The Anglican Cathedral of St. John the Baptist is marking its 325th anniversary as a parish – the oldest in Canada.
A Cathedral Heritage Fair is being hosted outside the famed downtown landmark on Gower Street today from noon to 5:00 p.m.
Church Warden, Hugh Donnan says the parish has seen many changes over the last three centuries, not the least were caused by fires that destroyed a succession of buildings since the parish was first established in 1699.
“There have been people worshiping on that site in various wooden churches,” and big stone buildings, for centuries says Donnan. “The cathedral building itself was built before the Great Fire in 1897 and then burned, all the wooden and glass portions, and then it was rebuilt and the current church was finished again around 1905.”
Donnan says this weekend will include the Cathedral Heritage Fair, but they’ve also developed a number of other attractions to encourage greater community involvement, including an indoor labyrinth.
He says it started with the development of an outdoor labyrinth which proved popular.
Donnan says working with the Legacy Labyrinth Project, they became the ninth labyrinth in that group,” which includes labyrinths around the world including France and the United States. The Cathedral’s labyrinth was “painted on the floor…a number of months ago. It’s actually going to be officially opened in September…but now it’s soft-launched “and people are using it and free to see it whenever the building’s open.”