"The exigencies of a sabbatical leave have prevented me until now from commenting on recent correspondence in the 'Journal' of the Society. In the June [1973] it was suggested that Jacob Mountain of Quebec was unique in the possession of Royal Letters Patent creating him a Lord Bishop. The following issue [September 1973] contained a yet more dogmatic statement that 'The title Lord Bishop conferred on Francis Fulford and his successors was shared by no other Canadian Bishop except the Bishop of Quebec'. In the first place, Mountain and Fulford were not alone in their position of the title. The Letters Patent granted to George Hills, the first Bishop of British Columbia, January 12, 1859, contain the following statement: ... for ever hereafter called by the name or title of the "Lord Bishop of British Columbia',' I suspect that all Bishops appointed by Letters Patent were designated Lord Bishops. It would appear that in later instances the Bishop was incorporated as a legal entity by provincial legislation and that now specific reference was made to the title" (p. 98). "With the emergence and development of diocesan synods the legal powers formerly vested solely in the bishop were transferred to the Synod" (p. 99). "In the case of newer dioceses, e.g., Calgary, the synod rather than the Bishop was incorporated as the legal body .... The purpose of incorporation was to protest the ownership of real estate belonging to the diocese and it is not surprising that territorial and provincial legislatures were not concerned with the niceties of ecclesiastical titles. Certainly, however, such legislation did nothing to eliminate them. It may be assumed, therefore, that the title Lord Bishop was specifically conferred on bishops whose sees were created by Royal Letters Patent. It was intended to be assumed by all other bishops of the Church of England in Canada" (p. 99).
File consists of correspondence with various people at various archives and organizations to gather information about Jacob Mountain. Includes 4 photographs of Thwaite Church, Norfolk and reproductions of correspondence dated 1809.
File consists of correspondence with The University of Toronto Press Editorial Department regarding the publication of his book on Bishop Jacob Mountain.
"On Sunday, 3 July 1825, the Reverend Doctor John Strachan entered the pulpit of St. James Church in York, Upper Canada to deliver what became one of the most famous sermons in Canadian history. Earlier that week word had reached York that Jacob Mountain, first Anglican bishop of Quebec whose jurisdiction reached from the Gaspe to Sandwich, had died on 16 June at the age of seventy-six. In the tradition of 'nil nisi bonum', it was only proper that Strachan should eulogize his late diocesan, even though the two men had never been on close or friendly terms" (p. [179]). In his sermon "melding religion and loyalty" Strachan threw "down the gauntlet to the imperial government to save Canada from Yankeeism. Only his parishioners, however, heard his message, because this strong defence of Anglican establishment was not published or circulated immediately. The sermon went unnoticed by other Upper Canadians for at least half a year ... Strachan's barbs about ignorance, religious enthusiasm, and pro-American or anti-British sentiments may have been directed at any of several Upper Canadian denominations, but only the Methodists responded publicly after the sermon had been published at Kingston the following winter" (p. 181). "The real issue, however, remained church establishment -- Strachan's demand for more effective government support of the Church of England. Here Methodism took the lead in promoting voluntaryism or complete separation of church and state as a Canadian ideal. Strachan's statements opened fully the Clergy Reserves controversy that was to bedevil Canadian religious and political life for the next thirty years. His criticism of sectarianism also led to the founding in 1829 of the 'Christian Guardian', the official voice of Upper Canadian Methodism and the most influential newspaper in the province until George Brown's 'Globe'. In succeeding years, the 'Christian Guardian' and the Methodist Conference spoke for most dissenters when they denounced church establishment as un-Canadian and unchristian" (p. 182). As well, however, Strachan was also motivated to publish his sermon out of a desire to respond to the ecclesiastical manoeuvrings of George Jehoshaphat Mountain. "Church of England politics and personalities, not Americanizing Methodists, were John Strachan's concern when he published his challenging sermon on the death of Bishop Jacob Mountain" (p. 185).
File consists of a Mountain family correspondence. Includes Jehoshaphat Mountain, Salter Jehoshaphat Mountain, Jacob Mountain, Mary Mountain, George Jehoshaphat Mountain, Harriett Mountain, Jacob Jehoshaphat Salter Mountain, Anne Gipen, Mary Anne Mountain, Armine Wale Mountain, Edward Gilpin, etc.