William Bennett Bond
Encyclopedia
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
priest, archbishop, and the 2nd Primate
Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada
The Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada is elected by the General Synod of the Church from among a list of five bishops nominated by the House of Bishops...
of the Anglican Church of Canada
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...
.
Early life
William Bennett Bond was born on September 10, 1815 at TruroTruro
Truro is a city and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The city is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population recorded in the 2001 census of 17,431. Truro urban statistical area, which includes parts of surrounding parishes, has a 2001 census...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, to John Bond and Nanny Bennett. William was educated at Calday Grange Grammar School
Calday Grange Grammar School
Calday Grange Grammar School is a non-denominational selective state grammar school, founded in 1636, situated on Caldy Hill above the town of West Kirby on the Wirral . The school admits boys from the ages of 11 through to 18, and girls for the sixth form only...
and later somewhere in London. At age 17, Bond left England to work in business at St. John's, Newfoundland. There, he met Mark Willoughby, a superintendent of the Newfoundland School Society
Newfoundland School Society
The Newfoundland School Society was established on June 30, 1823 by a merchant named Samuel Codner. Codner first came to Newfoundland in 1788 and periodically traveled back to England were he was influenced by the Evangelical Revival occurring there during this time. He was inspired to help...
, and joined his bible class. Under the direction of the Reverend Thomas Finch Hobday Bridge, Bond began to read for ordination
Ordination
In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
. In 1839, Bond moved to Lower Canada
Lower Canada
The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
, and the next year was ordained deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
by the Bishop of Quebec, George Jehoshaphat Mountain
George Jehoshaphat Mountain
George Jehoshaphat Mountain was a Canadian Anglican bishop , the first Principal of McGill College from 1824 to 1835, and the founder of Bishop's University.-Biography:...
. His first post as deacon was as a mission to the Quebec countryside, purportedly founding eleven schools in the township of Hemmingford
Hemmingford (township), Quebec
Hemmingford is a township in south-west Quebec, founded in 1799. The population as of the Canada 2006 Census was 1,763. The township completely surrounds the Village of Hemmingford. The two entities are locally referred to collectively as Hemmingford...
. In 1841, Bond was ordained priest
Priest
A 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 Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. In 1842, Bond was appointed incumbent of a church in Lachine
Lachine, Quebec
Lachine was a city on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is now a borough within the city of Montreal.-History:...
, and held at least four services a week, three on a Sunday.
Montreal
In 1848, Bond travelled to Montreal, where he served as assistant minister in one of the churches there. The same year, he replaced Willoughby as a superintendent of the Newfoundland School SocietyNewfoundland School Society
The Newfoundland School Society was established on June 30, 1823 by a merchant named Samuel Codner. Codner first came to Newfoundland in 1788 and periodically traveled back to England were he was influenced by the Evangelical Revival occurring there during this time. He was inspired to help...
. Bond quickly rose in prominence within the Anglican church, becoming rector of his church in 1863 and rural dean of Hochelaga the same year. In 1866, he became canon of Christ Church Cathedral, Montreal, and four years later the domestic chaplain to Ashton Oxenden
Ashton Oxenden
-Life:Oxenden was the fifth son of Sir Henry Oxenden, seventh baronet, who died in 1838. His mother was Mary, daughter of Colonel Graham of St. Lawrence, near Canterbury. Oxenden was born at Broome Park, Canterbury, on 20 September 1808....
, the Bishop of Montreal
Diocese of Montreal
Diocese of Montreal can refer to:* Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Montreal* Anglican Diocese of Montreal...
.
Bond's most significant contribution to the Anglican church in Montreal was his work with youth. His church of St. George played host to the largest Sunday school
Sunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
in the city, and Bond's founding of the St. George's YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
led to the creation of at least six new Montreal parishes. In 1878, the diocese of Montreal elected Bond as their third bishop, consecrated on January 25 the following year. He immediately set about reorganizing the financial affairs of the diocese, which had been weakened by an economic downturn during the 1870s.
Later years
By 1900, Bond's health was clearly declining, and in 1902, his coadjutor James CarmichaelJames Carmichael (Bishop)
James Carmichael was the fourth Bishop of Montreal for a short two-year spell at the start of the 20th century. A prominent clergyman who participated fully in the direction the church took, he was born in1838 and educated at Bishop's University...
had to take over many of his duties. In spite of this, Bond was elected Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada
Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada
The Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada is elected by the General Synod of the Church from among a list of five bishops nominated by the House of Bishops...
in 1904. His death on October 9, 1906 cut short his primacy, causing him to be one of the shortest-serving primates of Canada.