A church of firsts and superlatives, this 265 year old wood framed church and Pro-Cathedral stands opposite the city hall at the south end of the Grand Parade, a civic square in downtown Halifax.
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.
It is today a National Historic Site as well as a Provincial Historic Resource. Text from the first sign, Building the Church, can be found below.
Building the Church
Plans for the Church
From the first the civil authorities provided for the erection of a church on the Parade at the centre of the community. Cornwallis had promised the Rev. William Tutty, Society for the Propagation of the Gospel missionary to Halifax, that the church would be "ye first public work that is finished" after the protective fortifications.
Work began in the spring of 1750, the cornerstone was laid on June 13. By July 18 Tutty was able to report that "the Frame of the church is now erecting & I am in good hopes that we shall be able to assemble in it in about two months time which will be a great Happiness." The first service was held Sept. 2, 1750. Like other buildings in the community the new church was assembled out of pre-cut, numbered timbers brought from New England.
FOUNDING FATHERS: BREYNTON AND BULKELEY
In 1759 the town was formed into a parish and styled the Parish of St. Paul, the first recorded use of the church's title. The Rev. John Breynton was named as rector. At the first vestry meeting in Canada, held on October 10, 1759, the Hon. Richard Bulkeley, then Secretary of the Province, was appointed Rector's Warden, and Mr. William Nesbitt was elected People's Warden. Together Breynton and Bulkeley helped establish St. Paul's at the centre of life in the new settlement and founded many educational and charitable endeavours.
RICHARD BULKELEY
Richard Bulkeley's name appears almost everywhere in connection with the building and early life of St. Paul's. He helped supervise its siting and construction, served as one of its first wardens and, for 50 years, as vestryman. He directed the choir and was for a time the organist. His house, opposite the south end of the church at the corner of Argyle and Prince Streets, is now enclosed within the former Carleton Hotel. His hatchment, a diamond-shaped panel with his coat-of-arms, is one of seven hanging in the church. He is thought to be buried beneath the church.
In his obituary notice of 1800 Bulkeley was referred to as the "Father of the Province" because of his dedication to the new settlement and his involvement in so many aspects of its establishment.
REV. JOHN BREYNTON
During his 38-year rectorship at St. Paul's, Breynton was responsible for orphanages and schools and founded the first Sunday School in 1783 - the oldest on the continent with a continuous history. He also ministered to Congregationalist and Foreign Protestant settlers and travelled extensively to outlying missions in the Province. Despite penal statutes enacted against Roman Catholics, Dr. Breynton maintained cordial relations with Fr. Bailly who ministered in the Province. The penal statutes were repealed in 1784.
THE ARRIVAL OF THE FIRST BISHOP - 1787
When Charles Inglis was consecrated at Lambeth Palace, London, August 12, 1787, he became the first Bishop of Nova Scotia and of what was to become the Anglican Church of Canada, as well as the first overseas bishop in the Church of England. He arrived in Halifax October 17, 1787, and preached his first sermon in his newly designated Cathedral Church of St. Paul on October 28, 1787. In addition to his own "Diocese of Nova Scotia and its Dependencies" which included Cape Breton Island and Prince Edward Island, he also had responsibility. for New Brunswick, Newfoundland and all of what was then Canada.
From the sign