St. Anne’s Anglican Church in west Toronto, a designated National Historic Site of Canada, is no more—destroyed in a June 9 fire, along with artwork including murals of the only known religious art by members of the Group of Seven.
Firefighters responded just before 8 a.m. Sunday morning to a four-alarm blaze at St. Anne’s, located in Toronto’s Little Portugal neighbourhood. Footage by local news showed black smoke and flames erupting through the church’s domed roof.
No injuries have been reported. The Rev. Don Beyers, rector at St. Anne’s, said no one was present in the building and that the church was locked and secured at the time of the fire. Toronto Fire Services is conducting an investigation into the cause of the fire, which it said could take weeks. As of June 10 police were saying the cause was unclear, but that the blaze was not considered suspicious.
St. Anne’s was a Byzantine Revival-style church built between 1907 and 1908. It housed murals, painted by three Canadian artists from the Group of Seven collective, that decorated the chancel and dome. The church commissioned Group of Seven member J.E.H MacDonald in 1923 to supervise the creation of art depicting the life of Christ in the building’s interior. In 1996 the federal government declared St. Anne’s a national historic site.
Beyers told CBC News the congregation was “greatly devastated” to learn about the fiery destruction of the church. He also expressed sadness at the loss of the artwork, noting that St. Anne’s had been the only church to feature art by Group of Seven members.
“While my heart is heavy, I have hope,” Beyers said in an open letter published on the parish website June 10. He said St. Anne’s would continue as a parish community and that in the following days he would consult with diocesan and parish leadership to determine where worship would take place as the congregation sought to rebuild.
“Yesterday’s fire was not the end of the story, but rather the beginning of a new chapter,” Beyers added. “We will rise from the ashes stronger and even more committed to our mission to be a church for all people.”
Read it all in the Anglican Journal
