Clarendon Lamb Worrell was born at Smith’s Falls, Ontario on July 20, 1853. He graduated from Trinity College, Toronto in 1873. He taught mathematics first at Bishop’s College School, Lennoxville, then Hellmuth College, London, Wentworth School, Hamilton and Collegiate Institute, Cobourg.
He entered the Divintiy School, Trinity College in 1878 and was ordained deacon in 1881 and priest in 1883. He was curate at Christ Church, Gananoque and Holy Trinity Church, Brockville then rector first at St. James’, Morrisburg followed by St. Mark’s, Barriefield. During his years as rector he acted as Professor of English Literature at the Royal Military College, Kingston.
Trinity College conferred the D.C.L. degree upon him in 1902. Dr. Worrell was Rector of St. Luke’s Church, Kingston, when he waselected Bishop of Nova Scotia. He was consecrated bishop in Christ Church Cathedral, Montreal, on St. Luke’s Day, October 18, 1904, by Archbishop William B. Bond, Primate of the Church
In Nova Scotia he visited every parish and seen every Church, parish hall and rectory in the Diocese, and talked with every rector before he met the Synod in 1906. Every part of the Church’s work moved forward under his leadership; King’s Collegiate School; the University of King’s College, and its removal to Halifax; "Edgehill", Church School for Girls; the Diocesan Mission Board; the great Church Congress held in 1910 in connection with the opening of All Saints Cathedral; the visit of the Bishop of London to Canada; and the Bicentenary of the Church in Nova Scotia and Canada, a landmark in Canadian Church history; the Laymen’s Missionary Movement, the Anglican Forward Movement; the work of the Woman’s Auxiliary; the revival of the Provincial Synod of "Canada "; and the work of the General Synod and its departments.
Bishop Worrell waslected on February 10, 1915, as Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada. In 1919 he turned down becoming Bishop of Bermuda but did give Bermuda episcopal oversight for a number of years.
At age 78 Archbishop Worrell was unanimously elected on September 23, 1931, Primate of All Canada. He was almost immediately faced with the misappropriation of some $750,000 of the endowment funds of the five missionary dioceses in Western Canada. He travelled throughout Canada on a campaign to restore of the endowments which succeeded before his death.
He died August 10, 1934 after four weeks’ illness at the age of 81.