St. John the Evangelist is a parish of the Anglican Diocese of Montreal in the Anglican Church of Canada in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The building is located in downtown Montreal, nested within Université du Québec à Montréal campus buildings and Quartier des Spectacles, at 137 President Kennedy Avenue.
The Church of St. John the Evangelist's orientation is Anglo-Catholic, or High Church. It is the last remaining church in Quebec to maintain this style of worship within the tradition of the Canadian Book of Common Prayer (1962). The church is often known as the "Red Roof Church".
History The Church of St. John the Evangelist was established in 1861 by Father Edmund Wood, to bring the Oxford Movement to Canada. In 1878, the current church open its doors, on what is now President Kennedy Avenue (formerly Ontario Street).
2020s Necessary repairs to the building have proven to be beyond the financial capacity of the current congregation. Various plans to develop the property have so far not come to fruition, despite several years of efforts by a dedicated committee.
In December 2022, St. Michael's Mission moved to St. George's Anglican Church, where it continues its ministry to the homeless.
An initial vote at a Vestry meeting on April 15, 2023, endorsed a motion to authorize the Diocese to sell the church. The income from the investments after the sale of the church would be used to allow the congregation to maintain its distinctive style of Anglo-Catholic worship in a different place. At a subsequent Vestry meeting on July 16, 2023, this vote was overturned and a committee was set up to explore other options for continuing in the present church without selling the property. The church continues to seek financial aid and development opportunities.
The church has supported various renovations with the assistance of grants from the Conseil du Patrimoine religieux du Québec.
Services Solemn High Mass is celebrated on Sundays and feast days and Solemn Evensong and Benediction several Sundays a year. Mass is during the week in French on Tuesdays and in English on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
Tenants St. Michael's Mission was founded by the parish in the 1920s. It was based in the church from the 1960s until 2022.
The parish of Saint-Benoît-de-Nursie, a French-language congregation of the Orthodox Church in America, worshipped in the Chapel of Our Lady of Walsingham in the church's crypt from 1990 to 2020.
Rectors Rev. Edmund Wood, Founder Rev. Arthur French Rev. Canon William Holmes Davison Rev. Canon Harold L. Hertzler Rev. Paul F.W. Busing Rev. Canon Oswald Slattery Rev. John-Paul Westin Rev. Paul Farthing Rev. Canon Keith Schmidt Rev. Marc-Philippe Vincent, Priest-in-Charge
Popular culture The building has starred alongside Nick Nolte in the film Affliction, and in the Quebec science-fiction television series Dans une galaxie près de chez vous. It has also been used as a set for several popular Quebec films, including La Bolduc and Karmina.
Notable people Rev. Ellen Bradshaw Aitken, priest Rt Rev Russel Brown, Bishop of Quebec Brooke Claxton, politician Sir Edward Clouston, banker Sir George Alexander Drummond, senator Heward Grafftey, politician Prudence Heward, artist John Hamilton, senator Sir William Osler, physician Grace Julia Parker Drummond, clubwoman and philanthropist Rev. Frederick George Scott, poet and curate Flora Madeline Shaw, nurse and educator Sir Campbell Stuart, newspaper magnate Sir William Fenwick Williams, Crimean War general Rev. William Wright, physician and curate
See also List of Anglo-Catholic Churches
References
"Centenary Book of the Parish of St. John the Evangelist, Montreal, 1861-1961" by St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church, Montreal, Quebec Call Number 365.2.J.03.0
External links
Quartier des Spectacles article