The origins of the Baptist
Church in York have not yet been discovered. Two of the stronger
theories are that either American Baptist missionaries introduced it,
or it was the Loyalist Baptists from New England who settled in Nova
Scotia, Quebec, the Niagara Peninsula, the Bay of Quinte and the shores
of Lake Erie in 1812(1). In either case the root
can reasonably be said to be American, which seems probable as for a
time the Baptist Churches of Upper Canada were funded by the American
Baptist Home Missionary Sociey(2).
Baptist theology is based on the saving ordinance of adult baptism.
Total immersion in water as a sacrament of spiritual rebirth to full
church status serves as a communicant of their faith. However this had
certain architectural implications, and often in early churches it was
impossible to have such special function areas built(3).
More often than not necessity reduced choice, which is why so
many early churches and chapels of whatever denomination were square
and made of wood4. As a compromise Baptist Chapels in particular tended
to be located near to a large body of water(5).
A small Baptist congregation was organized in York in 1829, and three years later a chapel was built on March Street(6). The 1832 chapel was made of brick, and built to a square plan(7). The Reverend was Alexander Stewart, a clergyman and author from the Highlands of Scotland(8). He had served as a missionary in his own country before coming to Canada in 1818 to be a teacher(9). However Stewart tendered his resignation in 1836 because of dissension within the congregation(10). The chapel was closed and rented to other denominations, including the Negro Baptists(11).
Generally York’s early Baptist congregation was small in number and impact(12). Yet by its continued existence it has furthered the religious history of Toronto. |
Notes
- MacRae and Adamson, Hallowed Walls, p.66.
- Craig, p.168.
- MacRae and Adamson, Hallowed Walls, p.67.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Firth, p.lx.
- MacRae and Adamson, Hallowed Walls, p.241.
- Ibid.
- Firth, p.lx.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
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