The oldest Protestant church in Canada and the oldest building in the city of Halifax, this church opened for public worship the 2nd of September, 1750, making it also the first church of British origin built in Canada. Charles Inglis, D.D., was consecrated the first Bishop of Nova Scotia. This church was chosen by him as his first Cathedral when he arrived in the diocese on October 15th, 1767, making it the first cathedral of the Church of England outside the United Kingdom.
Though the outside entry to this church is somewhat pedestrian, this door, leading from the narthex to the nave, is a masterpiece. A large bronze double door and frame, it is actually a memorial to church members lost in World War I and to Archdeacon and Chaplain Lieutenant Colonel William James Armitage. The dedication to Archdeacon Armitage occupies the arched transom, while the World War I Memorial occupies the header of the doorway.
Archdeacon Armitage, one of the foremost Anglican churchmen of his time in Canada, was made Archdeacon of Halifax in 1906 and canon of All Saints Cathedral there in 1907. He was honoured by St. Paul's Church for the time and energy he expended in the preservation of it, the oldest Anglican church in North America. A biography of the Archdeacon, originally published in 1916 by A. W. Bowen & Co. of
Halifax, Nova Scotia, can be found below.
THE VENERABLE WILLIAM
JAMES ARMITAGE
In every life of honor and usefulness there is no dearth of incident
and yet in summing up the career of any man the biographer needs
touch only those salient points which give the keynote to his character. Thus in setting forth the life record of The Venerable William James Armitage, rector of St. Paul's Church, Halifax, sufficient will be said to show what all who know him will freely acquiesce in that he is one of the representative men of Nova Scotia, and one of our most prominent and useful citizens. Such a life as his is an inspiration to others who are less courageous and more prone to give up the fight when obstacles thwart their way, or their ideals have been attained or definite success achieved in any field of endeavor.
Rev. Dr. Armitage, who has for a number of years faithfully
discharged the duties of Archdeacon of Halifax and is universally
recognized as one of the foremost Anglican churchmen of the present
day in Canada, is of Anglo-Irish origin, the descendant of an ancient
Norman family that came to England with William the Conqueror. He
is a son of the late William Bond Head Armitage and Jane (Adams)
Armitage, and his birth occurred at Bryanston, Ontario, February 6,
1860.
He was educated in private schools and Toronto University.
He studied divinity at Wycliffe College, Toronto, from which institution he was graduated with honors, and he received the degree of Master of Arts from Dalhousie University, Halifax, in 1901; also the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the University of New Brunswick in 1905. He was ordained deacon in 1884, priest in 1885. He was curate of St. James' Church, Orilla, during 1884 and 1885; rector of St. Thomas's Church,
St. Catharine's, Ontario, from 1886 to 1897, was rural dean of Lincoln and Welland, from 1892 to 1895; rector of St. Paul's parish, Halifax, in 1897 and here he remains. He was rural
dean of Halifax from 1900 to 1905, was made Archdeacon of Halifax in 1906, and canon of All Saints Cathedral there in 1907.
In addition
to other important positions he has served as master in divinity at
Bishop Ridley College; special lecturer at Wycliffe College; lecturer
on pastoral theology in King's University, Windsor; acting chaplain
of the Queen's Own Rifles, at Niagara Camp on several occasions.
He is honorary chaplain of the Sixty-sixth Regiment, Princess
Louise Fusiliers, Halifax, being promoted to the rank of major in
1909 and to that of lieutenant-colonel in 1913. He was acting chaplain to the members of the Church of England in the Canadian contingent to South Africa during the Boer war, while encamped at Halifax.
He is a councillor of Wycliffe College, one of the founders of Ridley College, St. Catharine, and of Havergal Ladies' College, Toronto, a member of the Provincial and General Synods of Canada, chairman of the Halifax branch of the Lord's Day Alliance, chairman of the Colonial and Continental Church Society, and he was elected president of the Nova Scotia Historical Society in 1911. He was a candidate for the vacant bishopric of Niagara in 1896, receiving a majority of lay votes in the first three ballots; also for vacant bishopric of Nova Scotia in 1904, when he received the majority of lay votes in seven ballots. He was nominated for the vacancy in the bishopric of the Diocese of Fredericton in 1916, and in the Diocese of Howie in 1905. He was an official delegate to the Pan- Anglican Congress in 1908 and to the bi-centennial Anglican church celebration in Halifax, 1910. He is secretary of joint committee of both houses, on the Adaptation, Enrichment and Revision of the Book of Common
Prayer, of the General Synod of the Church of England in Canada,
and custodian of the Canadian Book of Common Prayer.
Our subject is not only known as a pulpit orator of unusual ability, force and earnestness, but also as an author of pronounced literary skill. He has been a frequent contributor to religious publications and is author of "The Fruit of the Spirit," "The Cities of Refuge," "The Church Year" (copies of which were graciously accepted by Queen Mary), and "The Soldiers of the King," a copy of which was accepted by King George the Fifth, and of a number of articles advocating a broader church union of Canada, in 1906.
Archdeacon Armitage was married in June, 1886, to Elinor Maria
Ramsay, elder daughter of the late Robert Ramsay, M. D., of Orilla,
Ontario. She is a woman of culture and has long been prominent in
the circles in which she moves. She is vice-president of the Local
Council of Women.
The Archdeacon is a man of profound education and high intellectual attainments, intensely patriotic, one whose earnestness, industry and ability are known to everyone in Nova Scotia.
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