St Bartholomew's Episcopal Mission Church was founded in 1873 as a mission of All Saints, Sherbourne Street.
The architect was Walter Reginald Strickland.
St Bartholomew's Church stood until 1910 at the end of Beech Street (now Dundas Street East) on the east side of River Street.
The parish of St Matthew's, Riverdale, in its turn, began life as a mission of St Bartholomew's in 1874.
A second mission church, St Augustine's, was established on the corner of Spruce and Parliament streets in Cabbagetown in 1888.
It became an independent parish in 1905 and was destroyed by fire in 1931.

In 1910, the parish church was moved to its present location at the corner of Dundas and Regent streets to make way for the Dundas Street bridge.
The structure was pulled west by a team of horses to Parliament Street.
While numbers and finances declined just before and during the First World War, two lay guilds, the St Bartholomew's Association (a parish society for the advancement of the spiritual life) and a chapter of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, appear to have flourished.

Unlike certain other Toronto parishes of the same era, such as St. Mary Magdalene's, St Thomas's, Huron Street, and St. Matthias, Bellwoods, St Bart's was not an Anglo-Catholic foundation.
The first Anglo-Catholic rector of St Bartholomew's was Charles Fredrick Pashler.
A veteran of the First World War, who had been severely wounded at Monchy in August 1918, Pashler was influenced not only by the Tractarian and Ritualist movements of the Church of England, but also by the simple Roman Catholic piety he had witnessed in rural France: "the kindliness and unaffected piety of the people, the natural practice of their religion, the soutane-clad figures of their pastors in the village streets and country lanes" were all to have their influence on his ministry.
Pashler was "unique among Toronto priests" of his generation "inasmuch as he always and everywhere wore his cassock, in and out of season" (a common practice on the Continent and in Anglo-Catholic parishes in England at the time).

In the face of some opposition, especially from members of the nearby Jarvis Street Baptist Church, Pashler was able to introduce weekly, and very soon daily, celebrations, early on in his incumbency.
The use of eucharistic vestments, altar candles, and incense were all soon to follow.
Pashler's Anglo-Catholic principles were both simple and clear:
We do not think of ourselves as a foreign, alien group on the edge of Anglicanism, but as believing, teaching, and doing those things which the Church herself intends.
We do not believe that Roman Catholics are the only Catholics, but that Anglicans are Catholics too.
From that, all those things which puzzle some people – the beauty of our worship, our teaching about the seven sacraments, our love and reverence for our Lord's Mother and the Saints – all these stem from our conviction that when in the creeds we assert our belief in the Catholic Church, our prayer book means exactly what it says.

Pashler died suddenly in 1959.
The love of his people for him can be gauged by the City of Toronto's renaming of the street on which the Clergy House stood as 'Pashler Avenue'.
Celebrants from other Anglo-Catholic parishes and Trinity College, Toronto, ensured that the daily Mass continued until his successor was appointed.

In the fall of 1959, Donald F. Bellway, who had been an assistant priest at St James, Vancouver, arrived as the new rector.
The years of his incumbency were dominated by the emerging social problems of the newly built Regent Park public housing project.
A series of consultations took place to investigate the possibility of whether the Anglican Diocese, the parish, other Christian denominations, and secular groups might co-operate in finding solutions.
Bellway was the prime mover in these discussions, which paved the way for much church and community co-operation for the next quarter of a century.

Bellway was succeeded, in 1977, by Robert Greene.
A former tank gunner of the Italian Campaign, whose great heroes were the Ritualist slum pries
St Bartholomew's Episcopal Mission Church was founded in 1873 as a mission of All Saints, Sherbourne Street. The architect was Walter Reginald Strickland. St Bartholomew's Church stood until 1910 at the end of Beech Street (now Dundas Street East) on the east side of River Street. The parish of St Matthew's, Riverdale, in its turn, began life as a mission of St Bartholomew's in 1874. A second mission church, St Augustine's, was established on the corner of Spruce and Parliament streets in Cabbagetown in 1888. It became an independent parish in 1905 and was destroyed by fire in 1931.
In 1910, the parish church was moved to its present location at the corner of Dundas and Regent streets to make way for the Dundas Street bridge. The structure was pulled west by a team of horses to Parliament Street. While numbers and finances declined just before and during the First World War, two lay guilds, the St Bartholomew's Association (a parish society for the advancement of the spiritual life) and a chapter of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, appear to have flourished.
Unlike certain other Toronto parishes of the same era, such as St. Mary Magdalene's, St Thomas's, Huron Street, and St. Matthias, Bellwoods, St Bart's was not an Anglo-Catholic foundation. The first Anglo-Catholic rector of St Bartholomew's was Charles Fredrick Pashler. A veteran of the First World War, who had been severely wounded at Monchy in August 1918, Pashler was influenced not only by the Tractarian and Ritualist movements of the Church of England, but also by the simple Roman Catholic piety he had witnessed in rural France: "the kindliness and unaffected piety of the people, the natural practice of their religion, the soutane-clad figures of their pastors in the village streets and country lanes" were all to have their influence on his ministry. Pashler was "unique among Toronto priests" of his generation "inasmuch as he always and everywhere wore his cassock, in and out of season" (a common practice on the Continent and in Anglo-Catholic parishes in England at the time).
In the face of some opposition, especially from members of the nearby Jarvis Street Baptist Church, Pashler was able to introduce weekly, and very soon daily, celebrations, early on in his incumbency. The use of eucharistic vestments, altar candles, and incense were all soon to follow. Pashler's Anglo-Catholic principles were both simple and clear:
We do not think of ourselves as a foreign, alien group on the edge of Anglicanism, but as believing, teaching, and doing those things which the Church herself intends. We do not believe that Roman Catholics are the only Catholics, but that Anglicans are Catholics too. From that, all those things which puzzle some people – the beauty of our worship, our teaching about the seven sacraments, our love and reverence for our Lord's Mother and the Saints – all these stem from our conviction that when in the creeds we assert our belief in the Catholic Church, our prayer book means exactly what it says.
Pashler died suddenly in 1959. The love of his people for him can be gauged by the City of Toronto's renaming of the street on which the Clergy House stood as 'Pashler Avenue'. Celebrants from other Anglo-Catholic parishes and Trinity College, Toronto, ensured that the daily Mass continued until his successor was appointed.
In the fall of 1959, Donald F. Bellway, who had been an assistant priest at St James, Vancouver, arrived as the new rector. The years of his incumbency were dominated by the emerging social problems of the newly built Regent Park public housing project. A series of consultations took place to investigate the possibility of whether the Anglican Diocese, the parish, other Christian denominations, and secular groups might co-operate in finding solutions. Bellway was the prime mover in these discussions, which paved the way for much church and community co-operation for the next quarter of a century.
Bellway was succeeded, in 1977, by Robert Greene. A former tank gunner of the Italian Campaign, whose great heroes were the Ritualist slum pries
St. Bartholomew's Anglican Church (Toronto)