APPLICATION FOR HERITAGE DESIGNATION

Stained Glass Windows 

The stained glass windows within the church were created by artist Ernestine Tahedl. The stained glass windows that adorn the north and south sides of the church represent the artist’s conception of the theme “Fruits of the Spirit”. “Parallel to the religious theme, the design should be seen as a celebration of Estonian heritage inspired by their weaving of both colours and simplicity of design. The windows can be viewed
as a woven belt encircling the congregation in their place of worship.

The close relationship of Estonians with nature is reflected in the colour harmonies of the four seasons - north windows,
Spring and Summer; south windows, early Spring, Winter and Autumn (Stained glass…, 1990).”

“Ernestine Tahedl was born and educated in Austria and received a Master’s Degree in graphic art from the Vienna Academy of Applied Arts. Following graduation in 1961, she collaborated with her father, Professor Heinrich Tahedl, in the design and execution of stained glass commissions until she immigrated to Canada in 1963.

Her work is represented in public, corporate and private collections and galleries in Canada, United States, France, Switzerland, Austria, and Japan.  Her awards include the Graduation Prize of the Austrian Government 1961, the Bronze Medal of the Vienna International Exhibition of Paintings 1963, the Allied Arts Medal of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada 1966, and a Purchase Award, Concourse Artistique du Quebec 1966. In 1967 she received a Canada Council Arts Award, in 1999 the Mayor’s Prize at Kyoto ’99, Kyoto, Japan, and in 2000 the Kobe Sun Prize at Flora Art 2000 at Awaji Island, Hyogo, Japan.  She was elected a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1977 and of the Ontario
Society of Artists 1984. She received the Governor General’s Canada 125th Anniversary Medal in 1993. She was the recipient of the Arts and Letters Award from the Arts and Letters Club of Toronto in 2000, the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002 and the “In Celebration of Women” Long-term Achievement Award, Arts, in 2004. She was invited to participate in the Biennale Internazionale dell’Arte Contemporanea, Florence, Italy in 2003. She received the President’s
Medal of the Ontario Society of Artists in 2006. The Varley Art Gallery of Markham organized and presented a Retrospective 1946-2006, curated by Katerina Atanassova, Curator, Varley Art Gallery of Markham, in 2006 (Tahedl biography, 2020).”

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Heritage Qualifications 

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It is the opinion of the applicants, that the Church qualifies as a historic building within the definition of the Ontario Heritage Act, Ontario Regulation 9/06 (the Act) -

The church building property has design value or physical value because it:

• is a rare, unique, representative or early example of style, type, expression, material or construction method (Act 1, i)

• displays a high degree of craftsmanship or artistic merit. (Act 1, ii)

• has direct associations with events significant to a community (Act 2, i)

• yields, or has the potential to yield, information that contributes to an understanding of a community or culture (Act 2, ii)

• demonstrates or reflects the work or ideas of an architect, builder, designer who is significant to a community (Act 2 iii)

The property could also be considered important in defining the character of an area (Act 3, i), is physical linked to its surroundings (Act 3, ii), and is a landmark (Act 3, iii).
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