In 1820, the first Presbyterian congregation in Toronto (then the Town of York) was formed, and after the donation of land from Jesse Ketchum, built a church on Richmond Street. This church was known as First Presbyterian Congregation of York, Upper Canada, and James Harris (later to be Ketchum's son in law) became minister.
In 1830, the larger St. Andrew's Church was founded, and it quickly became the city's primary Presbyterian Church. St. Andrew's was aligned with the Church of Scotland; the Canadian Synod was formed in 1831.
This Richmond Street church was more evangelical, and had become independent of the United Synod of the Canadas in 1834, and remained apart from any other group (including the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland who started their Toronto congregation in 1838) until 1844.
In 1843, the Church of Scotland split, when many of the evangelicals led by Thomas Chalmers, withdrew to form the Free Church of Scotland, in a dispute called the Disruption of 1843. This dispute hit the Canadas the following year at the respective Synod Meetings in Kingston and Nova Scotia; a faction broke off from St. Andrew's, who remained in the "Auld" Kirk.[1]
This group was approached by the York congregation, and the two groups decided to join and become a stronger and united Free Church congregation presence in Toronto that they named Knox's Church, after the Scottish Church reformer John Knox; they called an experienced minister from Paisley, Scotland, Rev. Dr. Robert Burns, to become their first minister. Burns was the former Secretary of the Glasgow Missionary Society, a friend of Chalmers, and uncle of another well-known minister and missionary, William Chalmers Burns. Burns was initially a lecturer, then later full-time professor, in the nearby Knox Free Church Theological College. Mr. Harris retired from the York congregation, and remained connected with the congregation until his death in 1874.
In 1847, the old York Church was destroyed by a fire. The congregation built a new larger church on the same lot, this time facing Queen Street West between Yonge and Bay. Knox quickly became the leading Free Church congregation in Canada, helping to spread the movement throughout the colony. One of the most prominent members of this church was George Brown founder of the Toronto Globe and also the Banner, and an eventual member of the Fathers of Confederation, upon formation of the Dominion of Canada in 1867.
The Knox church building from 1847 to 1895
From the split ("the disruption") in the Church of Scotland and in the Canadas, Knox took an active role in the reunion of all the Presbyterian groups in Canada. In 1861, the Free Church of which Knox belonged to, and the Canada Synod of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland joined; and in 1875, the Presbyterian Church in Canada, uniting the "Auld Kirk" and "Free Kirk".
Over time, Knox's location had become more commercial with fewer residents in the area. At the time Toronto had strict Lord's Day laws that prevented public transit from running on Sundays, making it imperative that churches be located near to the population.
In 1895, the church was severely damaged by a fire that began at the Robert Simpson Building next door. This fire destroyed the steeple, which was never fully rebuilt. It was eventually decided to move the church in 1906, and in January 1909, the church officially moved into its present home at 630 Spadina Avenue just west of the University of Toronto, at Harbord Street; the memorial stones cited in the enclosed article (1886 Profile), were also moved into the new building.
In June 1925, Knox was instrumental in maintaining the continuity of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, as it was from this building, that the midnight vigil was held, led by the 79 Ministers and Elders who voted against the consummation of the union (in nearby College Street Church) that formed the United Church of Canada, as they maintained continuity with their General Assembly. As a congregation, Knox had voted against Union earlier that year, by a vote of 20-788. There were gains to the congregation from some of those in the surrounding congregations that went into the Union.
In the 1950s, the congregation was challenged to leave the community, as post World War II suburban expansion greatly affected Toronto, and the Spadina Expressway (later abandoned) was proposed to run along Spadina Avenue. Under the leadership of Rev. Dr. William Fitch, who arrived in early 1955 from the Springburn area of Glasgow, Scotland, the congregation built an adjoining hall (Knox Fellowship Centre) in 1961, and expanded its ministries into the inner city (Evangel Hall at 573 Queen Street West had been run by Knox since 1913), the Universities (including Ryerson and York, and community colleges such as nearby George Brown College), and during the summer months, began the weekly Knox Summer Fellowship, Wednesday Evening Services that brought (or introduced) renowned speakers from around the world.
The congregation is reflective of a changing demographic in a multicultural community; ESL classes are offered, and has also developed a broad support group with many Christian missionaries under their support and care. There is a Knox Youth Dinner & Food Bank programme for street youth in the winter, and continues to be blessed with well-attended Sunday Morning and Evening worship services.
There is also a great support and tradition for missionaries, both on the home and International scenes. There is a current roster of 46 (19 couples), as well as 17 "Phase 2" Missionaries (4 couples) who are supported in their retirement years; along with others who have been linked through liaisons with other recognized organizations including the Presbyterian Church.
The Free Church of Scotland is a Scottish denomination which was formed in 1843 by a large withdrawal from the established Church of Scotland in a schism known as the Disruption of 1843. In 1900, the vast majority of the Free Church of Scotland joined with the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland to form the United Free Church of Scotland. In 1904, the House of Lords judged that the constitutional minority that did not enter the 1900 union were entitled to the whole of the church's patrimony, the Free Church of Scotland acquiesced in the division of those assets, between itself and those who had entered the union, by a Royal Commission in 1905. Despite the late founding date, Free Church of Scotland leadership claims an unbroken succession of leaders going all the way back to the Apostles.
James Nisbet was a Scottish born missionary to Canada.
The Presbyterian Church in Canada is a Presbyterian denomination, serving in Canada under this name since 1875. The United Church of Canada claimed the right to the name from 1925 to 1939. According to the Canada 2021 Census 301,400 Canadians identify themselves as Presbyterian, that is, 0.8 percent of the population.
Knox Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian Church in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is named after John Knox, a founder of Presbyterianism in Scotland.
Knox College is a postgraduate theological college of the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1844 as part of a schism movement in the Church of Scotland following the Disruption of 1843. Knox is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in Canada and confers doctoral degrees as a member school of the Toronto School of Theology.
St. Andrew's Church is a historic Presbyterian church located at the corner of King Street West and Simcoe Street in the city's downtown core of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was designed by William George Storm in the Romanesque Revival style and completed in 1876.
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.
St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, is a Presbyterian Church in Canada congregation in downtown Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The congregation dates back to 1857, and at one time, was the largest congregation by membership within the Presbyterian Church in Canada (PCC).
Knox Presbyterian Church, Oakville is a Presbyterian Church in Canada congregation, and located at 89 Dunn Street at Lakeshore Road in downtown Oakville, Ontario, Canada.
James Forbes was a Scottish-Australian Presbyterian minister and educator. He founded the Melbourne Academy, later Scotch College.
The Knox United Church, began as Knox Presbyterian Church in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in a wood-frame church built in 1848, the result of the Church of Scotland disruption, that led to the formation of the Presbyterian Church of Canada in Connection with the Free Church of Scotland.
William Chalmers Burns was a Scottish evangelist and missionary to China with the English Presbyterian Mission who originated from Kilsyth, North Lanarkshire. He was the coordinator of the Overseas missions for the English Presbyterian church. He became a well-known evangelist through his participation in two periodic Anglo-American religious revivals.
The Free Presbyterian Church of Victoria, also known as the Free Church of Australia Felix, was an Australian Presbyterian denomination founded in Melbourne, Victoria in 1846 as a result of the Disruption of 1843 in the Church of Scotland.
The Rev William Miller (1815–1874) was a Scots-born minister of the Free Presbyterian Church of Victoria who served the John Knox Church, cnr Little Lonsdale and Swanston streets, Melbourne 1851–64, and was the first Chairman of the council of Scotch College, Melbourne.
Ralph Robb was a Scottish clergyman, the first Free Church of Scotland minister in the New World.
Robert Burns (1789–1869) was a Scottish theological writer and church leader.
The King Khalid Building is an event space in the Southside, Edinburgh, Scotland, owned and operated by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. The building was constructed Roxburgh Free Church in 1847 and converted to its current use in 1982.
The Southside Community Centre is a community centre in the Southside, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom. The centre opened in 1986 and occupies the former Nicolson Street Church, which was completed in 1820.
James Chalmers Burns was a Scottish minister, who served as Moderator of the General Assembly for the Free Church of Scotland 1879/80.
William Symington was a Scottish Presbyterian minister. He took a deep interest in bible circulation, home and foreign missions, and other religious movements.
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