Celebrating 70th Anniversary of the Trinity College Chapel

Posted: October 31, 2025

To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Chapel, join us from November 18 to 20, 2025 for a Symposium (Sustaining Hope and Seeking Justice in Challenging Times), Faculty of Divinity Special Convocation, Conference (Sacred Space: Conflicts and Convergences) & Special Concert & Anniversary Choral Evensong, and Lecture (2025 Larkin Stuart Lecture with Professor Matthew J. Milliner).

Celebrating 70th anniversary of the Trinity College Chapel

Trinity College Chapel: For the first 30 years in the ‘new’ location on Hoskin Avenue, Trinity College’s chapel services were held in Seeley Hall, originally designed as the Library Reading Room. In 1953, work began on the present chapel; work was completed in 1955 and it was consecrated on November 20, 1955. The chapel was a gift to the College from businessman Gerald Larkin (1885-1961), who orchestrated the substantial contribution of Canadian artists to the decorative features of the building. Learn more about the history of the Trinity College Chapel.

The Fall 2005 issue of Trinity Magazine marked the 50th anniversary of the Trinity College Chapel – read the feature article by Toronto historian and writer Brad Faught: Sacred Space (PDF): Trinity College Chapel celebrates half a century as a place of refuge and reflection, awe and inspiration, solemnity and joy.

Symposium & Special Convocation

On Tuesday, November 18: join us for the first day of celebrations for the 70th anniversary of the Trinity College Chapel at a special multi-faith symposium on Sustaining Hope and Seeking Justice in Challenging Times.

The symposium features The Right Rev. Michael Curry, former Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church (2015-2024), and The Most Rev. Linda Nicholls, former Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada (2019-2024). The event will include a panel of other prominent leaders from the Jewish and Buddhist communities.

A Special Convocation Ceremony will follow it in Trinity College Chapel at which Bishop Michael Curry and Archbishop Linda Nicholls will be recognized for their leadership in the church by being awarded honorary doctoral degrees. Trinity College Faculty of Divinity has received special permission from the University of Toronto to allow Divinity students the opportunity to graduate from their programs during this ceremony. This event is a unique, one-time event that is being offered in addition to our regular convocation in May 2026.

These events are free and part of Trinity’s celebration of the 70th anniversary of the chapel: register here.

November 18, 2025:

1 pm to 3:45 pm: Symposium Sustaining Hope and Seeking Justice in Challenging Times, in Seeley Hall
5:30 pm to 6:30 pm: Faculty of Divinity Special Convocation, in the Trinity College Chapel, with music by the Trinity College Chapel Choir

Symposium & Special Convocation: Register

Archbishop Linda Nicholls and Bishop Michael Curry

Trinity College will confer an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Divinity (honoris causa) upon The Most Rev’d Linda Nicholls in recognition of her leadership of and significant contributions to the Anglican Church of Canada at the national level where she has served as the 14th Primate of Canada since 2019, the first woman to be elected Primate of Canada. In this role she has strongly supported and advanced the ongoing work of reconciliation between the church and Indigenous and Inuit peoples in Canada and has represented Canadian Anglicans at international gatherings of the Anglican Communion, where she has made substantial contributions to deepening ecumenical relations with other Christian churches.

Trinity College will confer an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Divinity (honoris causa) upon the Right Rev’d Michael Bruce Curry in recognition of his exemplary activity in issues of social justice, immigration policy, racism and policy brutality in the USA, for his promotion of church unity in many challenging contexts, and for his progressive and generous-spirited leadership, both within the USA and internationally in the Anglican Communion, one significant example of which being the “Reclaiming Jesus” manifesto he authored in 2018.

Conference | Sacred Space: Conflict and Convergences

On Wednesday, November 19 and Thursday, November 20: Trinity College is hosting an interdisciplinary conference on the theme Sacred Space: Conflicts and Convergences. Scholars and the wider Trinity College community will explore the multifaceted concept of sacred space and its role in contemporary society. The conference seeks to foster dialogue across disciplines and welcomes contributions from experts in architecture, music, history, religious studies, theology, environmental studies, and related fields. It will explore how sacred spaces are conceived, shaped, and contested, particularly within academic and urban contexts and in relationship to the natural environment and Indigenous communities. View the two-day Conference program here.

Sacred Space: Register

Music in the Trinity College Chapel on Wednesday, November 19 (free admission and all are welcome to attend):

5 pm: Trinity College Chapel Choir presents a concert to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the chapel. Music by Stanford, Holst, Victoria with a new work by Dylann Miller, commissioned for the concert
5:45 pm: Anniversary Choral Evensong. Music by Herbert Howells, Michael Tippett

Blueprints of the Trinity College Chapel [Source: Trinity College Archives]

2025 Larkin Stuart Lecture with Professor Matthew J. Milliner

The 202 5 Larkin Stuart Lecture will be delivered by art historian and author Matthew J. Milliner, Professor of Art History at Wheaton College on Wednesday, November 19 at 6:30 pm in Seeley Hall.

Larkin Stuart Lecture: Register

Deliberately upgrading the city’s famous nickname, “Toronto the Good,” this lecture Toronto the Holy: Disclosures of a Sacred City begins with a surprising architectural feature of Trinity College Chapel, moving on to address other Toronto objects and sacred sites. In this talk, Prof. Milliner will address how sacred space is not merely constructed, but still open to human perception. The annual Larkin-Stuart Lecture series, one of Trinity’s premier annual events, organized together with St. Thomas Church.

The Larkin Stuart Lecture is the keynote address at the Sacred Space: Conflict and Convergences conference.

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