Arthur Sweatman (1834–1909) was a Canadian

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

bishop and the third Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada.

Early life

Sweatman was born on 19 November 1834 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England, to parents John and Anne. His education began in two London private schools, followed by education at University College School. At the age of fifteen, Sweatman began to teach in the

Sunday school ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...

of Christ Church, Marylebone.“Noted Archbishop Claimed by Death” (obituary) in '' The Evening Record'' (Windsor, Ontario), 21 January 1909, p. 1, col. A In 1859, Sweatman received a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 250 graduate students. The c ...

, and was ordained as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

the same year. Sweatman soon distinguished himself as a pioneer in the movement for boys' clubs, beginning with the founding of the Islington Youths' Institute in 1860. In 1865, whilst curate of St Stephen's in Canonbury, he impressed the visiting headmaster of Huron College,

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...

with his work with youths. The visiting headmaster convinced Sweatman to become the first headmaster of the London Collegiate Institute] in Huron, serving there until 1871. Until 1872, he was the mathematics master at

Upper Canada College Upper Canada College (UCC) is an independent day and boarding school for boys in Toronto, Ontario, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The college is widely described as Canada's most prestigious preparatory school, and ha ...

, leaving there to become the rector of Grace Church in

Brantford Brantford ( 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by Brant County but is politically separate with a municipal government of its own that is fully indep ...

until 1874. From 1874 to 1876, Sweatman again served as the principal of the London Collegiate Institute, which had been renamed Hellmuth Boys’ College. From 1876 to 1879, he was the priest in charge of New St Paul's, Woodstock.

Bishop of Toronto

On 3 February 1879, the second bishop of the Diocese of Toronto, Alexander Bethune, died. Later that month, the

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

met to elect a new bishop. Most of the clergy were inclined to vote for George Whitaker, the provost of the

University of Trinity College Trinity College (occasionally referred to as the University of Trinity College) is a University of Toronto#Colleges, federated college of the University of Toronto located at the University of Toronto#St. George campus, St. George campus in Down ...

. However, the

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synod delegates were opposed to the clergy candidate and proposed Edward Sullivan as their candidate, who was then on his way from Chicago to

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

to take up the rectory there. Neither candidate received the necessary number of votes to become the bishop. Sweatman was elected as a compromise between the clergymen and laymen of the synod after five days of balloting. On 1 May 1879, the Bishop of Quebec consecrated Sweatman in St. James' Cathedral, Toronto. On 10 June of the same year, Sweatman made his views clear to the first synod under his presidency. His views were not radical, but of moderation. He immediately set to work, transforming a debt-ridden diocese into a financially stable one, as well as allowing social works consistent with the

Oxford Movement The Oxford Movement was a theological movement of high-church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the Un ...

. In 1884, Sweatman recognized the foundation of the Sisterhood of St. John the Divine, an Anglican religious order of women dedicated to nursing, education and other charitable endeavors, led by Hannah Grier Coome. Although they were initially criticized as "papist," their service during the

North-West Rebellion The North-West Rebellion (), was an armed rebellion of Métis under Louis Riel and an associated uprising of Cree and Assiniboine mostly in the District of Saskatchewan, against the Government of Canada, Canadian government. Important events i ...

earned praise and acceptance. Rt. Rev. Sweatman also worked towards a grand new cathedral for Toronto. In 1885, the trustees of the land reserved for the future cathedral donated $2,000 towards his cause, possibly to enhance the property value of the site. Before the end of the year, a building had been erected on the site to house the bishop and his family. Although St. Alban's Cathedral was eventually completed to some extent, its construction incurred heavy debts for the diocese. This project was viewed by Sweatman as one of his most disappointing ventures.

Later life

In 1905, Sweatman suffered a seizure, and in 1907 became the

Archbishop of Toronto The archbishop of Toronto is the head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto, responsible for looking after its spiritual and administrative needs. As the archdiocese is the metropolitan see of the ecclesiastical province that encompasse ...

. The same year, he was elected Metropolitan of Canada and the Primate of All Canada, the third since the position's creation. Two years later, on 24 January 1909, Sweatman died of bronchial pneumonia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sweatman, Arthur 1834 births 1909 deaths Primates of the Anglican Church of Canada People educated at University College School Metropolitans of Canada British emigrants to Canada 20th-century Anglican Church of Canada bishops