Methodist Rome

The Methodist Rome was a nickname sometimes given to the city of Toronto, Ontario in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The moniker implied that Toronto was as central to Canadian Methodism as Rome is to Catholicism.

Related Topics:
Nickname - Toronto - Ontario - Nineteenth - Twentieth - Canadian - Methodism - Rome - Catholicism

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Methodism was never the faith of the majority of Torontonians, yet it played a very important role in the city. In addition, Toronto had one of the largest (if not the largest) population of Methodists in the world. The strong Methodist influence greatly shaped the city's character. Toronto became known for being very puritanical with strict limits on the sale of alcohol and rigourously enforced the Lord's Day Act. Discrimination against Jews and Catholics was also common, with both groups being excluded from the financial and political elite.

Related Topics:
Alcohol - Lord's Day Act - Jew - Catholics

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The name began to fade in the early twentieth century, especially after the Methodist Church in Canada merged with Presbyterians and Congregationalists to form the United Church of Canada in 1925. An influx of immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe greatly altered the religious balance. The puritan Methodist heritage is still in evidence and Toronto continues to be known as "Toronto the Good."

Related Topics:
Presbyterians - Congregationalists - United Church of Canada - 1925

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~