St. Martin's Cathedral is a

pro-cathedral A pro-cathedral or procathedral is a parish Church (building), church that temporarily serves as the cathedral or co-cathedral of a diocese, or a church that has the same function in a Catholic missionary jurisdiction (such as an apostolic prefect ...

of the Diocese of Central Newfoundland, a diocese of the

Anglican Church of Canada The Anglican Church of Canada (ACC or ACoC) is the Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French-language name is ''l'Église anglicane du Canada''. In 2016, the Anglican Church of ...

, in

Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador Gander is a town located in the northeastern part of the island of Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland in the List of provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, approximately south of Gander Bay, sou ...

. St. Martin's was established as a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

in 1959 and was elevated as a pro-cathedral after Gander became the

episcopal see An episcopal see is the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, making it synonymous with ''diocese'' ...

of the diocese after it, the

Diocese of Western Newfoundland The Anglican Diocese of Western Newfoundland is a diocese of the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada of the Anglican Church of Canada. It comprises 77 congregations grouped in 30 parishes in Western Newfoundland, with approximately 17,888 souls. Mos ...

, and the

Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador The Anglican Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador is one of seven dioceses of the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada in the Anglican Church of Canada. As of 2012 the diocese had 50,000 members in 81 congregations organised in 35 parishes. T ...

were split from the former

Diocese of Newfoundland The Anglican Diocese of Newfoundland was, from its creation in 1839 until 1879, the Diocese of Newfoundland and Bermuda, with the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist at St. John's, Newfoundland, and a chapel-of-ease named ''Trinity Church'' in the ...

in 1976. The current

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

of the cathedral is David Hewitt. The cathedral hosts ordinations and the

diocesan synod In the Anglican Communion, the model of government is the 'Bishop in Synod', meaning that a diocese is governed by a bishop acting with the advice and consent of representatives of the clergy and laity of the diocese. In much of the Communion the b ...

Description and history

A plaque in the cathedral commemorates three crewmen whose bodies were not recovered following a 1943 crash of a

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models desi ...

into

Gander Lake Gander Lake is located in the central part of the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province ...

. In August 1985,

Robert Runcie Robert Alexander Kennedy Runcie, Baron Runcie, (2 October 1921 – 11 July 2000) was an English Anglican bishop. He was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1980 to 1991, having previously been Bishop of St Albans. He travelled the world widely ...

, the then-

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

, arrived in Gander unannounced before starting a 18-day tour of Canada. He was greeted by officials from the cathedral. Runcie's sermon at St. Martin's was his first major event of the tour. The interfaith memorial service for the 256

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

soldiers killed on

Arrow Air Flight 1285R Arrow Air Flight 1285R was an international charter flight carrying U.S. Army personnel from Cairo, Egypt, to their home base in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, via Cologne, West Germany, and Gander, Newfoundland. On the morning of Thursday, 12 Dece ...

was held in St. Martin's Pro-Cathedral on 15 December 1985, drawing between 600 and 900 people. A 25th anniversary memorial service was held at the cathedral in 2010. The diocese's first youth synod was held in 2003, including services at the cathedral.

Bruce Stavert Alexander Bruce Stavert (1 April 1940 – 11 September 2023) was a Canadian Anglican prelate. He served as bishop of Quebec (1990–2009) and as metropolitan of Canada (2004–2009). Born on 1 April 1940 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Stavert wa ...

, the Bishop of Quebec, was elected as the

metropolitan bishop In Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), is held by the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a Metropolis (reli ...

of the

Ecclesiastical Province of Canada The Ecclesiastical Province of Canada, founded in 1860, forms one of four ecclesiastical provinces in the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC). Despite modern use of the name ''Canada'', the ecclesiastical province covers only the former territory of Lo ...

in 2004 at St. Martin's. David Torraville, former rector of the parish in Gander and the cathedral, was elected as Bishop of Central Newfoundland in 2005. When

Claude Miller Claude Miller (20 February 1942 – 4 April 2012) was a French film director, producer and screenwriter. Life and career Claude Miller was born to a Jewish family. A student at Paris' IDHEC film school from 1962 through 1963, Miller had his f ...

, the Bishop of Central Newfoundland, became the Metropolitan of Canada in 2009, he signed his oath in St. Martin's. In 2016, the cathedral's rector John Watton was elected bishop of the Diocese of Central Newfoundland. The diocese credits Watton's rectorate with making St. Martin's among the fastest-growing Anglican parish communities in Canada.

References

20th-century Anglican church buildings in Canada Anglican cathedrals in Newfoundland and Labrador Anglican church buildings in Newfoundland and Labrador {{Canada-Anglican-church-stub