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Welcome
The Anglican Church of St. John the Divine in Victoria, BC is a place where you can find quiet meditation, social activism, glorious music, fascinating learning and a warm home. Whether you are visiting Victoria, or looking for a church home that suits you, you are welcome to immerse yourself in everything that’s going on, or to be completely anonymous while you check us out.
Our hope is that each person here will have a chance to encounter the depth of God’s awesome reality, know the freedom and hope in Christ’s liberation, and be filled with energy and new life in the Spirit. We will never come to the end of that growth in life and knowledge, so the gift of your presence is an essential part of our knowing God.
Please be in touch. We’d love to meet you.
About our Parish
St. John’s is known as one of the most active and imaginative parishes in Canada. We are deeply committed to being a community engaged in spiritual exploration and social advocacy and activism.
Our spiritual life is rooted in worship, with variety in ways of exploring liturgy and prayer, ranging from the weekly Sunday 10am contemporary langauge Parish Eucharist, to the traditional, Book of Common Prayer (BCP), language of 8am Sunday Holy Communion and 4:30pm Choral Evensong, to the meditative and simple Eucharist taking place midweek, and daily prayer from a variety of traditions online Monday through Friday at noon. In all, close to 200 people attend worship each week in a variety of ways. In response to COVID-19 we have worked hard to connect through Social Media, livestreaming our Sunday 10am and 4:30pm Services, and our daily prayers. We also have the opportunity to engage with our Parish Eucharist through a 'Zoom Hybrid' service.
We encourage life-long learning and there are a variety of discussion groups, meeting weekly, engaging in book studies, or short courses devoted to particular themes or ideas. Preaching is an important part of our worshipping life and we seek to be engaging and thought-provoking and encourage compassionate response to our Scriptures and the world around.
St. John’s has a long tradition of responding to the world’s needs: support for the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund, signing letters for Amnesty International, volunteering at the weekly homeless youth shelter in our basement, supporting reconciliation with First Nations, operation of a food bank twice a week, supporting 2SLGBTQ+ refugees, advocating for full inclusion of LGBTQ people including equal marriage, active involvement in GVAT (Greater Victoria Acting Together for the Common Good), and many other ways in which St. John’s parishioners have served our local and global community.
We recognize the harm and damage done to the Indigenous peoples of these lands by colonization and the systems and structures still in place which continue to disadvantage and exclude the First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples of these lands. We are committed to learning and listening, to our own education, and to seeking ways to decolonize our hearts, minds, and church structures, in order that we might move forward into a new relationship with the original peoples of these lands.
The arts are also central to the life of St. John’s: we have two liturgical choirs, a strong choral tradition, one of the largest pipe organs on the West Coast of Canada, and provide scholarships for a student organist as well as for students of voice. We are also the home of the Victoria Baroque, and provide a venue for performances of all sorts.
Ministry with young, old, and everything in between is vital to our community. A full family ministry program for youth from nursery through young adult years provides opportunity for learning together, in the church and out in nature with our active and thoughtful approach to spirituality for all ages. We are an inclusive, affirming, and progressive community, and there continues to be a remarkable degree of close family feeling among the membership.