The Parish Church of the Most Holy ProtoMartyr St. Stephen was founded in 1858 and was nicknamed St. Stephen-in-the-Fields because of its rural setting at the time. The lands and building were donated by Col. Robert Denison, member of the prominent Denison Family of Toronto. While the norm in the city was paying pew rental, St. Stephen’s was open to all as a free pew parish and has a history of social activism through the many outreach projects it has initiated through the years. Our heritage building is used regularly for worship by St. Stephen’s congregation as well as two other congregations. We strive to work together with The Free Church and The Toronto Worship Center to continue being a presence in the Kensington community and open our doors to the arts community on a regular basis. Although we are three congregations with different styles of worship we are united in Christian ministry, our desire to honour God, to proclaim the Gospel and to willingly serve God’s people where we are able.
As Anglicans we hold our heritage of being a bridge church that embraces a catholic and reformed understanding of the Christian faith. That understanding includes the priority and authority of the Holy Scripture as the source of our knowledge of God and guidance from the Catholic Creed of the Apostles, Nicea and St. Athanasia. Our core belief is that salvation comes from God and is given by the grace of God and the use of liturgy which is faithful to scripture embodies the experience of the Church in worship over the centuries. We are governed by Bishops, Priests, deacons and lay persons. With the celebration of the two Gospel sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist, we recognize that the visible unity of the Church on earth is God’s will and the priesthood of the whole church as a worshipping, praying and serving community.
Our liturgy reflects our heritage. The celebration of the Holy Eucharist is our main act of worship and the daily offices of prayer are a hallmark of Anglicanism. Reverence, dignity and beauty are considered to be appropriate for the worship given to God. Care is taken with the reading scripture and preaching. Worship, prayer and teaching strengthen God’s people to minister in the world and disciples of Jesus, God’s divine son and Word. You are cordially invited to share in the life of St. Stephen’s Church.
Fr. David Bryan Hoopes
Priest-in-Charge
On June 3rd we will be honouring Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee at the 11 am mass.
We are opening our doors and bringing music to the community and are pleased to have a wonderful series of noon hour concerts at St. Stephen’s which feature musicians from around the city. The historic Ryder organ will be the focus of this series along with singers and instrumentalists so please come along and enjoy. These free concerts are presented by Music at St. Stephen’s. If you are interested in supporting or participating please contact John Gardham at
Ton Beau String Quartet
Mark Himmelman
Neil Houlton
Eric Osborne
Janice Kerkkamp
John Gardham
Nicolai Tarasov
Ted Moroney
Andrew Adair
Rachel Mahon
Morgan MacNeill
Simon Walker
Edmee Nataprawira
Clement Carelse
Thomas Gonder
Matthew Whitfield
Kevin Henkel
Alan Pulker
Richard Herriott
Thomas Fitches
Mark Toews
Tamara Rusqué
Viktor Kotov
Raisa Orshansky
Warren Nicholson
Sarah Pelzer
Mikhai Vergara
Courtney V. Murias
Elixir Ensemble
Teza Lwin
Jo-Anne Wurster
Fr. David Bryan Hoopes,
Fr. Richard Gariepy
John Gardham




