Anglican Diocese of Toronto

Diocese of Toronto
Location
CountryCanada
Ecclesiastical provinceOntario
Statistics
Parishes178 (2022)[1]
Members37,646 (2022)[1]
Information
DenominationAnglican Church of Canada
Established1839
CathedralThe Cathedral Church of St. James, Toronto
Current leadership
BishopThe Rt. Rev'd Andrew Asbil
SuffragansRiscylla Shaw
Kevin Robertson
Website
toronto.anglican.ca

The Diocese of Toronto is an administrative division of the Anglican Church of Canada covering the central part of southern Ontario. It was founded in 1839 and is the oldest of the seven dioceses comprising the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario. It has the most members of any Anglican diocese in Canada.[2] It is also one of the biggest Anglican dioceses in the Americas in terms of numbers of parishioners, clergy and parishes.[citation needed] As of 2018, the diocese has around 230 congregations and ministries in 183 parishes, with approximately 54,000 Anglicans identified on parish rolls.[2]

In 1839, the area of the current Diocese of Toronto made up a fifth of what was then known as the Diocese of Upper Canada, which also comprised the current Dioceses of Huron, Ontario, Algoma and Niagara, which were respectively set apart in 1857, 1861, 1873 and 1875.[3] In 1842, her jurisdiction was described as "Canada West"[4] or "Upper Canada" (technically an historical term in 1842).[5]

The Cathedral Church of St. James in Toronto is the centre of the Diocese of Toronto. The church originated as The English Church when it was first erected in 1803. It later became the seat of the Anglican bishop and was reconsecrated as the Cathedral Church of St. James in 1830. The church remained under the direction of John Strachan for most of the early nineteenth century. He was buried on the cathedral grounds in 1867.[6]

  1. ^ a b Elliot, Neil (15 March 2024). "Dioceses of the ACC – by numbers". Numbers Matters. (Neil Elliot is the statistics officer for the Anglican Church of Canada.). Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Profile of the Diocese". Diocese of Toronto. Retrieved 2018-10-14.
  3. ^ Scadding, Henry; Hodgins, John George (1890). "Historical Sketch of the Diocese of Toronto 1839–1889". Jubilee of the diocese of Toronto, 1839-1889: Record of proceedings connected with the celebration of the jubilee November 21st to the 28th, 1889, inclusive. Jubilee Committee of the Diocese of Toronto. p. 129.
  4. ^ The Colonial Church Atlas, Arranged in Dioceses: with Geographical and Statistical Tables (second ed.). London: SPG. May 1842. p. 15. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  5. ^ The Colonial Church Atlas, Arranged in Dioceses: with Geographical and Statistical Tables (second ed.). London: SPG. May 1842. p. 16. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  6. ^ Bell, Bruce; Penn, Elan (2006). Toronto: A Pictorial Celebration. New York: Sterling. p. 44.