St. Thomas's Anglican Church (Toronto)

St Thomas's Church, Huron Street is a parish of the Anglican Church of Canada in Toronto, Ontario. One of the earliest Anglo-Catholic congregations in Canada, it was established in 1874, moving twice before settling into its present building, adjacent to the Annex on the western edge of the University of Toronto's downtown campus.

St Thomas's Anglican Church
St Thomas's Anglican Church
43.6659°N 79.4005°W / 43.6659; -79.4005
Location383 Huron Street
Toronto, Ontario
M5S 2G5
CountryCanada
DenominationAnglican
TraditionAnglo-Catholic
Websitestthomas.on.ca
History
Founded1874 (1874)
DedicationThomas the Apostle
Architecture
Heritage designationToronto Designated Part IV
Designated1976[1]
Administration
ParishSt Thomas, Huron Street
DeaneryParkdale
DioceseToronto
ProvinceOntario
Clergy
RectorRev. Mark W. Andrews
Assistant priest(s)Rev. Christopher D'Angelo
Honorary priest(s)Fr. Jeffry Kennedy
Fr. Ian D. Nichols
Fr. Roy A. Hoult
(Rector Emeritus)
Fr. Brian D. Freeland
Laity
Organist/Director of musicMatthew Larkin
Organist(s)Elizabeth Anderson

The liturgy and music at St Thomas's make it a "destination" church. Many people who do not live within the boundaries of the parish attend services.

History

The church is an Arts and Crafts building designed by architect and parishioner Eden Smith (1858–1949) and was opened on January 17, 1893.[2] The Memorial First World War Baptistery with Bromsgrove Guild stained glass windows was completed in 1922.

The aesthetic theorist and poet T.E. Hulme attended St Thomas's while living in Toronto briefly in 1906 after leaving Cambridge University. He is an important figure in Modernist literature, influencing, among others, Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot.[3] The world-famous English pianist Gerald Moore (1899–1987) grew up and obtained most of his music education in Toronto.[4] In his early life, he was sub-organist at St Thomas's.

The parish's logo was designed by Allan Fleming for its centenary celebrations in 1974.[5]

Tradition

The church is known for its high standards in music and liturgy, and is nicknamed "Smoky Tom's" for its use of generous quantities of incense. Liturgy at St Thomas's is more formal and complex than would be encountered in all but a few Canadian Anglican churches today.

St Thomas’s draws from the English high-church tradition within Anglo-Catholicism, as distinct from the Anglo-Papalist branch, which took its inspiration from contemporary Roman Catholicism. This tradition, as former rector Fr. Roy Hoult explains, sought

to rediscover the forms of dress and general tenor of worship that pertained in England prior to their destruction at the time of the Reformation. Saint Thomas's is an example of this second kind of Anglo-Catholicism; its lack of lace and the predominance instead of plain albs and long surplices bear witness to this, as does the traditional Anglican arrangement of the chancel with its choir stalls.[6]

Trinity College and Wycliffe College

The church has had a long relationship with Trinity College, and more recently with Wycliffe College. As recently as the late 1930s, Wycliffe banned its students from entering St Thomas's. Currently, however, Wycliffe College not only allows students to attend the church, but they have even placed students at St Thomas's for year-long practicums that are required by the College.

Liturgy and Music

St Thomas's has two full-time priests (Rector and Associate Priest), who are assisted by honorary associate priests. There is also an Organist and Director of Music.

The Rector, the Rev'd Mark Andrews, has served in the dioceses of Saskatchewan and Toronto. Prior to coming to St Thomas's, he was the Rector of St Aidan's, Toronto. As a lay person, Fr. Andrews ran an inner-city day camp at All Saints', Ashmont, Boston.

Music is an important part of the liturgy at St Thomas's and the high calibre of the music program attracts people to St Thomas's. From 1989 to 2016, the parish's Organist and Choirmaster was John Tuttle. He was also the founding artistic director of the semi-professional Exultate Chamber Singers and previously directed the Hart House Chorus at the University of Toronto, where he has been the Director of Music at Trinity College since 2009 and University Organist since 1979. The famous English accompanist Gerald Moore, who grew up in Toronto, was a sometime assistant organist at St Thomas's. There are three choral services each Sunday. The choristers are mainly volunteers, with paid section leads. To date, the choir has toured to the U.K. three times (2005, 2010, 2013) to serve as choir-in-residence in cathedrals there during the summer. In August 2017, Matthew Larkin was appointed Organist and Director of Music. He was previously the Organist and Director of Music of Christ Church Cathedral, Ottawa, for 14 years.

St Thomas’s celebrates the Eucharist every day of the year. There are services throughout the week. On Sundays, there is an 8 o'clock said Eucharist, a said Morning Prayer at 10:30, and three sung services:

  • 9:30 a.m.: A contemporary-language sung Eucharist with the priest facing westward, using the 1985 Book of Alternative Services and the Revised Common Lectionary readings
  • 11 a.m.: A traditional-language eastward-facing Solemn High Mass, using a re-ordered version of the 1962 Prayer Book, and the Revised Common Lectionary readings
  • 7 p.m.: Solemn Evensong using the 1962 Prayer Book, and Devotions to the Blessed Sacrament.

Major Feast Days are usually observed with one or two said Eucharists during the day and a Procession and Solemn Eucharist at 6.15 pm, sometimes followed by a parish supper. The service leaflets and service music are posted on the church's website.

Culture

St Thomas's publishes a newsletter, The Thurible from time to time. The parish sponsors a Friday Food Ministry program and operates a "community garden." All are supported by volunteers from the parish and the community. It also hosts meetings of the Society of Mary and the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament.

Many St Thomas's parishioners are active as performers, writers, and artists, and the church has participated in events like Nuit Blanche and Doors Open Toronto.

For three years, St Thomas's presented the Gene Stewart Lecture to honour the late Gene Stewart, a long-time and much-beloved parishioner and past warden. Roméo Dallaire was the inaugural guest speaker in February 2008. Subsequent speakers were Roberta Bondar (2009) and Anna Porter (2010).

Christian Education

On Sunday mornings, there is a small church school and a nursery school. The church also conducts an adult Christian Education program, including programs targeted to young adults, Bible study series during the Lent and Advent seasons, discussion groups, and occasional film series. From 2006 to 2015, there was also an active St Elmo's Youth Group; some of its members have gone on to serve as choristers and acolytes.

Podcast

In October 2006, the parish podcast Smoky Times was launched. Podcasting of services (primarily the Sunday services of 11:00 am Mass and 7:00 pm Evensong) began in April 2007.

  • Northwest view
  • Nave
  • Lady Chapel
  • Sanctuary
  • Baptistery stained glass window, Design Archibald John Davies, Bromsgrove Guild

See also

Further reading
  • Kent, David A., ed. (1993). Household of God: a parish history of St. Thomas's Church, Toronto. Toronto: St Thomas's, Huron Street. ISBN 978-0-9697802-0-5.

References
  1. "Heritage Property Detail: 383 Huron Street". City of Toronto's Heritage Property Search. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  2. Robertson, J. Ross (1904). Landmarks of Toronto: a collection of historical sketches of the old town of York from 1792 until 1837, and of Toronto from 1834 to 1904. Toronto: Robertson. p. 74.
  3. Whitworth, Michael (2001). "T. E. Hulme". The Literary Encyclopedia.
  4. Moore, Gerald (1944). The unashamed accompanist. New York: The Macmillan Company. ISBN 978-0-86203-496-2. OCLC 944441960.
  5. Kent, David. "Poetry Series". St Thomas's Anglican Church, Toronto. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  6. "St Thomas's Traditions". St Thomas's Anglican Church, Toronto. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
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