Holy Trinity Russo Orthodox Church (Old Wostok)
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Holy Trinity Russo Orthodox Church (Old Wostok)

On July 18, 1897 two priests sent to this area from Seattle celebrated the first Orthodox liturgy sung on Canadian soil for some 380 settlers who had gathered at a homestead across the road from this the original church “Wostok” church, about 1 mile north from the present church. A church and cemetery were completed…

Nativity of the Mother of God Ukrainian Catholic Church
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Nativity of the Mother of God Ukrainian Catholic Church

After a small chapel was built on this land in 1914, work on the present church began in 1918 and was completed eight years later in 1926. The full name of the church when it was incorporated was “Ruthenian Greek Catholic Parish of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Leeshore”. The church bell…

Holy Ascension Russo-Greek Orthodox Church (Skaro)
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Holy Ascension Russo-Greek Orthodox Church (Skaro)

Little did I know when I visited this church that this congregation “can be traced back to 1897–1898, making it one of the first Russo-Greek Orthodox parishes in Canada.” A modest log church was built on this land at that time and served until 1920. The logs from that church were saved and sawed into…

Exaltation of the Holy Cross Ukrainian Catholic Church (Skaro)
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Exaltation of the Holy Cross Ukrainian Catholic Church (Skaro)

The original church on this site, then called “Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church of Chesnoho Khresta at Skaro”, was built from 1900 to 1917 and was destroyed by fire in 1942. The present church was built in 1945. The bell tower, however, is the original built in 1920. This is a very impressive church, first because…

Roman Catholic Church of the Precious Blood
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Roman Catholic Church of the Precious Blood

A small church was built on this site in 1907 and then replaced by the current building, built in 1934-35. This makes it the oldest Polish parish in Alberta. Although the paint and the steeple need some work, it seems to me this building stands tall and proud. These days, mass and grave blessings are…

St. Demetro Ukrainian Catholic Church
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St. Demetro Ukrainian Catholic Church

The St. Demetro Ukrainian Catholic Church you see today is the third iteration of the church. In the past, it was nicknamed “The Farm” or alternately “Seniuk” in honour of nearby early homesteaders Peter and Apolonia Seniuk. (Source) The original church at this site, a small two-room structure, was built in 1903 for $380: $300…

Russo-Greek Orthodox Catholic Church of St. James
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Russo-Greek Orthodox Catholic Church of St. James

The local residents of Beaver Lake originally constructed St. Jacob’s Church (now known as St. James) in 1901-02. The church was renovated and placed on a concrete foundation in 1942 and is one of the oldest churches in Lamont County. (Source) If this church is one of the oldest in the county, you certainly wouldn’t…

St. Mary’s Church of Shishkovitzy
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St. Mary’s Church of Shishkovitzy

St. Mary’s Holy Dormition Russo-Greek Orthodox Catholic Church (Shishkovitzy) is located on Range Road 182, near Township Road 540,  13 km west and 2 km north of Mundare, AB. “Shishkovitzy” is front and center on the tasteful gate of the church entrance and is “derived from the village of Shyshkivtsi, Bukowina, in Western Ukraine, where…

“Spas Moskalyk”
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“Spas Moskalyk”

When I arrived in early August, 2017 at the “Spas Moskalyk” church, a short name for “Transfiguration of Our Lord Ukrainian Catholic Church”, I was greeted with a “No Trespassing” sign and padlocked gates. “Hmm, that’s different for a rural church”, I thought to myself. The church exterior is in a very “weathered” state with…