Centre for Christian Studies, Toronto (1986-87) and Secretary of the Primate's Advisory Group on Jewish-Christian Relations (1975-81).
His most prominent position was as the General Secretary for the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada from 1993-2005. As chief operating officer at Church House, the general secretary's role is to oversee the work of General Synod, its committees, councils, boards and commissions, and also to connect with the diocese.However, Archdeacon Boyles' tenure as General Secretary was dominated by the residential schools crisis. Boyles formulated what became the accepted statement of the church's priorities for the residential school crisis: first to promote healing and reconciliation in the aftermath of the Indian Residential Schools, and second to survive as an institution in order to carry out that first priority.
In 2003, Boyles was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Canon Law by St. John's College in Winnipeg.
Following his retirement from General Secretary in 2005, Achdeacon Boyles remained actively involved in the Anglican Church. He was a member of the Anglican Church's Governance Working Group. He was also involved in a working group focusing on the non-legal issues of residential schools, such as truth-telling, commemoration and healing.
