Anglican Diocese of Toronto
Encyclopedia
The Diocese of Toronto is an administrative division of the Anglican Church of Canada
covering the central part of southern Ontario. It has the most members of any Anglican diocese
in Canada. It is also one of the biggest Anglican dioceses in the Americas in terms of numbers of parishioners, clergy and parishes. Presently there are 257 parishes in the diocese and over 80,000 Anglicans identified on parish rolls. The oldest of the seven dioceses comprising the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario
, it was founded in 1839.
Its first bishop was John Strachan
who became the bishop of Toronto in 1839, after becoming ordained in the Anglican Church in 1803 and later becoming the archdeacon of York in 1827.
In 1839, the Diocese of Toronto made up a fifth of what was then known as the Diocese of Upper Canada, which comprised the current Diocese of Huron, Ontario, Algoma, and Niagara, which were respectively set apart in 1857, 1861, 1873, and 1875.
The Cathedral Church of St. James (Toronto)
is the centre of the Anglican Diocese of Toronto. The church originated as The English Church when it was first erected in 1803. It later became the seat of the Anglican bishop and was reconsecrated as the Cathedral Church of St. James in 1830. The church remained under the direction of John Strachan
for most of the nineteenth century, who was later buried on the cathedral grounds in 1867.
The current Archbishop of Toronto (and Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario
) is the Most Reverend Colin Johnson
, who is assisted by four suffragan bishops, styled "area bishops", each with oversight of a geographical region of the diocese. The Episcopal Areas and their respective suffragans are:
Each Episcopal Area has its own bishop and some have an archdeacon
, although all function with delegated authority of the diocesan bishop who retains jurisdiction for the whole diocese.
The Reverend Canon Linda Nicholls was elected Suffragan Bishop of Toronto on the third ballot at an electoral Synod on November 17, 2007, at St. Paul's Bloor Street. She was consecrated on February 2, 2008, at the Cathedral Church of St. James (Toronto)
, becoming the third woman Anglican bishop in the Diocese of Toronto and the fourth in the Anglican Church in Canada.
The first two women consecrated as bishops in the Anglican Church of Canada also served as suffragan bishops of Toronto: first, the Right Reverend Victoria Matthews
, elected in 1994, translated to the Diocese of Edmonton
as diocesan bishop in 1997 (and now Bishop of Christchurch, New Zealand
; and second, the Right Reverend the Lady Ann Tottenham, elected in 1997, retired in 2005, and now serving part-time as an assistant bishop in the Diocese of Niagara
.
FaithWorks is the annual appeal of the diocese of Toronto (www.faithworks.ca). In 2010, FaithWorks celebrated its fifteenth year and raised a record $1,514,500. More parishes then ever before participated and over 60% of parishes increased their giving over 2009.
The Diocese of Toronto contains 272 churches in 217 parishes. A few of these include:
The cathedral of the diocese is the Cathedral Church of St. James (Toronto)
Anglican Church of Canada
The Anglican Church of Canada is the Province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French name is l'Église Anglicane du Canada. The ACC is the third largest church in Canada after the Roman Catholic Church and the United Church of Canada, consisting of 800,000 registered members...
covering the central part of southern Ontario. It has the most members of any Anglican diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
in Canada. It is also one of the biggest Anglican dioceses in the Americas in terms of numbers of parishioners, clergy and parishes. Presently there are 257 parishes in the diocese and over 80,000 Anglicans identified on parish rolls. The oldest of the seven dioceses comprising the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario
Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario
The Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario is one of the Anglican Church of Canada's four ecclesiastical provinces. It was established in 1912 out of six dioceses of the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada located in the civil Province of Ontario, and the Diocese of Moosonee from the Ecclesiastical...
, it was founded in 1839.
Its first bishop was John Strachan
John Strachan
John Strachan was an influential figure in Upper Canada and the first Anglican Bishop of Toronto.-Early life:Strachan was the youngest of six children born to a quarry worker in Aberdeen, Scotland. He graduated from King's College, Aberdeen in 1797...
who became the bishop of Toronto in 1839, after becoming ordained in the Anglican Church in 1803 and later becoming the archdeacon of York in 1827.
In 1839, the Diocese of Toronto made up a fifth of what was then known as the Diocese of Upper Canada, which comprised the current Diocese of Huron, Ontario, Algoma, and Niagara, which were respectively set apart in 1857, 1861, 1873, and 1875.
The Cathedral Church of St. James (Toronto)
Cathedral Church of St. James (Toronto)
Cathedral Church of St. James in Toronto, Canada is the home of the oldest congregation in the city. The parish was established in 1797. The Cathedral was begun in 1850 and completed in 1853, was at the time one of the largest buildings in the city...
is the centre of the Anglican Diocese of Toronto. The church originated as The English Church when it was first erected in 1803. It later became the seat of the Anglican bishop and was reconsecrated as the Cathedral Church of St. James in 1830. The church remained under the direction of John Strachan
John Strachan
John Strachan was an influential figure in Upper Canada and the first Anglican Bishop of Toronto.-Early life:Strachan was the youngest of six children born to a quarry worker in Aberdeen, Scotland. He graduated from King's College, Aberdeen in 1797...
for most of the nineteenth century, who was later buried on the cathedral grounds in 1867.
The current Archbishop of Toronto (and Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario
Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario
The Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario is one of the Anglican Church of Canada's four ecclesiastical provinces. It was established in 1912 out of six dioceses of the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada located in the civil Province of Ontario, and the Diocese of Moosonee from the Ecclesiastical...
) is the Most Reverend Colin Johnson
Colin Johnson
Colin Robert Johnson SCP is the current Anglican Archbishop of Toronto and the Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario. He is an alumnus of Trinity College in the University of Toronto and the 11th bishop of the diocese, the largest in the Anglican Church of Canada.Johnson was...
, who is assisted by four suffragan bishops, styled "area bishops", each with oversight of a geographical region of the diocese. The Episcopal Areas and their respective suffragans are:
- York-Scarborough - the Right Reverend Patrick Yu
- York-Simcoe - the Right Reverend George Elliott
- York-Credit Valley - the Right Reverend Philip Poole
- Trent-Durham - the Right Reverend Linda Nicholls
Each Episcopal Area has its own bishop and some have an archdeacon
Archdeacon
An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in Anglicanism, Syrian Malabar Nasrani, Chaldean Catholic, and some other Christian denominations, above that of most clergy and below a bishop. In the High Middle Ages it was the most senior diocesan position below a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church...
, although all function with delegated authority of the diocesan bishop who retains jurisdiction for the whole diocese.
The Reverend Canon Linda Nicholls was elected Suffragan Bishop of Toronto on the third ballot at an electoral Synod on November 17, 2007, at St. Paul's Bloor Street. She was consecrated on February 2, 2008, at the Cathedral Church of St. James (Toronto)
Cathedral Church of St. James (Toronto)
Cathedral Church of St. James in Toronto, Canada is the home of the oldest congregation in the city. The parish was established in 1797. The Cathedral was begun in 1850 and completed in 1853, was at the time one of the largest buildings in the city...
, becoming the third woman Anglican bishop in the Diocese of Toronto and the fourth in the Anglican Church in Canada.
The first two women consecrated as bishops in the Anglican Church of Canada also served as suffragan bishops of Toronto: first, the Right Reverend Victoria Matthews
Victoria Matthews
Victoria Matthews is Bishop of Christchurch in the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand, and Polynesia. At her ordination to the episcopate in 1994, she became the first ever female bishop in the Anglican Church of Canada.- Life :...
, elected in 1994, translated to the Diocese of Edmonton
Anglican Diocese of Edmonton
The Diocese of Edmonton is a diocese of the Ecclesiastical Province of Rupert's Land of the Anglican Church of Canada. The diocese comprises almost 78,000 square kilometres of the civil Province of Alberta, consisting of a band across the central part of the province, extending to the borders of...
as diocesan bishop in 1997 (and now Bishop of Christchurch, New Zealand
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
; and second, the Right Reverend the Lady Ann Tottenham, elected in 1997, retired in 2005, and now serving part-time as an assistant bishop in the Diocese of Niagara
Anglican Diocese of Niagara
The Diocese of Niagara is one of thirty regional divisions in the Anglican Church of Canada. The see city of the diocese is Hamilton with the Bishop's seat being located at Christ's Church Cathedral on James Street North. Located within the ecclesiastical province of Ontario, it borders the...
.
FaithWorks is the annual appeal of the diocese of Toronto (www.faithworks.ca). In 2010, FaithWorks celebrated its fifteenth year and raised a record $1,514,500. More parishes then ever before participated and over 60% of parishes increased their giving over 2009.
Parishes
- See also List of Anglican churches in Toronto
The Diocese of Toronto contains 272 churches in 217 parishes. A few of these include:
- All Saints, King CityAll Saints, King CityAll Saints, King City is a parish of the Anglican Church of Canada in the Diocese of Toronto, Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario. It was established in 1857 in Springhill, now known as King City. The facility was originally built of pine cleared from the site, and was covered with brick in 1871...
- Church of St. Mary MagdaleneChurch of St. Mary Magdalene (Toronto)The Church of St. Mary Magdalene is an Anglo-Catholic parish of the Anglican Church of Canada located in Toronto. It is famous for its association with composer Healey Willan and was part of the composite Robertson Davies used to form "St. Aidan's" in his novel The Cunning Man...
- Church of The MessiahChurch of the Messiah (Toronto)The Church of The Messiah is an Anglican church in Toronto, Canada. The church is located at the corner of Avenue Road and Dupont Avenue. It was founded by members of the Church of the Redeemer further down Avenue Road on March 24, 1891...
- Church of the Holy TrinityChurch of the Holy Trinity, TorontoThe Church of the Holy Trinity is an Anglican church in downtown Toronto, Canada at Trinity Square.-History:The modest Gothic Revival structure was built in 1847 by architect Henry Bowyer Lane, who also designed Little Trinity Anglican Church on King Street and St. George the Martyr Church in Toronto...
- Church of the RedeemerChurch of the Redeemer (Toronto)The Church of the Redeemer is an Anglican church in Toronto, Canada. The small church is prominently located at the intersection of Bloor Street and Avenue Road, near the University of Toronto. It was founded in 1871 when the area was still on the fringe of the city...
- Grace Church on the HillGrace Church on the HillGrace Church on-the-Hill is an Anglican Church of Canada parish in Toronto, Ontario. It is featured in the novel A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving, and is a member of the Churches on the Hill group...
- Little Trinity Anglican ChurchLittle Trinity Anglican ChurchLittle Trinity Anglican Church, formally Trinity East, is a parish of the Anglican Church of Canada located at 425 King Street East in the Corktown neighbourhood just east of downtown Toronto, Ontario....
- St. Matthias BellwoodsSt. Matthias BellwoodsSt. Matthias, Bellwoods, is a small inclusive Anglo-Catholic parish of the Anglican Church of Canada located in Toronto, Ontario. The cornerstone was laid in 1873 and the building consecrated in 1874...
- St. Paul's, Bloor StreetSt. Paul's, Bloor StreetThe Church of St Paul's, Bloor Street, is a large parish of the Anglican Church of Canada in the Diocese of Toronto.Located in downtown Toronto near the denomination's national headquarters, the parish, along with Little Trinity Anglican Church, is one of historical flagship low church parishes of...
- St. Thomas's Anglican Church
The cathedral of the diocese is the Cathedral Church of St. James (Toronto)
Cathedral Church of St. James (Toronto)
Cathedral Church of St. James in Toronto, Canada is the home of the oldest congregation in the city. The parish was established in 1797. The Cathedral was begun in 1850 and completed in 1853, was at the time one of the largest buildings in the city...
Educational institutions
- University of Trinity CollegeUniversity of Trinity CollegeThe University of Trinity College, informally referred to as Trin, is a college of the University of Toronto, founded in 1851 by Bishop John Strachan. Trinity was intended by Strachan as a college of strong Anglican alignment, after the University of Toronto severed its ties with the Church of...
- Wycliffe CollegeWycliffe CollegeWycliffe College is an Anglican Church of Canada seminary federated with the University of Toronto. It is evangelical and Low church in orientation. On the other hand, the University of Toronto's other Anglican college, the University of Trinity College is Anglo-Catholic in outlook. While being an...
- Royal St. George's CollegeRoyal St. George's CollegeRoyal St. George's College is an independent school for boys located in The Annex neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school admits boys from Grades 3 through 12. Founded in 1961 as an Anglican choir school in the tradition of the great collegiate and cathedral choir schools in England,...
- Havergal CollegeHavergal CollegeHavergal College is an independent boarding and day school for girls from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Named for English hymn composer, author and humanitarian Frances Ridley Havergal, the school was founded in 1894 by a group of men led by The Honourable H...
- Bishop Strachan SchoolBishop Strachan SchoolThe Bishop Strachan School is Canada’s oldest day and boarding school for girls. The School has approximately 820 day students and 80 boarding students ranging from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12 . The school seeks to nurture the academic, social, emotional, spiritual, creative and physical...
- Saint John's School of OntarioSaint John's School of OntarioSaint John's School of Ontario was the third of three private Anglican boys' boarding schools in Toronto founded on conservative Anglican ideas and the notion that children were not challenged by present-day society. The two other defunct schools are Saint John's Cathedral Boys' School , and Saint...
(defunct)
See also
- Archdiocese of Toronto
- FidelityFidelity (Anglican)Fidelity, now defunct, was an organization within the Anglican Church of Canada committed to retaining traditional understanding of human sexuality within that church. It was opposed to, but in dialogue with, Integrity Canada....
(defunct) - Dorian BaxterDorian BaxterDorian Baxter is an Anglican minister in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada who uses the music of Elvis Presley in his services, using the name The Reverend Elvis Priestly.-Background:...
- Integrity TorontoIntegrity TorontoIntegrity/Toronto is the oldest Canadian chapter of Integrity, a network of support and advocacy groups for gay and lesbian members of the Anglican Church of Canada, Episcopal Church USA, Anglican Church of Australia, and Church of Uganda....
- James FerryJames FerryJames Ferry is a priest of the Anglican Church of Canada. In 1992 he was removed from his parish after it was revealed that he was gay and in a relationship with another man....
- Tom HarpurTom HarpurThomas William Harpur is a Canadian author, broadcaster, columnist and theologian. An ordained priest, he is a proponent of the Christ myth theory, the idea that Jesus did not exist but is a fictional or mythological figure...
- Henry ScaddingHenry ScaddingHenry Scadding was a Canadian author and clergyman.Scadding was born in Dunkeswell, Devon, England, and migrated to Canada with his parents, John Scadding and Melicent Triggs, in 1821. He was educated at Upper Canada College and at St. John's College at Cambridge University, Cambridge, England,...
- Reg Stackhouse
- Company of the CrossCompany of the CrossThe Company of the Cross was a lay religious order which was affiliated with the Anglican Church of Canada when founded. It operated under the authority of the Anglican bishops in Winnipeg , the diocese of Edmonton and the diocese of Toronto It was founded in 1962 by Frank Weins and Ted Byfield...