Christ Church Cathedral is the Anglican cathedral

Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...

 in Ottawa

Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. The church is located in the northwest section of the city's downtown at the western end of Sparks Street

Sparks Street

Sparks Street is a street in downtown Ottawa, Canada that was converted into an outdoor pedestrian street in 1966, making it the earliest such street or mall in North America....

 at the top of a promontory looking down to the Ottawa River

Ottawa River

The Ottawa River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it now defines the border between these two provinces.-Geography:...

.

Beginnings

Philemon Wright, a native of Woburn, Massachusetts, came to Canada in 1800. Making his way up the Ottawa River, and looking for a satisfactory place to settle, he finally came to the Chaudière Falls

Chaudière Falls

The Chaudière Falls are a set of cascades and waterfall in the centre of the Ottawa-Gatineau metropolitan area in Canada where the Ottawa River narrows between a rocky escarpment on both sides of the river. The location is just west of the Chaudière Bridge, northwest of the Canadian War Museum at...

, and was pleased with the character of the land on the north side of the river, so he decided to settle there. In later years, the flourishing settlement of Wrightstown would become the village, then later the City of Hull, and finally the City of Gatineau. Following the War of 1812, the Township of March was set aside for retired military officers and men. It was situated further up river on the south side. In 1824, Nicholas Sparks

Nicholas Sparks (politician)

Nicholas Sparks was an early landholder of Ottawa, Canada who owned most of the lands in the present day commercial core of Downtown Ottawa.Sparks was born in Darrah parish, County Wexford in Ireland and came to Canada in 1816...

 crossed the river from then Hull and carved a home for himself out of the heavy timber on the high cliffs of the south shore. In doing so, he became the first citizen of what would later become Bytown, and much later, the City of Ottawa. Colonel John By and the Royal Engineers arrived two years later to build the Rideau Canal, connecting the Ottawa River with Lake Ontario.

The Early Church

In 1824, Reverend Amos Ansley, a native Canadian and the son of a United Empire Loyalist, arrived in Hull from England. Sent by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, his mission included the Township of March, and in later years, Bytown. Services were held in a schoolhouse in Hull, which proved to be very small and inconvenient. Through the generosity of Philemon Wright, a little stone church was built, and opened on the first of October 1826. From his headquarters in Hull, Reverend Ansley served the Church population of fourteen townships bordering on the Ottawa River. By 1827, he was serving eleven preaching stations in Lower Canada (Quebec) and Upper Canada (Ontario), visiting most places by water in bark canoes.

The Call

In 1828, the Bishop of Quebec, the Honourable and Right Reverend Charles James Stewart, paid a visit to Bytown. Later that same year, the Honourable and Venerable John Strachan, Archdeacon and later first Bishop of Toronto, also visited Bytown. The diaries of both these clergymen, record the fact that the Presbyterians, Roman Catholics and Methodists of Bytown were able to lay claim to small but significant places of worship to call their own; but those of the faith of the Church of England did not, "...yet (were) sufficient to deserve the attention of a missionary." Archdeacon Strachan and the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada paid a visit to the home of Colonel By, situated in what is now called Major's Hill Park. There, they discussed the problems of funding the building of the canal, and need for a place of worship for the large Protestant following in Bytown. Later, on October 6, 1828, Dr. Strachan was able to draw up a subscription list for the proposed church building. It was not until early 1832, after it was announced at a meeting in Bytown that Nicholas Sparks had donated a site for the church. He had already given land for the building of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, as well as for the Methodist church. The original church building was to be fifty feet by thirty feet in breadth, the inside wall twenty feet high from the level of the beams to the top of the wall plate, and a tower erected at the west end of the church.

The Old Church

Though formally established in 1832, it was not until 1833 that the congregation was formally organized. The first service in Christ Church Bytown took place on July 21, 1833. Due to decreased givings and pledges over the next two years, the parishioners found themselves seated on temporary rough planks for pews, and the walls and ceiling were not completed for a number of years. The Church had to be closed during the winter as two stoves were needed for sufficient heating, but only one was available. In spite of appeals, no funds were made available, and it was not until 1835 that the church finally owned its own property. By 1841, due to rapid growth in the population of Bytown, it was recognized that the church was not adequate in providing for the needs of the growing congregation. A proposed enlargement plan was drawn up, and Mr. Sparks gave the additional land required for the enlargement. On July 12, 1841, the cornerstone was laid. Subscriptions were received from far and wide, and the enlargements were fully completed by October 1843. The church was consecrated and given its name - Christ's Church. Over the next quarter-century, a number of attempts were made to begin the building of a larger church. In 1865, a rectory was completed immediately west of the existing church building.

The New Church

In January 1872, after many Vestry and committee meetings, it was decided that a new church be constructed on the site of the old church. The last service in the old church was held on March 3, 1872, and demolition and reconstruction started immediately. The cornerstone was laid July 3, 1872 with a timecapsule containing monetary denominations and other artifacts. The building was formally opened September 29, 1873 and the first service took place at 11:00 am that day.

Alfred Arthur Cox (architect) designed a new Sunday School and Parish Hall, 1902-03.

The Cathedral

In 1896, the Diocese of Ottawa was carved out of the northern part of the Diocese of Ontario. The Right Reverend Charles Hamilton was elected the first Bishop of the new diocese. On Easter Day, 1897, it was formally announced that Christ Church would become the Cathedral of the new diocese. In November 1931, a special meeting of Vestry unanimously agreed to begin the construction of a new chancel, extended to the street line of Queen Street. The work of tearing down the old chancel began immediately after Easter 1932, and on December 22, 1932, a thanksgiving Eucharist was celebrated in the new largely expanded chancel. The completion of the new chancel marked 100 years since the establishment of the first church in Bytown.

Present

Currently, the Right Reverend John Chapman serves as the Bishop of Ottawa. The Very Reverend Shane Parker serves as the Dean of Ottawa and the Rector of Christ Church Cathedral. The Reverend Canon Catherine Ascah serves as the Pastoral Vicar, the Men and Boys' Choir Chaplain, and an active member with the cathedral youth group. The Reverend Robert L. Graham, and the Reverend Dawna Wall serve as the Pastoral Associates and the Venerable William Wright serves as the Honorary Assistant. Matthew Larkin, who serves as organist and director of music, is a world-renowned musician. The Choir of Men and Boys is one of the few remaining all-male choirs on this continent. They continue to set a high standard of vocal repertoire and musicality, and have visited the UK and France in recent years, serving as the resident choir at Ely and Salisbury Cathedrals, in 2009 and 2011, respectively. The choir consists of 24 boys, aged from 8 to 16, and 14 professional men. Timothy Piper is the associate organist of Christ Church Cathedral and Director of the Cathedral Girls' Choir. They have recently purchased a brand new Rodgers Trillium 958 as their primary organ. Although there's controversy of choosing Digital over traditional pipes, the cathedral has no funds for such an expensive instrument. (roughly $2 million) Please visit the website for more in information. While not having any official or unofficial status as a national cathedral, as with Washington National Cathedral

Washington National Cathedral

The Washington National Cathedral, officially named the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, is a cathedral of the Episcopal Church located in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. Of neogothic design, it is the sixth-largest cathedral in the world, the second-largest in...

 in Washington D.C., it is nevertheless frequently the venue for state funerals for non-Roman Catholic notable persons, such as former Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson

Lester B. Pearson

Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson, PC, OM, CC, OBE was a Canadian professor, historian, civil servant, statesman, diplomat, and politician, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for organizing the United Nations Emergency Force to resolve the Suez Canal Crisis...

 (who was United Church) and former Governor General Ray Hnatyshyn

Ray Hnatyshyn

Ramon John Hnatyshyn , commonly known as Ray Hnatyshyn, was a Canadian politician and statesman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 24th since Canadian Confederation....

 (who was Ukrainian Orthodox

Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada is an Eastern Orthodox Church in Canada, primarily serving Ukrainian Canadians. Its former name was the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of Canada ...

).

External links

• Official site