Fonds 012 - Diocese of Nova Scotia Provincial Synod Records

• Textual record

approx.10 cm of textual records

The Diocese of Nova Scotia Provincial Synod archives are part of the backlog of records held by St. Peter's Cathedral Church, which were relocated from the church bell tower to the church basement and then into a purpose-built archival room. The records had been stored in boxes and bags at one point and original order was lost. Some additional records were located in backlogged files transferred to the Archives as part of the federal government funded project to arrange and describe the Church's archival holdings in 2018-2020. It is assumed that the Diocesan records found their way into St. Peter's because the people involved with managing the files may have been parishioners and/or officials of the Church and may have stored files in Church offices over the years.

The six files contain documentation as described below:

File 1: Diocesan Council for Social Service, 1936-1941: Official file of documents related to social service activities, with categories as identified in a cover page as: child welfare, constitution, credit unions, housing, insanity, jails, library, mother’s allowances, relief work, unemployment insurance, and Victorian Order. Includes brochures, pamphlets, correspondence, acts and bylaws, and reports. Includes a report of the Halifax Citizens Housing Committee and A. G. Dalzell on housing issues in Halifax (n.d.); reports on jails in Nova Scotia, referencing the Anglican Social Service Commission in P. E. Island (ca. 1933, 1936); memos on liquor laws (ca. 1939); a report on public health (ca. 1936); reports on nursing services in Prince Edward Island (ca. 1936); and Bulletins of the Council for Social Service, Church of England in Canada (ca. 1937-1941).

File 2: Provincial Synod Correspondence and Documents, 1995-1967, N.D.: Various documents, including correspondence, reports, minutes, and printed papers, related to a range of synod issues, including use of the Book of Common Prayer, changes to Canon Law, and various matters of synod business. The file seems to have been created and used primarily by H. L. Palmer, who is identified in correspondence as Judge of the Probate Court in Prince Edward Island and Chancellor of the Diocese of Nova Scotia between the 1950s and 1970s. Details of his positions and tenure are not confirmed.

File 3: Diocese of Nova Scotia Correspondence and Documents, 1961-1972: Various documents, including correspondence, reports, minutes, and printed papers, related to a range of diocesan issues, including acts and bylaws, and revisions to constitutions and canon laws and parish bylaws. Also includes correspondence between Harold L. Palmer and Bishop George Arnold about the Canon Allan P. Shatford Memorial Fund, from the 1970s. The file seems to have been created and used primarily by H. L. Palmer, who is identified in correspondence as Judge of the Probate Court in Prince Edward Island and Chancellor of the Diocese of Nova Scotia between the 1950s and 1970s. Details of his positions and tenure are not confirmed.

File 4: "The Clergy and Staff of the Diocese of Nova Scotia 1989": Printed and bound directory of clergy and staff, 8 double-sided pages, including photographs of clergy and staff and names and addresses.

File 5: Diocese of Nova Scotia and Provincial Synod Documents, 1994-1995: Various documents related to diocesan issues, such as stipend scales, and Synod NEWSlink reports circulated via email from the mid 1990s.

File 6: The Diocesan Times newsletter, December 1946, vol. 1, no. 12, 39 pp., published in Truro, Nova Scotia. Addressed to Mr. H. H. Simpson, 12 Water Street.