Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist (Saskatoon)

Coordinates: 52°07′48″N 106°39′21″W / 52.129905°N 106.655917°W / 52.129905; -106.655917
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Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist (Saskatoon)
Map
52°07′48″N 106°39′21″W / 52.129905°N 106.655917°W / 52.129905; -106.655917
Location816 Spadina Crescent East
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
S7K 3H4
CountryCanada
DenominationAnglican
Websitewww.stjohnscathedralsaskatoon.ca
History
StatusCathedral
Founded1902 (1902)
Architecture
Architectural typeGothic Revival
Groundbreaking1912
Completed1917
Specifications
Capacity800
Length40 metres (130 ft)
Width14 metres (46 ft)
Spire height44 metres (144 ft)
Administration
ProvinceRupert's Land
DioceseAnglican Diocese of Saskatoon
Clergy
Bishop(s)The Right Reverend David Irving
RectorThe Very Reverend Scott Pittendrigh
Honorary priest(s)The Right Reverend Rodney Andrews
The Reverend Canon Dr. Colin Clay
The Reverend Paula Foster
The Reverend Canon Howard Green
The Right Reverend Thomas Morgan
The Reverend Dr. Dave Tyler
The Reverend Dr. Reg. Wickett
Laity
Director of musicMichael Harris
Organist(s)Gregory Schulte
Churchwarden(s)Lauri Miller
Michael Gibson

The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, located at 816 Spadina Crescent East in the Central Business District neighbourhood of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada is the cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Saskatoon.

History[edit]

Although Saskatoon was founded in 1883, St. John's, its first Anglican parish, was not established until 1902 owing to the substantially Methodist and to a lesser extent Presbyterian character of the early settlement, it having been founded as a temperance colony. The first St. John's church, a wooden frame building, was erected in 1903. The present building used was built from 1912 to 17.

St. John's was designated a pro-cathedral in 1924 while Saskatoon remained part of the Anglican Diocese of Saskatchewan with its cathedral in Prince Albert. In 1932 the Diocese of Saskatoon was created and St. John's became its cathedral. The cathedral had only a small reed organ and piano by way of musical instruments until 1956 when a three-manual Hill, Norman and Beard organ was built; it was replaced by a two-manual Casavant Frères organ in 1981-1982.

Architecture[edit]

The brick used to build the church is made of Tyndall stone and terra cotta

The present brick, Tyndall stone and terra cotta structure was raised in an unornamented neo-Gothic style. Its chief distinguishing characteristic is a rood screen at the chancel steps. The rood screen, pulpit, lectern, and high altar are made of Carrara ware (Doulton white terra cotta resembling Italian Carrera marble). The cornerstone was laid in 1912 by the Governor General of Canada, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught.[1][2][3] The building's foundation is made of fieldstone (which includes granite, gabbro, diorite, gneiss, schist, and dolomite).[4]

The nave is 40×14m in size; it together with the transepts originally sat 1100. The seating capacity has been reduced to 800 with the removal of pews at the liturgical west end and to accommodate a nave altar at the crossing. Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh have worshipped at St. John's three times (1951, 1959, 1987), and Governor General Viscount Alexander worshipped there in 1948. The Institute for stained glass in Canada has documented the stained glass at St John's Anglican Cathedral[5]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Jackson, Michael D. (1990), "Royal Visits", in Cottrell, Michael (ed.), The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan, Regina: Canadian Plains Research Centre, archived from the original on 8 October 2007, retrieved 30 June 2009
  2. ^ "Departments > City Clerk's Office > City Archives > Image Galleries > A View From Above > Downtown III: Spadina Crescent to the Bessborough > Note 45". City of Saskatoon. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
  3. ^ "The New Church (1912-1917)". St. John's Cathedral. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
  4. ^ Mysyk, W. Kim; Christine L. Kulyk (2006). Christine L. Kulyk (ed.). Saskatoon's Stone: A Guided Tour of the Geology and History of Stone Architecture in Saskatoon. p. 26.
  5. ^ Stained glass at St John's Anglican Cathedral http://stainedglasscanada.ca/site.php?site=150

Further reading[edit]

  • Szalasznyi, Kathy: "Legacy of Faith: St. John's Anglican Cathedral", Saskatoon History Review, 1989, pp. 1–5.

External links[edit]

Media related to St. John's Anglican Cathedral (Saskatoon) at Wikimedia Commons