THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF SAINT PETER ANGLICAN CHURCH WOMEN - PAST AND PRESENT

The January 1968 issuye bof the "Living Message" published a feature eight-page article entitled "Prince Edward Island — The Garden of the Gulf", with Greetings from the Bishop of Nova Scotia, The Rt. Rev. W.W. Davis and the President of the Prince Edward Island Diocesan Board of Anglican Church Women, Margaret Whitfiside. She extended warmest thanks to her predecessor, ACW Past President,

Mr. James Simpson and Canon Simpson, Priest Incumbent of St. Peter's Cathedral 1887—1920, who compiled the material for the following article, with the able assistance of the President of the ACW Evening Branch, Helen (Shama) Callaghan. In the section describing

St. Peter's Cathedral, Mrs. Palmer wrote:

"The Women's Auxiliary was formed in Prince Edward Island before it began in Nova Scotia. In 1966 we celebrated the Seventieth Annual Meeting of the Women's Auxiliary and the First as Anglican Church Women. The first branch of the W.A. was formed in 1896 at St. Peter's Cathedral, Charlottetown -— the oldest branch in the

Maritimes.

In 1866, when the Bishop of Nova Scotia, Bishop Hibbert Binney visited Prince Edward Island, the only Anglican Church in Charlotte— town was St. Paul's. But, the congregation had outgrown the building

and it would either need to be enlarged, or a "Chapel—of—Ease"

could be built in the west end of the city. There were other reasons,£

however, which made the building of another church imperative, and one of these was the impact of the Oxford or Tractarian Movement,

so called because its aims were spread abroad by the use of Tracts teaching the authority of the Church in spiritual things, the value of the apostolic ministry and the use of traditional ceremonial. Bishop Binney decided that St., Peter's as the new church was called, should be consecrated as the Cathedral of the Province, thus making

it 'Extra—Parochial'. The Rev. George Wright Hodgson, Bishop Binney's:

Chaplain, was appointed its first Priest Incumbent in 1869.

Through the years, St. Peter's has been blessed with many beautiful gifts: vestments, altar frontals, jewelled chalices, stained glass windows, an illuminated missal, ikons, and other ornaments seldom found in our Canadian churches, not the least of these gifts has been our musicians, both present and past, and so the quality of music has been of a very high standard. One gift that any congrega— tion would be proud to have is All Souls' Chapel, built as an enduring monument to the memory of the first Priest Incumbent, the Rev. George Wright Hodgson. Begun in 1888, Canon Simpson, along with William Harris, the architect, and his brother, Robert Harris, the artist, were largely responsible for this little Chapel attached to the Cathedral. The simple exterior is of Island stone, the work of Island craftmen, as is also most of the carved woodwork within.

A gem of architecture,embbilighednwith fine carving in wood and stone and decorated with the splendid paintings of Robert Harris, C.M.G., at one time President of the Canadian Academy of Art. Soon after the completion of the building the first of the mural paintings, created by Mr. Harris, was set in place over the altar. When there was room for just two more paintings, these were completed and put in place, to be ijimemory of Mr. Harris and Canon Simpson, who was

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