Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist (Saskatoon)
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.
| Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist (Saskatoon) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 52.129905°N 106.655917°W | |
| Location | 816 Spadina Crescent East Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7K 3H4 |
| Country | Canada |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | www |
| History | |
| Status | Cathedral |
| Founded | 1902 |
| Architecture | |
| Architectural type | Gothic Revival |
| Groundbreaking | 1912 |
| Completed | 1917 |
| Specifications | |
| Capacity | 800 |
| Length | 40 metres (130 ft) |
| Width | 14 metres (46 ft) |
| Spire height | 44 metres (144 ft) |
| Administration | |
| Province | Rupert's Land |
| Diocese | Anglican Diocese of Saskatoon |
| Clergy | |
| Bishop(s) | The Right Reverend David Irving |
| Rector | The 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 music | Michael Harris |
| Organist(s) | Gregory Schulte |
| Churchwarden(s) | Lauri Miller Michael Gibson |
History
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
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]
References
- 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
- "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.
- "The New Church (1912-1917)". St. John's Cathedral. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
- 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.
- Stained glass at St John's Anglican Cathedral http://stainedglasscanada.ca/site.php?site=150
Further reading
- Szalasznyi, Kathy: "Legacy of Faith: St. John's Anglican Cathedral", Saskatoon History Review, 1989, pp. 1–5.
External links
Media related to St. John's Anglican Cathedral (Saskatoon) at Wikimedia Commons