Christ Church Cathedral (Victoria)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Christ Church Cathedral, Victoria, BC_-_pano_-_hdr.jpg/250px-Christ_Church_Cathedral_(Victoria)_-_pano_-_hdr.jpg) |
|
| Christ Church Cathedral | |
| Denomination | Anglican Church of Canada |
|---|---|
| Tradition | High church |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | British Columbia |
| Province | British Columbia and Yukon |
| Clergy | |
| Dean | The Very Reverend Logan McMenamie |
| Other | |
| Website | http://www.christchurchcathedral.bc.ca/ |
Christ Church Cathedral is the Anglican cathedral in Victoria, British Columbia. It is the episcopal seat of the Bishop of the Diocese of British Columbia, James A. Cowan, whose diocese covers the whole of Vancouver Island and adjacent Gulf Islands.
Contents |
[edit] The Building
It is the Diocese of British Columbia's third cathedral, built after the first, built in 1856, was destroyed by fire, and the second, built in 1872, became inadequate for the size of the congregation. The current cathedral was built in 1929, on the corner of Burdett Avenue and Quadra Street, and it measures 93' wide, 140' long, with towers 122' high. It consists of a liturgical west front and a portion of the originally-designed nave, construction having stalled at this point in the expectation that funding would in due course be raised for the cathedral to be completed. Ultimately in the 1980s it was recognised that this was unrealistic and the building as it stood was finished off without the nave being extended or transepts, choir or other features of a gothic church being constructed.
[edit] The Bell Tower and Change Ringing
The corner stone for the present building was laid in 1926. Construction continued through the depression years of the 1930s. By 1936 the North West tower had risen to the height of the bell chamber floor and, through the generosity of two local donors, a peal of eight bells was installed on the top of this floor and a wooden shed was put up over the top to protect the whole installation from the elements. Due to the economic conditions prevailing in the late 1930s and during the second World War, the upper portion of the tower was not completed until 1957. The original eight bells were first rung on July 12, 1936. Two trebles were added in 1983 and were dedicated on March 8, 1983 in the presence of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, before being hung in the tower. Change ringing has been practised in this tower continuously since the bells were hung in 1936.
[edit] Major Crisis
A major crisis in the history of Christ Church occurred in 1874 when the first Dean of Victoria, Edward Cridge, who had been chaplain of the Hudson's Bay Company's Fort Victoria, entered into a contretemps with his bishop over churchmanship. Dean Cridge had determinedly Low Church sensibilities and mightily objected to the ritualist tendencies of the then Bishop of Columbia [sic], ultimately decamping with much of the Cathedral's congregation, including many of Victoria's major figures, among them the eminent Canadian painter Emily Carr and Sir James Douglas, the former Governor of both the colony of Vancouver Island and the mainland colony of British Columbia. Cridge then founded the nearby Church of Our Lord — on land donated by Douglas — under the auspices of the Reformed Episcopal Church, where Cridge and his loyal former Cathedral congregation were able to continue in the evangelical tradition that had previously pertained at the Cathedral. The dispute became the subject of contentious litigation in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, sub nomine Cridge v. Bishop of Columbia [sic], reported in [1874] BCR, a suit which Cridge lost.
[edit] Present
The current Dean of British Columbia and Rector of the Cathedral is the Very Rev. Logan McMenamie. The Cathedral is located at 930 Burdett Avenue, Victoria, B.C. V8V 3G8. However, the west front faces Quadra Street.
[edit] External links
- Christ Church Cathedral Website
- Christ Church Cathedral Change Ringers Website
- Christ Church Cathedral School Website
- Canadian Encyclopedia biography of Edward Cridge
|
||||||||||||||
