Bishop Maurice Scollard Baldwin (1836-1904)

Maurice Scollard Baldwin was born in Toronto.   The Hon. Robert Baldwin, who was co-premier of Upper Canada, was his first cousin. Maurice Baldwin graduated from Trinity University, Toronto and was admitted to Holy Orders in 1860 and 1861 by Bishop Benjamin Cronyn.

Baldwin was curate of St Thomas’ Church in St Thomas (1860–62). He served incumbencies at Port Dover (1862–63, 1864–65) and Port Stanley (1863–64) before being called to Montreal.   He was Dean of Montreal when elected the third Bishop of Huron on October 18, 1883.

Baldwin was one of the greatest evangelical speakers of his day.   Few contemporary Canadian preachers were in such demand, nationally and internationally.   He was also a successful administrator.   During his episcopate, the Dioccese of Huron developed modern procedures of governance, fund-raising, and accounting. The deficit that Baldwin had inherited became a surplus.

More on   Bishop Maurice Scollard Baldwin

Bishop Isaac Hellmuth (1820-1901)

The Rev. Dr. Isaac Hellmuth was born near Warsaw, Poland. The son of a rabbi, he converted to Christianity and studied theoogy in England. He was brought to the Diocese of Huron by Bishop Cronyn for the express purpose of establishing a theological college based on low-church principles, as opposed to the high-church teachings of Toronto’s Trinity College.

Dr Hellmuth, as dean of Huron and later as the second bishop of the Diocese, introduced the kind of academic secondary schools known as collegiate institues and was instrumental in founding and funding the University of Western Ontario in 1878.

As bishop he planned a new cathedral to replace St Paul’s. It was to be called the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity and was to be built at the southeast corner of Richmond and Picadilly streets. The first building to be erected on the site, intended to be the chapter house of the new cathedral, was opened 2 November 1873. For the next 14 years this stone building served as the pro-cathedral. It was levelled to the ground in 1982 to become a parking lot.

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Hellmuth resigned as Bishop of Huron in the summer of 1883. He cited as the principal cause of his decision the grave illness of his wife. This was not, however, the only reason. St Paul’s was heavily in debt. The laity and clergy were divdied on the plans for his new cathedral and the new university. In addition there were many who resented his autocratic administration.

More on Bishop Isaac Hellmuth

Bishop Benjamin Cronyn (1802-1871)

Church of England missionary, the Reverend Benjamin Cronyn arrived in London, Ontario 10 November 1832.   Born in Ireland he was 30 and with his wife and 2 small children was on his way to Adelaide Township 26 miles away.   He stopped in London to rest.   The following day, he conducted the Evensong service at a schoolhouse and afterwards a delegation of local members of the Church of England persuaded him to stay instead of continuing to his planned destination.   Rev. Cronyn remained in London the rest of his life.

St Paul’s Church was built two years later and Rev. Cronyn became rector.   The frame church was destroyed by fire in Ash Wednesday 1844.   It was replaced by the substantial brick building that was to become St Paul’s Cathedral.

9 July 1857, Dr Cronyn was elected the first bishop of the newly created Diocese of Huron.   It was the first time that a bishop of the Church of England in Canada had been elected by his peers, rather than by the Crown.

When the diocese began, there were 41 clergy.   That number had increased to 93, 14 years later in 1871, when because of his ill-health Bishop Cronyn asked that a coadjutor bishop be elected.   Issac Hellmuth was elected taking the title Bishop of Norfolk and a few months later on the 22 September 1871 Dr. Cronyn died of heart disease.

More on Bishop Benjamin Cronyn