1917: A Dark Year at a Glance

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1917 was a critical year in the Great War. Despite the optimism surrounding the entrance of America into the war, it was a dark year for the Entente Powers; in that year Russia collapsed, France and Britain were exhausted, and Germany triumphed (in the East). In the midst of the seemingly endless carnage, Canadians continued their support for the war effort. However, on the home front tensions were boiling over as the nation debated the merits of conscription. 

In the midst of all the uncertainty and unrest were the Canadian churches, which were trying to find a way forward that aided the nation's war effort, while also providing pastor care, physical and finance assistance for the needy, and hope for their congregants. 

What follows below are some images from a weekly Anglican periodical that provide glimpses of some of the issues through an Anglican lens. As you will see, the church took seriously its nation-building ethos, dealing with a host of issues in its pages. Of course, their discourse was shaped by early-twentieth century assumptions of race, empire, nation, religion, and so on.  

1917 was a dark year, but thankfully the efforts of over 600,000  Canadian soldiers (60,000 deaths and 150,000 injured) contributed to a victory in the following year. It was a sacrifice that we remember now and into the future.​