John Strachan was an influential figure in
Upper CanadaThe Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
and the first Anglican
Bishop of TorontoBishop of Toronto may refer to:* the Anglican Bishop of the Diocese of Toronto* the Roman Catholic Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Toronto* the Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of the Metropolis of Toronto...
.
Early life
Strachan was the youngest of six children born to a quarry worker in
AberdeenAberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
,
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. He graduated from
King's College, AberdeenKing's College in Old Aberdeen, Scotland is a formerly independent university founded in 1495 and an integral part of the University of Aberdeen...
in 1797. After his father died in an accident in 1794, Strachan tutored students and taught school to finance his own education.
In 1799 he emigrated to
KingstonKingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
,
Upper CanadaThe Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
to tutor the children of other
BritishGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and United Empire Loyalist immigrants. In Kingston one of his students was
John Beverley RobinsonJohn Beverley Robinson was elected mayor of Toronto in 1856. He was the fifth Lieutenant Governor of Ontario between the years 1880–1887....
, future attorney general of Upper Canada. At the same time, he studied to become ordained.
In 1803 Strachan was ordained as a
priestA priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
in the
Church of EnglandThe Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
. He moved to
CornwallCornwall is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada and the seat of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, Ontario. Cornwall is Ontario's easternmost city, located on the St...
, where he taught at a grammar school and married Ann Wood in 1807. He moved to York just before the
War of 1812The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, where he became rector of St. James' church (which would later become his Cathedral) and headmaster of the
Home District Grammar SchoolJarvis Collegiate Institute is a high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Jarvis is located on Jarvis Street. Founded in 1807 it is the second oldest high school in Ontario after the Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute, and the oldest high school in Toronto.-History:Jarvis Collegiate was...
. During the
Battle of YorkThe Battle of York was a battle of the War of 1812 fought on 27 April 1813, at York, Upper Canada . An American force supported by a naval flotilla landed on the lake shore to the west, defeated the defending British force and captured the town and dockyard...
in 1813, Strachan negotiated the surrender of the city with
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
general
Henry DearbornHenry Dearborn was an American physician, a statesman and a veteran of both the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. Born to Simon Dearborn and Sarah Marston in North Hampton, New Hampshire, he spent much of his youth in Epping, where he attended public schools...
. He is credited with saving the city from American troops eager to loot and burn it.
Family Compact
After the war he became a pillar of the
Family CompactFully developed after the War of 1812, the Compact lasted until Upper and Lower Canada were united in 1841. In Lower Canada, its equivalent was the Château Clique. The influence of the Family Compact on the government administration at different levels lasted to the 1880s...
, the conservative elite that controlled the colony. He was a member of the
Executive Council of Upper CanadaThe Executive Council of Upper Canada had a similar function to the Cabinet in England but was not responsible to the Legislative Assembly. Members of the Executive Council were not necessarily members of the Legislative Assembly but were usually members of the Legislative Council. Members were...
from 1815 to 1836 as well as the
Legislative CouncilThe Legislative Council of Upper Canada was the upper house governing the province of Upper Canada. Modelled after the British House of Lords, it was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. It was specified that the council should consist of at least seven members. Members were appointed for...
from 1820 to 1841. He was an influential advisor to the Lieutenant-Governors of Upper Canada and the other members of the Councils and Assemblies, many of whom were his former students. Those who shared his fierce loyalty to the
British monarchyThe monarchy of the United Kingdom is the constitutional monarchy of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories. The present monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, has reigned since 6 February 1952. She and her immediate family undertake various official, ceremonial and representational duties...
, his strict and exclusive
ToryToryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
ism and establishment
AnglicanismAnglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
, and his contempt for
slaverySlavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
,
republicanismRepublicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, where the head of state is appointed by means other than heredity, often elections. The exact meaning of republicanism varies depending on the cultural and historical context...
, and reformism were known as the "
Family CompactFully developed after the War of 1812, the Compact lasted until Upper and Lower Canada were united in 1841. In Lower Canada, its equivalent was the Château Clique. The influence of the Family Compact on the government administration at different levels lasted to the 1880s...
."
Strachan supported a strict interpretation of the
Constitutional Act of 1791The Constitutional Act of 1791, formally The Clergy Endowments Act, 1791 , is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain...
, claiming that clergy reserves were to be given to the
Church of EnglandThe Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
alone rather than to
ProtestantsProtestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
in general. In 1826 this interpretation was opposed by
Egerton RyersonAdolphus Egerton Ryerson was a Methodist minister, educator, politician, and public education advocate in early Ontario, Canada...
, who advocated the separation of church and state and argued that the reserves should be sold for the benefit of education in the province. Although Strachan controlled the reserves through the
Clergy CorporationThe Clergy Corporation, or the Clergy Reserve Corporation of Upper Canada, existed to oversee, manage and lease the Clergy reserves of Upper Canada, a large amount of land in Upper Canada that had been put aside for the Anglican and later Protestant churches...
for much of this time, he was ultimately forced to oversee the selling off of most of the land in 1854.
Educational interests
Much of Strachan's life and work was focused on education. He wanted Upper Canada to be under Church of England control, in order to avoid American influence. He tried to set up annual reviews for
grammar schoolA grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
s to make sure they were following Church of England doctrines, and tried to introduce
Andrew BellAndrew Bell was a Scottish Anglican priest and educationalist who pioneered the Madras System of Education in schools and was the founder of Madras College, a secondary school in St. Andrews.-His life and work:Andrew Bell was born at St. Andrews, in Scotland on 27 March 1753 and attended St...
's education system from Britain, although these acts were vetoed by the
Legislative AssemblyThe Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. It was the elected legislature for the province of Upper Canada and functioned as the province's lower house in the Parliament of Upper Canada...
. In 1827 Strachan chartered King's College, an Anglican university, although it was not actually created until 1843. In 1839 he was consecrated the first Anglican bishop of Toronto alongside Aubrey George Spencer, the first Bishop of
NewfoundlandNewfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
, at
Lambeth PalaceLambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury in England. It is located in Lambeth, on the south bank of the River Thames a short distance upstream of the Palace of Westminster on the opposite shore. It was acquired by the archbishopric around 1200...
August 4. That same year he became principal of
Upper Canada CollegeUpper Canada College , located in midtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is an independent elementary and secondary school for boys between Senior Kindergarten and Grade Twelve, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The secondary school segment is divided into ten houses; eight are...
. He founded
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...
in 1851 after King's College was secularized as the
University of TorontoThe University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
.
In 1835 he was forced to resign from the Executive Council, and he resigned from politics in 1841 after the Act of Union. He continued to influence his former students, although the Family Compact declined in the new
Province of CanadaThe Province of Canada, United Province of Canada, or the United Canadas was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham in the Report on the Affairs of British North America following the Rebellions of...
. Strachan helped organize the Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops in 1867 but died before it was held. Strachan was buried in a vault in the chancel of
St. James' CathedralCathedral 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...
. He was succeeded by
Alexander Neil BethuneAlexander Neil Bethune was a Church of England clergyman and bishop and the son of the Reverend John Bethune. He and his wife had ten children. They included Robert Henry Bethune, a noted banker with the Dominion Bank. He was a brother to John, also a clergyman, who was acting principal of McGill...
.
Commemoration
- In the summer of 2004, a bust of John Strachan was erected in the quadrangle of Trinity College at the University of Toronto.
- Strachan Avenue, running from the original site of Trinity College to Lake Shore Blvd., is also named in his honour.
External links
- Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
- Documents by Strachan from Project Canterbury
Project Canterbury is an online archive of material related to the history of Anglicanism. It was founded by Richard Mammana, Jr. in 1999, and is hosted by the non-profit Society of Archbishop Justus...
- http://anglicanhistory.org/canada/scobell_consecration1839.htmlA Sermon Preached at Lambeth Palace, on Sunday, August 4, 1839, before the Most Rev. His Grace the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, the Right Rev. the Lord Bishops of London, Chichester, and Nova-Scotia at the Consecration of the Lord of Bishop of Newfoundland, and the Lord Bishop of Toronto and Published by the Command of His Grace the Lord Archbishop], by Edward Scobell (London: J. Hatchard, 1839)
- Poetry by Strachan
- Bishop Strachan School