St. Matthias Bellwoods
Encyclopedia
St. 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. The parish is responsible for the Anglican chaplaincy at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
.
The hymn tune
Bellwoods, sung in many countries to the text "O day of God draw nigh," by the Canadian theologian Robert B.Y. Scott, was written by James Hopkirk, a former organist at St. Matthias (and sometime organist of St. James' Cathedral (Toronto)) and named for the parish. Fr Roland Ford Palmer SSJE, the author of the Marian hymn "Sing of Mary, pure and lowly," used in several denominations’ hymnals in many countries, had a long association with St. Matthias’s (before departing for the Anglican Catholic Church of Canada
) and wrote a History of St Matthias' Church.
According to Palmer, St. Matthias’s was “the first Anglican church in Toronto to enjoy all these adjuncts to worship” ie the full complement of Anglo-Catholic ceremonial.
St. Matthias is also known to be the first Anglican parish to offer a formal Animal Blessing in Toronto. In more recent years, several other parishes have come to follow St. Matthias' lead in administering the annual ritual - welcoming animals of all kinds and their human companions for a liturgically-based blessing every autumn.
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...
located in Toronto, Ontario. The cornerstone was laid in 1873 and the building consecrated in 1874. The parish is responsible for the Anglican chaplaincy at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health is a consortium of mental health clinics at several sites in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its name in French is Centre de toxicomanie et de santé mentale...
.
The hymn tune
Hymn tune
A hymn tune is the melody of a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung. Musically speaking, a hymn is generally understood to have four-part harmony, a fast harmonic rhythm , and no refrain or chorus....
Bellwoods, sung in many countries to the text "O day of God draw nigh," by the Canadian theologian Robert B.Y. Scott, was written by James Hopkirk, a former organist at St. Matthias (and sometime organist of St. James' Cathedral (Toronto)) and named for the parish. Fr Roland Ford Palmer SSJE, the author of the Marian hymn "Sing of Mary, pure and lowly," used in several denominations’ hymnals in many countries, had a long association with St. Matthias’s (before departing for the Anglican Catholic Church of Canada
Anglican Catholic Church of Canada
The Anglican Catholic Church of Canada is an Anglican church that was founded in the 1970s by conservative Anglicans.-Affiliation:With 30 congregations in Canada, the ACCC is the third-largest of the Anglican churches in Canada, after the ACC and the Anglican Church in North America.The Anglican...
) and wrote a History of St Matthias' Church.
According to Palmer, St. Matthias’s was “the first Anglican church in Toronto to enjoy all these adjuncts to worship” ie the full complement of Anglo-Catholic ceremonial.
St. Matthias is also known to be the first Anglican parish to offer a formal Animal Blessing in Toronto. In more recent years, several other parishes have come to follow St. Matthias' lead in administering the annual ritual - welcoming animals of all kinds and their human companions for a liturgically-based blessing every autumn.