Church of St. Mary Magdalene (Toronto)

Church of St. Mary Magdalene
The 2006 Patronal Feast at St. Mary Magdalene's
Denomination	Anglican Church of Canada
Churchmanship	Anglo-Catholic
Website	http://www.stmarymagdalene.ca/
History
Dedication	Mary Magdalene
Administration
Parish	St. Mary Magdalene
Deanery	Parkdale
Diocese	Toronto
Province	Ontario
Clergy
Rector	Fr. David Harrison
Assistant priest(s)	Mtr Lisa Wang, Mtr Jennifer Schick
Honorary priest(s)	Fr. William Cruse, Fr. Theo Ipema, Fr. Robert McCord, Fr. John Whittall
Laity
Organist/Director of music	Andrew Adair

The Church of St. Mary Magdalene (also known as SMM) is a parish of the Anglican Church of Canada located in Toronto. It is famous for its association with composer Healey Willan who was organist and choir-master for well over four decades. The current rector is Father David Harrison, who became rector on June 1, 2010, after a nine-year incumbency at the parish of St. Thomas', Brooklin. In 2013, SMM celebrated its 125th anniversary.

SMM was part of the composite Robertson Davies used to form "St. Aidan's" in his novel The Cunning Man. Davies attended Mass there while still a Presbyterian and a student at Upper Canada College. The church is also mentioned in Marian Engel's "The Glassy Sea".

Former Governor General Adrienne Clarkson has been a parishioner for many years.

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother visited, participated in the Solemn Mass and unveiled a national historic plaque to the memory of Healey Willan [3 July 1989].

As an Anglo-Catholic parish, SMM has always celebrated the Eucharist as the central act of worship. This has historically been done at SMM in a liturgical style reflecting the convergence of Roman Catholic and Anglican influences. In 1919, the church shifted more towards Roman-style parish life: the Rev'd H. Griffin Hiscocks began hearing private confession. This period also ushered in the use of incense and the installation of a large statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary (now in the south aisle of the church). Newspaper accounts of the time reveal how controversial the installation was. A chip in the statue's toe shows evidence of a hammer attack made by those hostile to SMM's Catholic spirituality.

The church, nicknamed "SMM" or "St. Mary Mag", was founded in 1888 by a group from the nearby Church of St. Matthias led by the Reverend Charles Darling. The church's somewhat unusual choice for a patron was probably an homage to the Church of St Mary Magdalene, Paddington, where Darling had served as assistant. The church building was designed by the rector's brother—noted Toronto architect Frank Darling. However, his ambitious plans were tempered by the always modest financial resources of the parish. The exterior was begun in 1888, added to in 1896 and completed in 1908. The choir loft was added in the 1920s. The sanctuary was extensively remodeled in 1963 by Rambush & Company of New York. In 1993 a substantial addition to the building added spaces for instruction, meeting, and church administration. In 2008, another renovation to the liturgical space opened up windows that had been closed in the 1920s.