The Anglican Church of the Epiphany (Sudbury, Ont.), is part of the single-point Anglican Parish of Epiphany (Sudbury, Ont.).
The first Anglican Church of the Epiphany opened on November 9, 1890 on its current location in Sudbury, Ontario. The original church was of frame building construction. The congregation had begun meeting as early as October 7, 1883. The vestry board held its first meeting on April 5, 1891. In 1894, Bishop Edward Sullivan consecrated the first church, which had also added a belfry and a bell.
The expanding congregation precipitated the need for a larger church in the early 20th-century. The cornerstone for the second Church of the Epiphany was laid on July 30, 1912; services were held in the undercroft of the new church on March 16, 1913 (Palm Sunday) and the building was officially re-opened on April 27, 1913. Archdeacon Gowan Gilmor was the celebrant on opening day. The chancel was flanked by two rooms; one was intended as a vestry and the other to be a home for a pipe organ. The transept windows were stained glass given by Dr. and Mrs. R.H. Arthur and Mr. D.M. Morin. The church was debt free in December 1923 and consecrated in January 1924. A mortuary chapel was added the cemetery in the 1930s. Also in 1930 the East Window was installed in memory of the Rev. James Boydell, and the South Aisle windows were installed in memory of Jessie Elizabeth Fensom, George Frederick Fensom, the Rev. Philip Roger Beattie, and the Rev. Percy Frank Bull. A year later the Burroughs Memorial Windows were installed.
A parish hall was begun in 1941 and officially opened on March 6, 1942. Around 1945, a house was bought to be used as a rectory. A memorial window for those fallen in World War II was unveiled on June 12, 1950. The next project was the construction of a spacious narthex for the church. This began in October 1956 and was later dedicated by the Most Rev. W.L. Wright, Archbishop of Algoma on March 31, 1957. This addition provided vestibule space, cloakroom facilities, new offices, and a new choir room. In 1962 the stained glass window in the North Aisle was installed in memory of the members of the Women’s Auxiliary.
By the 1970s extensive repairs were needed on the building and the congregation unanimously voted to restore the building. Restoration work including the replacement of all external brick was completed in 1982. This included the installation of the West Window in 1974 in memory of the Rev. S.M. Craymer.
The Church of the Epiphany (Sudbury, Ont.) was destroyed by fire on April 2, 1987. Construction began on a new building almost immediately and during the rebuilding of the congregation of the Church of the Epiphany held services at St. Andrew's United Church. The first services held in the rebuilt building were on December 24, 1988. On January 8, 1989 Bishop Leslie Peterson re-dedicated the Church of the Epiphany.
Incumbents and rectors have included: Rev. Charles Piercey (1890-1892), the Rev. L. Sinclair (1892-1893), the Rev. C. Lutz (1893), the Rev. E. Lawlor (1893-1894), the Rev. W. H. French (1894-1896), the Rev. Franz C. H. Ulbricht (1896-1898), T. Scarlett (Lay Catechist, 1897-1899), the Rev. Canon James Boydell (1899-1918), Rev. C.F.L. Gilbert (1918), the Rev. Percy Alfred Paris (1918-1922), the Rev. Percy Frank Bull (1923-1940), the Rev. F.H.H. Shaw (1939-1940), the Rev. Canon Philip Rodger Beattie (1940-1942, 1945-1948), the Rev. William Robert Coleman (1942-1945), Rev. Gilbert Thompson (1945), the Rev. Frank Foley Nock (1945-1957), the Rev. Archdeacon S.M. Craymer (1957?-1974), the Rev. Archdeacon E.B. Paterson (1974-1992), the Rev. Peter Williams (1992-1997), the Right Rev. Tom Corston (1998-2010), the Rev. Tim Perry (2011-2016) the Right Rev. Tom Corston, interim (Summer 2016-July 2020).
Sources:
- "A Red Letter Day for Sudbury Parish", The Algoma Anglican 1 (1957): 3.
- "Sudbury Church Celebrates Sixtieth Anniversary Year", The Algoma Anglican 16, no. 6 (1972): 1. Algoma University Archives, 2013-086_001_008_006.
- "Century of Anglican witness in Sudbury is reviewed in attractive new book", The Algoma Anglican 28, no. 2 (1983): 3. Algoma University Archives, 2013-086_001_013_012.
- Gwen Chmilar, "Destroyed by fire, Church of the Epiphany will be rebuilt", The Algoma Anglican 34, no. 5 (1987): 3.
- "Church of the Epiphany hopes for Easter opening of new building", The Algoma Anglican 34, no. 9 (1987): 3.
- "Congregation came home for Christmas", The Algoma Anglican 36, no. 2 (1989): 1,3.
- Frank Peake, “The Church of the Epiphany, Sudbury Ontario: A Century of Anglican Witness”, 1982, Diocesan Heritage Centre Parish History collection, Algoma University Archives, 2014-019_001_004.
