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The Lac La Biche area was originally visited by Ukrainian Orthodox priests in the early 1930s, among them Fr. Semen Sawchuk in August of 1939. A few services were also held in Lac La Biche itself during the 1940s at the local Anglican Church. It was rented for the sum of $8 to host a Divine Liturgy celebrated by Fr. H. Wasyliw on 2 September 1951. It was then that the idea of building a church in town probably first took root.
A major role in mobilizing the Lac La Biche Orthodox community was played by the establishment of a branch of the Ukrainian Women’s Association on the initiative of Alice Gordichuk (who was originally from Willingdon) on 13 October 1951. On 2 March of the following year, the loosely constituted congregation elected a founding executive comprised of William Gordichuk, Fred Warawa, and Eli Tkachuk. Subsequently they began recruiting additional members to join the fledgling parish, formed originally by ten families.
These early efforts received a significant boost with the assignment of Fr. Petro Zubrytsky to serve north central Alberta in the 1952. It was decided that he would make his home in Lac La Biche, while also tending the parishes of Craigend, Boyle, Noral, Sarrail and Wandering River. Although initially it was planned to make Boyle the pastoral base for the region, at a meeting held in Lac La Biche on 3 August 1952, a resolution was passed in favour of the latter because it was better situated and unlike Boyle had a water system. A house on two acres of land was then acquired for use as a manse for $1900. Three years later it was decided to sell the house because it was poorly insulated and expensive to maintain. A second, more appropriate house was purchased afterwards by the Lac La Biche Parish District that had been created in 1952. It was used as the manse until 1986.
In 1954 Fr. Zubrytsky celebrated 11 services at the Lac La Biche Anglican Church. The congregation did not yet have its own place of worship, even though a committee had been struck in March of the previous year to find a suitable and affordable lot for a sanctuary. A piece of land was finally purchased in early 1955 for $1,200 from a man named T. Cummings. A sod-turning ceremony took place at the site on 9 June. Construction work began soon after with the excavation of a full basement. Meanwhile, at a meeting held on 7 April the congregation voted to become incorporated under the charter of the UGOC. It was officially granted admission three weeks later. The congregation registered itself as being dedicated to St. Andrew, whose feast day is commemorated on 13 December.
Fr. Zubrytsky was able to celebrate the first liturgy in the partially built church in late November of 1955. It was used again for a funeral on 2 December. Fir veneer, poplar plywood, and sky-blue paint for the ceiling were then purchased in February 1957 to finish the interior and choir loft. By the following year St. Andrew’s church was essentially completed inside and out. By this time, the congregation was celebrating monthly liturgies and consisted of some 20 families, but only a dozen of these actually paid memberships.
The furnished and decorated church was then consecrated by Archbishop Andrew at a hierarchical Divine Liturgy celebrated on 9 June 1963. This was exactly eight years from the day of the sod-turning ceremony. Four priests took part in the service, along with St. John’s Cathedral choir from Edmonton. Lunch and a program followed at the old Town Hall. By then, the church had adopted a new name, as earlier that year, on 2 January, the congregation voted to ask that Metropolitan Ilarion allow the church to be rededicated as All Saints.
Over time All Saints, along with most other rural congregations, were beginning to experience the effects of an aging and declining membership. Also, there was a concomitant reduction in those who were fluent in the Ukrainian language. In 1994, All Saints reported having a total of 27 members, comprised of 11 families and 5 individuals. By this time, only the Women’s Association maintained an active existence, though the faithful members of the congregation continued to support and look after their place of worship.
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GPS Co-ordinates: 54.152538, -113.840362
Cemetery GPS: 54.15168, -113.99616
Affiliation: Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada
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