St John the Evangelist Anglican Church

Story

The Church of St. John the Evangelist is an Anglican church found in the heart of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, at the corner of Elgin and 154 Somerset Streets. The church is named in honour of John the Evangelist.HistoryCreationIn 1853, the Duke of Newcastle, in a letter to the Earl of Elgin, then Governor General of the Canadas, deeded a piece of land on the corner of Sussex Drive and Mackenzie Street for the construction of a chapel for Anglican soldiers stationed in Bytown. St. John’s began as a mission church of Christ Church on Rideau Street in 1860 (amalgamating with Grace Church on Elgin Street in 1912).In 1861, a small school and “chapel of ease” was built, under the direction of the parish of Christ Church. Dr. Lauder was the first Incumbent of this house of God.By 1871, the chapel of ease was named St John’s and Bishop John Lewis wished to establish it as the pro-cathedral of the Diocese of Ontario. St. John’s soon became known as The Bishop’s Chapel, a name it was to have until 1874. In that year, when the congregation of “goodly and godly” people was sufficiently large, the Parish Church of St. John the Evangelist was consecrated and the Reverend H. Pollard was installed as the first Rector.Growth and Present LocationIn 1889, a furore erupted in St George’s Church which was to have a dramatic effect upon the life of St. John’s. A small core of thirty people left St. George’s over a dispute centering on the liturgy, and this group bought a piece of land at the corner of Elgin and Somerset Streets from James McLaren of Buckingham, Quebec. Mr. J. Hames was hired as the architect and construction began on a new Anglican church. The total agreed cost of the new church was $20,000 and the cornerstone was laid on October 21, 1890.