INDIVIDUALS
St. Anne’s Anglican Church will offer a tour to individuals following the 10:30 a.m. service in the sanctuary on the first Sunday of each month. The tour will begin at approximately 11:45 a.m. Those interested are urged to join us at 10:30 a.m. and enjoy the service, which is very easy to follow and enhanced by beautiful music.
GROUPS
St. Anne’s Anglican Church will offer tours to groups during the week by special arrangement made at least three weeks in advance. There is a charge of $5 per person, which goes entirely to the Restoration Fund for the preservation of this National Historic Site. To book a tour, please phone 416.536.3160 and leave your name and phone number. Our volunteer tour coordinator will contact you to make arrangements.
ABOUT ST. ANNE’S
The current church building is the second home of St. Anne’s parish, which was founded in 1862. It officially opened in 1908 to replace an earlier and much more traditional building on Dufferin Street – the site of our current parish hall. While St. Anne’s is not the only church building in Canada of Byzantine design, it is certainly the only Anglican church of its kind, and it is all Canadian. Its architect was Toronto-based Ford Howland. Canon Lawrence Skey, who was instrumental in obtaining Howland’s services, also secured those of J.E.H. MacDonald to oversee the interior decoration of the church in 1923. MacDonald involved two others of the Group of Seven, Fred Varley and Franklin Carmichael, along with his own son, Thoreau, and other artists including Frances Loring and Florence Wyle, who executed the symbols of the four evangelists within the dome as well as the medallions in the apse. The stained glass is all from Toronto firms; the mosaics likewise; and the bronze reliefs of the Christmas story on the outside of the main doors are also by a Toronto artist, Nicholas Kavakonis, all of this in a period of history when it was fashionable to buy one’s art from European or U.S. Sources. We truly hope that you will enjoy your time in this National Historic Site.
