Note: This article was updated with new information Aug. 30 and also includes some previously published content.
First in a two-part series, Endangered Legacy: Churches at Risk. Read part two.
St. Anne’s Anglican Church in west Toronto has launched a fundraising campaign to help rebuild after a fire destroyed the historic church building and irreplaceable artwork, with $48,030 raised as of Aug. 30.
Speaking at a June 11 vigil outside the burnt remains of St. Anne’s, the Rev. Don Beyers, the church’s rector, had a simple message on behalf of the parish. “We are here,” Beyers said. “We will remain here. We will serve this community for generations to come. This is a resurrection moment and I commit myself to that.”
The rector expressed thanks to “our beautiful mother, this church, for her service to us for over 100 years. She’s been a beauty and she’s been a gem to us. But like every good mother, she will give birth to new life.”
No injuries were reported in the early-morning fire June 9. While exterior walls remained standing, the central part of the church—a designated National Historic Site of Canada—was razed to the ground, along with artwork including murals of the only known religious art by members of the Group of Seven. Beyers said no one was present and that the church was locked and secured at the time of the fire.
Toronto Fire Services was still investigating the cause at the time this article was written, but police have said the blaze is not considered suspicious.
Unique architecture and ornamentation
A Byzantine Revival-style church built in 1907 and 1908, St. Anne’s housed murals, painted by three Canadian artists from the Group of Seven collective, that decorated the chancel and dome. The church commissioned Group of Seven member J.E.H MacDonald in 1923 to supervise the creation of art depicting the life of Christ in the building’s interior.
Jessica Mace, postdoctoral fellow in Canadian architecture and landscapes in the department of art history at the University of Toronto, said St. Anne’s, with its spacious dome and mosaics, was the first Byzantine-style church designed in Toronto.
“The building itself was a really unique example of architecture in the city and in Canada,” Mace said.
“It was really quite exceptional for an Anglican church at the time [to be] ornamented, say, in the same way as a Catholic church. It just wasn’t the case for Protestant churches in the early 20th century, so that was unique in itself.
“But then to boot, to have one of the preeminent artists of the time, James Edward Hervey MacDonald, one of the founding members of the Group of Seven, take charge of the ornamental program and to bring on some of the who’s who, some of the elite of Canadian artists at the time—that was just really, really special.”
The Rev. Lawrence Skey, rector of St. Anne’s from 1902 to 1933, was a member of the Arts and Letters Club of Toronto, through which he knew MacDonald. He commissioned artwork for the new church and put MacDonald—who like other Group of Seven members also worked as a commercial graphic artist—in charge of the project.
MacDonald brought in fellow artists including Group of Seven colleagues Frederick Varley and Franklin Carmichael. The mural they produced included a full figurative cycle of paintings depicting scenes from the life of Christ, including the nativity—for which Varley snuck in his own self-portrait as one of the shepherds—the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and his ascension into heaven. Sculptors Frances Loring and Florence Wyle also designed reliefs of the Four Evangelists, set in octagonal frames at the base of the dome.
Bishop sees hope in resilience
While insurance might help pay some of the expense of building new facilities, the church says fundraising will have to cover much of the cost of rebuilding. The Rev. Hannah Johnston, assistant curate, said the parish hopes to incorporate contemporary Canadian art in a new church, including works by “Indigenous artists, queer artists, Black artists, women artists—all the artists who were excluded in the 1920s.”
Beyers told the Anglican Journal July 22 that while it was early to estimate a timeline and cost for rebuilding, he and other parish leaders were set to begin consulting with vestry members, diocesan officials and community members and partners to determine next steps. The first consultation meeting was set to take place in the following weeks.
Along with Beyers, speakers at the vigil included Bishop Kevin Robertson, suffragan bishop of the Anglican diocese of Toronto; Johnston, who was ordained at St. Anne’s just two weeks before the fire; Mayor Olivia Chow, city councillor Alejandra Bravo, and Davenport MPP and Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles.
Robertson, who had also attended the ordination, extended welcome at the vigil on behalf of the diocese of Toronto.
“White is the colour we wear at Easter,” he said. “It’s also the colour we wear at baptisms and at funerals as a reminder of our new life in Christ, and that new life comes out of death. That is the message that we need to hold to so dearly tonight and in the days ahead—that in the tragedy and travesty of this terrible fire, there is new life which will come out of death, that we are a resilient people and that this is a resilient neighbourhood.”
Stiles expressed sorrow for the loss of St. Anne’s. “Many people who have relied on the kindness, on the advocacy, on the caring of this parish—from all of those people in our community, I want to thank you the parishioners for what you have given and will continue to give,” she said.
Donations to help rebuild St. Anne’s can be made at gofundme.com/f/stannesfire.
What risks are faced by other historic and culturally significant churches across Canada? See the October issue of the Anglican Journal for the second part of this series.
