First Baptist Church is a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

church (named Granville Street Baptist Church until 1886) in Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

Early history

The church was established in

Halifax Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the Halifax CMA was 530,167, with 348,634 ...

in September 1827, under the name Granville Street Baptist Church. The individuals who organized it were originally members of the congregation of St. Paul's Anglican Church. Rev. Dr. Twining, an Anglican

prothonotary A prothonotary is the "principal clerk of a court," from Late Latin, L.L. ''prothonotarius'' (Wiktionary:circa, c. 400), from Greek ''protonotarios'' "first scribe," originally the chief of the college of recorders of the court of the Byzantine E ...

at the time, experienced a shift in his views after being exposed to the teachings of Isaac Temple, private chaplain to

Lord Dalhousie James Andrew Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie (22 April 1812 – 19 December 1860), known as the Earl of Dalhousie between 1838 and 1849, was a Scottish statesman and colonial administrator in British India. He served as Governor-Ge ...

. Twining's sermons no longer appealed to John Inglis, the then-rector of St. Paul's, who dismissed Twining from the curacy of the parish. Following the controversy at St. Paul's, Twining, J.W. Nutting, and J. Ferguson left and adopted the Baptist faith. They briefly worshipped at the Baptist church under John Burton, the first known Baptist in the city. The new Baptists purchased land on Granville Street and formed their congregation in a stone chapel that was erected for £2,250. The first baptism was given by Irah Chase on September 30, 1827, on the shores of the

Bedford Basin Bedford Basin is a large enclosed bay, forming the northwestern end of Halifax Harbour on Canada's Atlantic coast. It is named in honour of John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford. Geography Geographically, the basin is situated entirely within th ...

. The following day,

Alexis Caswell Alexis Caswell (January 29, 1799 – January 8, 1877) was an American educator, born in Taunton, Massachusetts. He graduated Brown University in 1822, and entered the Baptist ministry. Career Caswell was professor of mathematics and natural phi ...

was ordained as pastor, while Lewis Johnston and J.W. Nutting were chosen as deacons. Caswell, alongside deacons Nutting and Johnston, and E.A. Crawley, were sent as delegates to the Baptist association in

Wolfville Wolfville is a Canadian town in the Annapolis Valley, Kings County, Nova Scotia, located about northwest of the provincial capital, Halifax. The town is home to Acadia University and Landmark East School. The town is a tourist destination d ...

. Their advocacy for a higher education initiative helped lay the foundation for the establishment of

Acadia University Acadia University is a public, predominantly Undergraduate education, undergraduate university located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, with some Postgraduate education, graduate programs at the master's level and one at the Doctorate, doctor ...

in 1838. The founding members also had close ties to traditional Baptists in New England. By 1886, the congregation outgrew its building and built a church at the corner of Queen Street and Spring Garden Road.Tuck, R. (2003). Churches of Nova Scotia. Ukraine: Dundurn Press. It was a brick building that was semicircular and could hold 700 people in a spacious audience room. There was also a general gallery and a choir gallery behind the preacher's desk. The building was built for $31,000, and the land cost $6,000. Following the Act of Incorporation passed by the local legislature in May 1886, the name would change to the First Baptist Church. The newly constructed church celebrated its inaugural service on April 10, 1887. In 1942, a fire damaged the new building, which was rebuilt in 1950. The First Baptist Church is now located at 1300 Oxford Street in Halifax.

References

{{reflist Churches in Halifax, Nova Scotia Churches completed in 1827 Religious organizations established in 1827 Churches in Nova Scotia Baptist churches Baptist churches in Canada Buildings and structures in Halifax, Nova Scotia