Founded in 1866, St. Mark's has its share of bad luck, first being completely destroyed by the
of July 18-19, 1945.
One of the newer churches in Halifax (the oldest being 170 years older), St Mark's was built of brick and given a pair of heavy towers which flank the main entrance at the front of the nave. Each of the towers is capped with a tall octagonal steeple, the north westerly one also having an octagonal bell tower and eight dormers around the eight sides of the steeple. Buttressed walls may make one believe it is older than it actually is, allowing the church to blend in well with its older brethern.
Some brief history can be found below, from St. Mark's website.
St. Mark's Anglican Church
While the parish of St.Mark's has been a presence in Halifax since 1866, the present church building dates from 1921, the original structure being destroyed in the Halifax Explosion of 1917. With the new church in place, pew rentals were abolished. By 1942, the rector, Rev.W.W. Clarkson, set up a "Cent a Meal" program which saw the $12,000 mortgage paid off within 8 years, at which point the building could be consecrated which it was in 1950. Although it suffered major damage in the explosion of the Bedford Magazine in 1945, it was repaired within a year.
The church was the centre of life for its parishioners as can be seen by the organizations which were featured in the Consecration booklet put out for the 84th Anniversary. Early church activities included church parades by the military, accompanied by a goat, as well as garden parties, Sunday School picnics and "the most outstanding was the Tennis Club" which operated all year. In the early '50s, there were 19 groups active in St. Mark's, including two choirs, an adult Sunday School, a separate Bible Study group, a young people's association, many womens organizations and various children's groups.
Several of these groups are still active (see "groups") and while numbers in the 21st-century are not as large as in the early days, the spirit which made St. Mark's a vital force then is still alive in the present congregation as can be seen by their involvement in the community.
The Rose Window
Round windows go back about 2000 years to the Roman oculus or "eye" placed in the wall of a building for admitting light and air. A Rose or wheel window is characterized by concrete tracery separating the panes of stained glass. Round Gothic windows are beautiful both inside, where we can wonder at the color and the biblical stories which they depict, and outside where the stone work resembles an open flower, especially a rose.
St. Mark's rose window above the east (main) door was installed in the church from a bequest in the will of George Gabriel in 1983. The window colours are vivid - yellow, blue, green, red and white. The predominant theme of the yellow sheaves of wheat and the white grapes remind us of the bread and the wine of the Holy Communion, physical reminders of the body and blood of Christ. Unlike the old Gothic windows, St. Mark's rose window does not have the exterior stone support bars or "tracery." Instead its support bars are of beautifully carved wood. On a sunny Sunday morning, the vibrant colours of our Rose Window echo those of nature.
From St. Mark's Anglican
The Rose Window