First Church of Christ, Scientist

About

The First Church of Christ, Scientist is the oldest Christian Science congregation in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 196 St. George Street in The Annex neighbourhood, just north of the University of Toronto.

It maintains a Reading Room at 927 Yonge Street north of Bloor Street. The church is a branch of The First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The congregation was founded in Toronto in September 1889, soon after the first Christian Science services in Canada were held informally in a private home in the city.

The group referred to itself as Church of Christ, Scientist until December 1893, when it became First Church of Christ, Scientist, to distinguish itself from another congregation which had also begun to meet in Toronto. After meeting in a series of private homes from December 1888 though October 1889, the congregation rented a series of halls including Orange Hall near Euclid Avenue and College Street for their services. After September 1890, the group's size required a move to larger quarters at College Street and Brunswick Avenue.

It was at that location that the group was first formally identified as a church. In 1896 the congregation...