Christ Church, Tyendinaga, is a church with a particular honour--it is one of six Chapels Royal that exist outside the United Kingdom, and is, to our knowledge, the only one that functions as a parish church with regular services throughout the year.

When the Mohawks, who were loyal to the Crown, left New York State in the midst of the Revolutionary War, they travelled north to Canada.  Settling for a brief time in Lachine, Quebec, they eventually settled in Tyendinaga and along the Grand River in Southern Ontario.  The Tyendinaga Mohawks, under the leadership of Captain John Deserontyon and others, arrived here on 22 May 1784.  They founded a church, St George's, just north of the landing site.  Eventually, the original log church was replaced by a stone church, Christ Church, in 1843, which was located at the crest of the hill north-west of the original church.  Today, the Cairn commemorates the landing site and give a general indication of the location of the original church.

Since the Mohawk church at Fort Hunter had been called "Queen Anne's Chapel" there was a sense that the Mohawk church was closely tied to the Crown.  Although the foundation here was not formally a Chapel Royal in the sense that it is today, since it was a congregation of the Church of England in Canada (and latterly, the Anglican Church of Canada) and because the Mohawks were the earliest group of Loyalists to settle in Upper Canada (now Ontario), it is easy to see why the church acquired this special status.  Over the years, the Incumbent of Christ Church has generally been appointed as "Chaplain to the Mohawks" and at times has had a ceremonial role in the community, for example, as the leader of prayers at the inauguration of a new Band Council.

To commemorate the special relationship between Christ Church, the Mohawk people, and the Crown, there are a number of royal gifts that have been given over the years.  These include:  a footed paten, chalice and flagon given by Queen Anne in 1711; a bell, the triptych (consisting of the Apostles' Creed, the Ten Commandments, and the Lord's Prayer in the Mohawk language), and the original royal coat of arms (destroyed by fire in 1905) given by King George III in 1798; the Bible given by Queen Victoria in 1842; the current royal arms given by King George V, and the Bicentennial Chalice given by Queen Elizabeth II in 1984.

Royal Gifts (L-R; click on pictures to see larger version)
Queen Anne Silver Communion Service with Queen Elizabeth II Bicentennial Chalice, Triptych, Bible, Royal Arms

In 2004, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II elevated Christ Church to the status of a Chapel Royal.  Although it enjoys this honourable status, it is not a Chapel Royal under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of London and Dean of HM Chapels Royal, but is under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Ontario in whose diocese it resides.

In August 2007, the Bishop of London presented Christ Church, Her Majesty's Chapel Royal of the Mohawks, with the Order of St Mellitus, an honour of the Diocese of London, in commemoration of the upcoming three-hundredth anniversary of the visit of the four chiefs ("kings") to the Court of Queen Anne at St James's Palace.  To read more about the occasion of the presentation of the Order, please click on the button.