Anglican Diocese of Toronto
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The Diocese of Toronto is an administrative division of the
Anglican Church of Canada The Anglican Church of Canada (ACC or ACoC) is the Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French-language name is ''l'Église anglicane du Canada''. In 2017, the Anglican Church co ...
covering the central part of southern
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
. It was founded in 1839 and is the oldest of the seven
diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...
s comprising the
Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario The Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario is one of four ecclesiastical provinces in the Anglican Church of Canada. It was established in 1912 out of six dioceses of the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada located in the civil province of Ontario, and ...
. 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. As of 2018, the diocese has around 230 congregations and ministries in 183 parishes, with approximately 54,000 Anglicans identified on parish rolls. In 1839, the area of the current Diocese of Toronto made up a fifth of what was then known as the Diocese of Upper Canada, which also comprised the current Dioceses of Huron, Ontario, Algoma and Niagara, which were respectively set apart in 1857, 1861, 1873 and 1875. In 1842, her jurisdiction was described as "
Canada West The Province of Canada (or the 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 ...
" or "
Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...
" (technically an historical term in 1842). The Cathedral Church of St. James in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
is the centre of the 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 A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
and was reconsecrated as the Cathedral Church of St. James in 1830. The church remained under the direction of
John Strachan John Strachan (; 12 April 1778 – 1 November 1867) was a notable figure in Upper Canada and the first Anglican Bishop of Toronto. He is best known as a political bishop who held many government positions and promoted education from common sc ...
for most of the early nineteenth century. He was buried on the cathedral grounds in 1867.


Bishops

The diocese's first bishop was
John Strachan John Strachan (; 12 April 1778 – 1 November 1867) was a notable figure in Upper Canada and the first Anglican Bishop of Toronto. He is best known as a political bishop who held many government positions and promoted education from common sc ...
, who became Bishop of Toronto in 1839, after being ordained in the Anglican Church in 1803 and becoming Archdeacon of York in 1827. In 1848, Alexander Neil Bethune was Archdeacon of York and George O'Kill Stuart was Archdeacon of Kingston. By 1866, York was listed as the sole archdeaconry. The current diocesan bishop of Toronto is Andrew Asbil, who has served since January 2019. He is assisted by four
suffragan bishop A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdiction ...
s, styled "area bishops", each with oversight of a geographical region of the diocese. The episcopal areas and their respective suffragan/area bishops are: *Bishop of Trent-Durham – Riscylla Shaw *Bishop of York-Credit Valley – ''vacant'' *Bishop of York-Scarborough –
Kevin Robertson Kevin George Robertson (born February 8, 1959) is an American former water polo player, who won two Olympic silver medals during his career: in 1984 and 1988. He was affiliated with the University of California. In 1994, he was inducted into th ...
*Bishop of York-Simcoe – ''vacant'' Each episcopal area has its own bishop and some have an
archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...
, although all function with delegated authority of the diocesan bishop, who retains jurisdiction for the whole diocese.
Linda Nicholls Linda Carol Nicholls (born 1954) is a Canadian Anglican bishop who has served as Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada since 2019. She was previously Bishop of Huron from 2016 to 2019 and a suffragan bishop in the Anglican Diocese of Toronto ...
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, becoming the third female Anglican bishop in the Diocese of Toronto and the fourth in the Anglican Church in Canada. She became diocesan
Bishop of Huron The Diocese of Huron is a diocese of the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario of the Anglican Church of Canada. The diocese comprises just over 31,000 square kilometres in southwestern Ontario, sandwiched between Lake Huron and Lake Erie. Its See ...
in 2016, and was elected the first female
Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada The Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada (referred to in older documents as the Primate of All Canada or the Primate of Canada "Thirty-seven Welfare Organisations Ask Your Help!", Federation for Community Service. ca 1934-6.) is the primate of ...
in 2019. The first two women consecrated as bishops in the Anglican Church of Canada also served as suffragan bishops of Toronto: first,
Victoria Matthews Victoria Matthews (born 1954) is a Canadian Anglican bishop. From 2008 until 2018, she served as Bishop of Christchurch in the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. In 1994, she became the first woman ordained bishop in the ...
, elected in 1994 (for the Credit Valley area), translated to the Diocese of Edmonton as diocesan bishop in 1997 (and then became Bishop of
Christchurch, New Zealand Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
until April 2018); and second,
Ann Tottenham Ann Elizabeth Tottenham (born July 21, 1940) is a retired bishop of the Anglican Church of Canada. She is the oldest child of Charles Tottenham, 8th Marquess of Ely who emigrated to Ontario, Canada. Although entitled to the style ''Lady Ann Tot ...
, elected in 1997, retired in 2005, and later served as an assistant bishop in the
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, Ontario, Hamilton, with the bishop's cathedra located at Christ's Church Cathedral (Hamilton), Christ's Church Ca ...
. In September 2016, three new suffragan bishops were elected: Shaw is
Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...
, and Robertson is the first openly gay and partnered bishop to be elected in Canada. The three new bishops were consecrated on January 7, 2017.


Parishes

As of 2018, the Diocese of Toronto has around 230 congregations and ministries in 183 parishes. A few of these include: *
All Saints, King City All Saints, King City is a parish of the Anglican Church of Canada in the Diocese of Toronto, Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario The Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario is one of four ecclesiastical provinces in the Anglican Church of Canada. It ...
* Church of the Epiphany and St. Mark, Parkdale * Church of St. Mary Magdalene * Church of The Messiah * Church of the Holy Trinity * Church of the Redeemer * Emmanuel Anglican Church *
Grace Church on the Hill Grace Church on-the-Hill is a parish of the Anglican Church of Canada in the Anglican Diocese of Toronto, Diocese of Toronto. The parish church is located at 300 Lonsdale Road, in the Forest Hill, Toronto, Forest Hill area of Toronto, Ontario. ...
*
Little Trinity Anglican Church Little Trinity Anglican Church (officially Trinity East) is a parish church of the Anglican Church of Canada. It is located at 425 King Street East in the Corktown neighbourhood, just east of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. An Ontario Herita ...
* St. Matthias Bellwoods * St. Paul's, Bloor Street * St. Thomas's Anglican Church *
St. James on-the-Lines St. James on-the-Lines (often written as St. James-on-the-Lines or St. James On-the-Lines) is a historic Anglicanism, Anglican garrison church in Penetanguishene, Ontario. The church is still in use today serving as the Anglican parish church in Pe ...
, Penetanguishene The
cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
of the diocese is the Cathedral Church of St. James in Toronto.


Educational institutions

*
Bishop Strachan School The Bishop Strachan School (BSS; Strachan pronounced "Strawn") is an Anglican day and boarding school for girls in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school has approximately 900 students, including 80 boarding students, ranging from Junior Kindergar ...
*
Havergal College Havergal College is an independent day and boarding school for girls from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school was established in 1894 and named for Frances Ridley Havergal, a composer, author and humanitaria ...
*
Royal St. George's College Royal St. George's College (RSGC) 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 t ...
*
Saint John's School of Ontario Saint John's School of Ontario (SJSO) 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 s ...
(defunct) *
Trinity College School Trinity College School (TCS) is a co-educational, independent boarding and day school located in Port Hope, Ontario, Canada. TCS was founded on May 1, 1865, more than two years before Canadian Confederation. It includes a Senior School ...
*
University of Trinity College Trinity College (occasionally referred to as The University of Trinity College) is a college federated with the University of Toronto, founded in 1851 by Bishop John Strachan. Strachan originally intended Trinity as a university of strong Angl ...
*
Wycliffe College Wycliffe College () is an evangelical graduate school of theology at the University of Toronto. Founded in 1877 as an evangelical seminary in the Anglican tradition, Wycliffe College today attracts students from many Christian denominations from ...


List of Bishops of Toronto

#
John Strachan John Strachan (; 12 April 1778 – 1 November 1867) was a notable figure in Upper Canada and the first Anglican Bishop of Toronto. He is best known as a political bishop who held many government positions and promoted education from common sc ...
, 1839–1867 # Alexander Bethune, 1867–1879 #
Arthur Sweatman Arthur Sweatman (1834–1909) was a Canadian Anglican bishop and the third Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada. Early life Sweatman was born on 19 November 1834 in London, England, to parents John and Anne. His education began in two London ...
, 1879–1909 ( Metropolitan of Canada and Primate of All Canada, 1907–1909) #
James Sweeny James Fielding Sweeny (1857–1940) was an Anglican bishop. He was the 4th Bishop of Toronto and Archbishop of Ontario. Biography He was born in London, England on November 15, 1857, the son of Lt. Col. James Fielding Sweeny, formerly Her Majesty ...
, 1909–1932 (
Metropolitan of Ontario The Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario is one of four ecclesiastical provinces in the Anglican Church of Canada. It was established in 1912 out of six dioceses of the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada located in the civil province of Ontario, and ...
, 1932–1932) # Derwyn Owen, 1932–1947 ( Primate of All Canada, 1934–1947) # Ray Beverley, 1947–1955 (previously Suffragan Bishop since 1934) # Frederick Wilkinson, 1955–1966 # George Snell, 1966–1972 # Lewis Garnsworthy, 1972–1989 (
Metropolitan of Ontario The Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario is one of four ecclesiastical provinces in the Anglican Church of Canada. It was established in 1912 out of six dioceses of the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada located in the civil province of Ontario, and ...
, 1979–1985) # Terence Finlay, 1989–2004 (
Metropolitan of Ontario The Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario is one of four ecclesiastical provinces in the Anglican Church of Canada. It was established in 1912 out of six dioceses of the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada located in the civil province of Ontario, and ...
, 2000–2004) # Colin Johnson, 2004–2018 (
Metropolitan of Ontario The Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario is one of four ecclesiastical provinces in the Anglican Church of Canada. It was established in 1912 out of six dioceses of the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada located in the civil province of Ontario, and ...
, 2009–2018) # Andrew Asbil, 2019–present


See also

*
Dean of Toronto The Dean of Toronto is an Anglican dean in the Diocese of Toronto of the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario, based at the Cathedral Church of St. James in downtown Toronto, Ontario. The incumbent is also Rector Rector (Latin for the member of ...
*
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto The Archdiocese of Toronto ( la, Archidioecesis Torontina) is a Roman Catholic archdiocese that includes part of the Province of Ontario. Its archbishop is also the ecclesiastical provincial for the dioceses of Hamilton, London, Saint Catharines ...
*
Fidelity Fidelity is the quality of faithfulness or loyalty. Its original meaning regarded duty in a broader sense than the related concept of ''fealty''. Both derive from the Latin word ''fidēlis'', meaning "faithful or loyal". In the City of London f ...
(defunct) *
Dorian Baxter Dorian Baxter (born 3 April 1950) is a Canadian religious minister and musician and a perennial candidate for political office in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. He was consecrated as an bishop in the Federation of Independent Anglican Churches in 2 ...
*
Integrity Toronto Integrity/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 (United States), Anglican Church of Australia, and Church of Ugand ...
* James Ferry *
Tom Harpur Thomas William Harpur (1929–2017), known as Tom Harpur, was a Canadian biblical scholar, columnist, and broadcaster. An ordained Anglican priest, he was a proponent of the Christ myth theory, the idea that Jesus did not exist but is a fictiona ...
*
Henry Scadding Henry Scadding (July 29, 1813 – May 6, 1901) was a Canadian writer and Anglican clergyman. Life and career Scadding was born at Dunkeswell in Devon, England, and he immigrated to York, Upper Canada (now Toronto, Ontario) in 1821 with his p ...
* Reg Stackhouse *
Company of the Cross The Company of the Cross was a lay religious order which was affiliated with the Anglican Church of Canada when founded in 1957 by Frank Wiems and Ted Byfield. For many years, the Company operated under the authority of the Anglican bishops in Winn ...


References


External links

*
Website for the Annual Diocesan Charitable Appeal in support of 14 ministries and 3 partners
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toronto 1839 establishments in Canada Anglican Church in Ontario Anglican dioceses established in the 19th century Religious organizations established in 1839 Toronto, Anglican Diocese of Anglican Province of Ontario