Six months since the spectacular blaze, officials still don’t know the cause of the massive fire that destroyed St. Anne’s Anglican Church.
Electrical? Lightning strike? Accidental? Arson?
It’s still a mystery. But could they be getting closer to knowing?
Nothing has been ruled in or out. What is known is that, while the historic church that included Group of Seven murals on the ceiling was lost, the plan is to raise that church from the ground once again.
And restore some of those famous paintings.
All Father Don Beyers wants for Christmas is for his iconic church to be rebuilt back to the grand house of worship it was for 116 years. He may get his wish.
“We are rebuilding,” the venerable pastor declared proudly.
A fire can burn down a historic Toronto building, but it will not smoke out the congregation who make the place the special community church that it has been on Gladstone Ave. since 1908 in the “Byzantine revival style” it was when it was gutted by a blaze June 9, or how it was when it was first established in 1862.
There’s a lot of history. And even more resolve.
“The church will be staying here,” Beyers said.
No condo development to be built here. No hotel. No shopping mall. No parking lot. Although those stories were floated, Beyers said that was never going to be the case. The church’s old structure, bricks and mortar, are gone. But not the spirit of the congregation. They still have their Sunday services in the complex’s hall and are as robust as they always were.
“This is a special congregation,” said Beyers, who calls his church members resilient.
Beyers is special and reelentless, too. In fact, even while the site was still smouldering, he was already thinking about how to rebuild. He knows this will cost money and he’s not sure how they are going to raise it, he just has faith that they will.
If you want to help them with this, there is a GoFund Me “started by a friend of the parish” that has raised just shy of $50,000. Donations can also be made directly to St. Anne’s at the CanadaHelps page.
“We are also very thankful with all of the support and donations we have received from both he Catholic and Jewish communities,” Beyers said.
One challenge will be how to rebuild the church with historical considerations as well as modern technology, while also saving the stained glass and Group of Seven murals.
Well, all these things are underway.
And while she has an enormous challenge ahead of her, Alicia Coutts of Toronto Art Restoration is known as a magician when it comes to saving old artwork. This is a very big hill to climb.
“She has very damaged murals, but she’s already working on it,” Beyers said.
Some of the works include Christ in the Garden by artist Hamish Stewart-Treviranus, Healing of the Palsied Man by Neil MacKechnie and The Tempest by Group of Seven member J.E.H. MacDonald.
There are others they are hoping to save. Whatever Coutts can do will be appreciated. It’s won’t be easy.
The Ontario Fire Marshal and Toronto Police have both told the Toronto Sun they are still investigating this matter. Beyers said the OFM told him that they have completed their report and sent it to the Solicitor General.
What that means is anybody’s guess, but in a country that has seen dozens of churches recently burned or vandalized, some criminally, there is a desire to determine what happened with this one.
While the congregation’s focus is not solely on how the fire began, Beyers said it is an unanswered question they would like answered.
“I get people almost daily ask me, ‘do you know the cause of it?’” Beyers said. “Even our congregation who have invested so much money (toward the) preservation of the church (feel they) have every right and desire to know what actually caused it.”
They are not growing impatient and trust the process. They are also largely “focused on the future.” But Beyers said there is a curiosity and a hope there is a conclusion soon.
“As far as I understand, from what I have been told, the fire started at 7:30 a.m.” just before Sunday mass. “We definitely want to know. Everybody has the right to know. This wasn’t just a treasure for Toronto, it was actually a national treasure. It’s the only church that had paintings from members of the Group of Seven.”
While “reluctant” to come to any conclusion, “it is something that we do need to know, and it will help us as well as a congregation to help grieve the loss as well. Not knowing what caused it leaves everybody hanging.”
Regardless the reason for this inferno, the important thing for the St. Anne’s family is they are, brick by brick and canvas by canvas, bringing back this magnificent testament to God and faith to its full glory again.