Yorkminster Park Baptist Church (Toronto)

Yorkminster Park Baptist Church is the largest Baptist church in Canada, built 1926-8 by the architectural firm George, Moorhouse and King, and is named after the 10th century York Minster in York, England. It is located in Toronto's Deer Park neighbourhood at 1585 Yonge Street, the northeast corner of Yonge and Heath Streets.

Yorkminster Park offers traditional Sunday services at 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. in a classic cathedral setting. With its longstanding tradition of high quality preaching and music, Yorkminster Park draws members and visitors from across the greater Toronto area and beyond. People of many and varying denominational backgrounds find a wide range of opportunities for friendships, Christian education and service to others.

The origins of the congregation date from 1829 under the leadership of “good old Dr. Caldicott”, a young Englishman who preached to a small gathering just south-east of King and Yonge Streets. By 1848 the Church had become Bond Street Baptist Church, just north-east of Yonge and Queen Streets. One of the young laymen of that Church became Senator William McMaster, the chief benefactor of McMaster University.

Families of Bond Street Baptist Church living at Yorkville found it very inconvenient to go downtown to church, and long ago conceived the idea of building in their own neighbourhood. In March 1870, a Sunday School mission was opened in what is now Toronto's Yorkville neighbourhood by a few workers from Bond Street to serve the northern neighbourhoods of the city, a regular prayer meeting soon followed. During that summer a small chapel was built on Scollard Street, and it was opened on September 1, 1870. The church was officially recognized and dedicated a year later in 1871 with thirty members as Yorkville Baptist Church. Pastors during this era included James Pyper, who was once pastor of Bond Street Baptist Church; Joseph Kiner, John Torrance, Tolment Harris, and William Brookman from 1880 - June 1881. Brookman's appointment was called into question by Joshua Denovan (then pastor of Alexander Street Baptist Church) as holding views not in harmony with orthodoxy (He was in sympathy with views brought forth by Charles Taze Russell. He left the congregation in June 1881 to form an independent congregation.

...
Wikipedia