First Church of Christ, Scientist (Toronto)

Last updated
First Church of Christ, Scientist in Toronto FC of CS Toronto.jpg
First Church of Christ, Scientist in Toronto
Entrance to the church on St. George St. First Church of Christ Scientist, Toronto.JPG
Entrance to the church on St. George St.

The First Church of Christ, Scientist is the oldest Christian Science congregation in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 196 St. George St. [1] in The Annex neighbourhood, just north of the University of Toronto. It maintains a Reading Room at 927 Yonge Street [2] north of Bloor. The church is a branch of The First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

The congregation was founded in Toronto in September 1889 , [3] soon after the first Christian Science services in Canada were held informally in a private home in the city [4] . The group referred to itself as Church of Christ, Scientist [5] until December 1893, when it became First Church of Christ, Scientist to distinguish itself from another congregation which had also begun to meet in Toronto. [6]

After meeting in a series of private homes from December 1888 though October 1889, the congregation rented a series of halls including Orange Hall near Euclid Avenue and College Street for their services. After September 1890, the group's size required a move to larger quarters at College Street and Brunswick Avenue. It was at that location that the group was first formally identified as a church . [7] In 1896 the congregation purchased an existing church building (previously the Reformed Episcopal Church) that it had been leasing on University Avenue and remodeled it. The resulting church building was reopened and dedicated on June 19, 1898 [8] [9] . This continued to be the church's home until 1916.

Construction of the present church building was begun in June, 1914 and dedicatory ceremonies were held on July 9, 1916. [10] The architect for this building was Solon S. Beman of Chicago [11] , [12] the architect of several buildings at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and more than a dozen other Christian Science churches following a similar architectural style . [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avenue Road Church</span> Church in Ontario, Canada

The Avenue Road Church is a former church building in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 243 Avenue Road, on the northeastern corner of Roxborough Avenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bloor Street United Church</span> Church in Ontario, Canada

Bloor Street United Church is a United Church of Canada church in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located on Bloor Street West in the downtown core at the northwest corner of the intersection with Huron Street. It is just north of the University of Toronto, and between the Spadina and St. George subway stations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinity-St. Paul's United Church</span> Church in Toronto, Ontario

Trinity-St. Paul's United Church and Centre for Faith, Justice and the Arts is a church belonging to the United Church of Canada in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 427 Bloor Street West, just west of Spadina Avenue in the city's downtown core. The church is formed of a mix of three different former congregations and houses a fourth independent congregation within its building.

St. James-Bond United Church, at 1066 Avenue Road in Toronto, Ontario, was a United Church of Canada congregation from 1928 to 2005, when it merged with Fairlawn Heights United Church in the Yonge Street and Lawrence Avenue area. The "St. James-Bond" name derived from the merger of St. James Square Presbyterian Church with Bond Street Congregational Church in 1928. Prior to the merger, they were separate congregations downtown, of the Presbyterian and Congregational traditions respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wycliffe College, Toronto</span> Canadian theological seminary

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 around the world. As a founding member of the Toronto School of Theology, students can avail themselves of the wide range of courses from Canada's largest ecumenical consortium. Wycliffe College trains those pursuing ministry in the church and in the world, as well as those preparing for academic careers of scholarship and teaching.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Trinity Anglican Church</span> Church in Toronto, Ontario

Little Trinity Anglican Church 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 Heritage Trust plaque at the site notes that the 1844 church is the oldest surviving church in the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deer Park United Church</span> Church in Toronto, Ontario

Deer Park United Church is the name of a United Church of Canada congregation, and also the name of this congregation's former church building at 129 St. Clair Avenue West in the Deer Park neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was one of two United Church of Canada buildings in the area and along St. Clair Avenue, the other being Timothy Eaton Memorial Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Unitarian Congregation of Toronto</span> Church in Toronto, Canada

The First Unitarian Congregation of Toronto is a Unitarian Universalist (UU) congregation in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is affiliated with the Canadian Unitarian Council. It is the largest of six UU congregations and fellowships in the Greater Toronto Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">College Street Baptist Church</span> Church in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

College Street Baptist Church was a Baptist church at the northwest corner of College Street and Palmerston Boulevard in the Little Italy neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yorkminster Park Baptist Church (Toronto)</span>

Yorkminster Park Baptist Church is a Baptist church located in Toronto's Deer Park, Canada. It is affiliated with Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fifth Church of Christ, Scientist (New York City)</span> Building in New York., United States

Fifth Church of Christ, Scientist is a historic Classical Revival-style Christian Science church building located at 9 East 43rd Street near Madison Avenue and Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan, New York City. Built in 1921 on the former site of St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church. Fifth Church of Christ, Scientist, is unusual in that it occupies part of the first two stories of a 21-story office building that was originally named the Canadian Pacific Building. The church auditorium seats 1800 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Church of Christ, Scientist (Madison, Wisconsin)</span> Historic church in Wisconsin, United States

The former First Church of Christ Scientist, is an historic Christian Science church building located at 315 Wisconsin Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Built in 1929, it was designed in the Classical Revival-style by noted Madison architect Frank M. Riley. In 1982 the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broadway Methodist Tabernacle</span>

Broadway Methodist Tabernacle was a prominent Methodist church in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that existed from 1872 to 1924. The congregation was originally housed in a wood chapel at the intersection of Spadina Avenue and Dundas Street, which at that time was known as St. Patrick Street. It was originally named the Spadina Avenue Methodist Church. Rapid growth in the congregation saw it seek a new home, and in 1876 a larger lot was purchased at the northeast corner of Spadina and College Street. The wooden church was transported on rollers north to the new location. The old site eventually became the location of the Standard Theatre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Sanctuary (Seattle)</span> Former church in Seattle, Washington, U.S.

The Sanctuary is a townhouse project located at 1519 East Denny Way / 1841 16th Avenue on the corner of East Denny Way and 16th Avenue in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. It was created out of an historic church building known as First Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bond Street Baptist Church</span>

Bond Street Baptist Church built originally in 1848 represented the first permanently established Baptist congregation in the city of Toronto, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Street Baptist Church</span>

Alexander Street Baptist Church was a Baptist church in Toronto, Ontario, Canada located on the south side of Alexander Street between Yonge and Church streets. The congregation was founded in 1866 and the church building, designed by Henry Langley, was completed the following year. When the congregation relocated in 1888, it was sold to the Anglican Church and eventually demolished in the mid-1950s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walmer Road Baptist Church</span> Church building in Toronto, Canada

Walmer Road Baptist Church is a Baptist in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is affiliated with Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George D. Mason</span> American architect

George DeWitt Mason was an American architect who practiced in Detroit, Michigan, in the latter part of the 19th and early decades of the 20th centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Michael the Archangel Serbian Orthodox Church (Toronto)</span> Church in Toronto, Ontario

Saint Michael the Archangel Serbian Eastern Orthodox Church in Toronto, Ontario, Canada is a Serbian Eastern Orthodox church which is not a member of the Serbian Orthodox Church due to a tumultuous history.

References

  1. ↑ Church website: http://www.firstchurchtoronto.com/Location.html
  2. ↑ Church website: http://www.firstchurchtoronto.com/ReadingRoom.html
  3. ↑ The Christian Science Journal , Vol. 7, No. 6, September 1889
  4. ↑ Holton, Margaret Lindsay, Ed. (1955); Spirit of Toronto 1934–1984, p. 201. Image Publishing Inc.; Toronto Ontario, Canada
  5. ↑ The Christian Science Journal , Vol. 11, No. 8, November 1893
  6. ↑ The Christian Science Journal , Vol. 11, No. 9, December 1893
  7. ↑ The Christian Science Journal , various issues
  8. ↑ Robertson, J. Ross (1904). Landmarks of Toronto from 1834 to 1904, p. 520.
  9. ↑ N.A. "Crowds At The Services", The Mail and Empire, Toronto, 20 June 1898.
  10. ↑ N.A. "Christian Science Church is Opened", The Mail and Empire, Toronto, 10 July 1916.
  11. ↑ Toronto Heritage Preservation Services, "Heritage Property Detail"
  12. ↑ TObuilt.ca, "Detailed Structure Information" Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ↑ Ivey, Paul Eli. (1999) Prayers in Stone: Christian Science Architecture in the United States, 1894-1930 University of Illinois Press, Champaign. ISBN   0-252-02445-1

43°40′12″N79°24′04″W / 43.670029°N 79.40116°W / 43.670029; -79.40116

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.