Located within a few metres from the busy, thriving setting of West Queen Street West, Niagara, and Bellwoods Park, St. Matthias offers respite to passers-by in its cosy green space on Bellwoods Ave. Children from all over the neighbourhood are most welcome in their own dedicated weekly worship group, as well as, to our annual Christmas Pageant and Easter Egg Hunt. We reach out with hospitality a
nd imagination to those in need in the community. On another note, we are among the first churches to offer our annual Blessing of Animals Service, for the past several generations. Our Anglo-Catholic liturgy, draws visitors from around the greater Toronto Area and beyond. Established in 1873, St. Matthias was the first parish in Toronto to be a centre of the Catholic renewal and the Oxford Movement. The parish became the first in the city to offer services of the Divine Office and a weekly Sunday mass. The mass remains at the heart of our life at St. Matthias. The Anglican Church is not a Protestant denomination. As John Macquarrie, sometime Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity at Oxford, wrote, "Anglicanism has never considered itself to be a sect or denomination originating in the sixteenth century. It continues without a break the Ecclesia Anglicana founded by St. Augustine [of Canterbury] thirteen centuries and more ago…." The Anglican Church is Catholic in polity. It has maintained the threefold ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons. It faithfully ministers all the sacraments of the Catholic Church. Its liturgy affirms the sacrificial character of the Eucharist and the real, objective presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. Nevertheless, its members differ widely in their theological positions. Since the sixteenth century many Anglicans—at times the majority—have embraced Protestant ideas; but other have always remained faithful to Anglicanism’s Catholic heritage, and the Anglican Communion has never departed from it in any essential. St Matthias Church, since its founding over 140 years ago, has stood squarely with those who emphasize and treasure the Catholic heritage of Anglicanism. We gather at mass on Sundays as God’s loved people; some in jeans, others more dressed up, some single, some married or partnered, some with children and some not, many from the LGBTQ communities, some from an Anglican background and many more from other church backgrounds or no recent church backgrounds. Making a difference in our community has always been part of our life: celebrating weekly masses at various nearby seniors care facilities, making space available at Bellwoods House for those in need. Our parish hall is also a venue for 12 step meetings, artistic groups and for film shoots. We are a progressive, Anglican Anglo-Catholic parish that welcomes all, without precondition, and which is centred in the depth and power of rich ancient prayer, liturgy, and music. Most recently we began offering same-gender blessings. We believe that, as members of the Body and Blood of Christ, we have been called to ministries of worship, education, hospitality and witness. We strive to welcome all who come through our doors. We hope you will join us in worship, ministry and hospitality as we seek to participate fully in the life of our community.
