The name Shishkovitzi is derived from the village of Shyshkivtsi, Bukowina, in Western Ukraine, where some of the founders of this church emigrated from at the end of the 19th century. In 1903 local settlers arranged for forty acres of land to be set aside by the Hrehirczuk homestead in preparation for the construction of a church. Logs were cut the following year and volunteers began working on the sanctuary in 1905. Shingles for the roof were obtained from a Chipman grocery store in exchange for eggs supplied by members of the congregation.
After the Second World War it became increasingly obvious that the original church was inadequate for the needs of the community. In 1953 a fundraising campaign was inaugurated, and a new sanctuary was finally completed on the church property a decade later.
In 1965, the first Shishkovitzi church was relocated to the Shandro Historical Museum and Village on Secondary Highway 857, north of Willingdon. The cross from the dome was kept as a memorial and placed as a marker on the site of the original church. Andrew Firchuk built the iconostasis in the new church, which preserved the chandelier from the first St. Mary’s and many of its treasures brought over from the Old Country, including the chalice, the cross on the altar table and an icon depicting the Grave of the Blessed Virgin.
Among the unmarked graves in the cemetery adjacent to the church is that of pioneer Stefan Diduch (1839–1911), whose immigration to Canada in 1899 helped to inspire a famous short story entitled “The Stone Cross,” by the renowned Ukrainian author, Vasyl Stefanyk.
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GPS Co-ordinates: 53.620809, -112.558324
Affiliation: Patriarchial Parishes of Russian Orthodox Church in Canada
St. Mary’s Russo-Greek Orthodox Catholic Church – Shishkovitzi, AB
This sanctuary is often referred to as the “Serediak” Church, since there were several Serediak families living in the area when the district was first homesteaded by immigrants from Bukowina, in Western Ukraine. After forming a congregation, local residents acquired ten acres of land eight miles north and one mile east of present day Mundare, where they constructed a place of worship in 1905.
Sometime in 1919–1920 this pioneer era sanctuary was struck by lightning and burned to the ground, after which a larger church was erected on the same site in 1923. This second sanctuary served the St. Demetrius congregation until 1967, when it too was destroyed by fire. The parishioners, inspired by their deep faith, once again rose to the occasion to rebuild the church. By 1968, the church was completed in its present form. The original bell tower, housing two bells, still stands on the site.
In spite of the tragic losses due to fires, the parish functions to the present day celebrating the Liturgical Services as well as providing facilities for baptisms, marriages, funeral and memorial services.
In 2005 parish celebrated 100th Anniversary.
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GPS Co-ordinates: 53.715240, -112.310517
Affiliation: Patriarchial Parishes of Russian Orthodox Church in Canada
St. Demitrius Russo Orthodox Church – Serediaki, AB
Inthe first years of 1900, a group of pioneers, who had homesteaded in the Redwater area and who originally had come from Galitcia and Bukovina, Austria, felt the need of having a church and a cemetery on their own.
In 1906, Alexander Sawka, Peter Lakusta and Hryhorie Kostiuk started the planning of establishing a church. They were joined by Mike Wintoniak. In 1910 a membership drive was started and a building committee was elected. In 1911 the members started to build a log church, which was completed the following year. The cemetery was also established on the same site. The parish was incorporated with the Registrar under the Societies Act of Alberta in 1929.
In 1930 a church bell was imported from Europe, and the following year a temporary belfry was built and closed in.
However, the original building was becoming crowded. The members decided to build a new larger church. It took several years of planning and fund–raising. In the spring of 1944, the construction of the new church was started. In 1945 the building was stuccoed. While the church was being built, the church supplies and materials were stored in the belfry. Unfortunately, the belfry was struck by lightning, and the supplies, bell and the belfry itself were completely destroyed by the fire that followed.
A parish hall was built 1 mile south of the church. Picnics and concerts were held regularly there. A choir director was hired, and the youth and parishioners were involved in the choir and other cultural activities such as drama. A residence was built by the hall for a resident priest.
In 1986 a professional painter was hired to paint the interior of the church. In 1987 the old fence was replaced with a new fencing.
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GPS Co-ordinates: 53.963885, -113.176544
Affiliation: Patriarchial Parishes of Russian Orthodox Church in Canada
St. Peter and Paul Russo Orthodox Church – Redwater, AB
During the winter of 1896–1897, settlers in the recently established Star colony began meeting to discuss the need to obtain a priest. A farmer named Anton Sawka was urged by some of his neighbours to write to the bishop overseeing the Russian Orthodox Mission in San Francisco with a request that he provide pastoral care for the young immigrant community. In response to this petition, two Russian Orthodox clerics were dispatched to the settlement from Seattle the following summer – Reverend Dimitri Kamnev and Deacon Vladimir Alexandroff.
On July 18, 1897, they celebrated the first Orthodox liturgy sung on Canadian soil for some 380 settlers who gathered at the homestead of Theodore Nemirsky. The location was opposite the site of the present Holy Trinity Russo Orthodox Church. A stand of trees still marks the spot in the field where the historic service was held. Inspired and encouraged by a follow-up visit made the next spring by the same missionaries, a group of settlers north-east of Star secured a forty-acre land grant at the location of the present Holy Trinity church. In 1899 they completed a log sanctuary and set aside space for a cemetery. This was the foundation of the first Orthodox Church in Canada. That same year this district became known as Wostok, after the Old Church Slavonic word for “east”, Vostok. Tragically, the first Wostok Church caught fire following a memorial service in 1907 and was completely destroyed.
As the structure was insured the congregation was able to rebound quickly from their loss. However, a decision was made to build the replacement church approximately one mile south of the original place of worship, much to the chagrin of some members of the congregation. Nevertheless, everyone united behind the effort to build the new church, which was larger and more impressive than its humble predecessor. This second Holy Trinity Church served the Wostok community until 1932, when it too was consumed by fire.
Now in the Great Depression years, it took longer for the congregation to recover from the blow of losing their church. The Orthodox faithful of the area (which in 1928 became known as “Old Wostok” after the relocation of local businesses further east, on the new rail-way line) gradually rallied to the difficult task at hand, and in 1938 resolved to rebuild their church on the site of the original sanctuary, where it today serves as a memorial to the founders of the congregation.
See HERE for more information and detailed history of this parish.
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Visit this Cemetery
GPS Co-ordinates: 53.850151, -112.578245
Affiliation: Patriarchial Parishes of Russian Orthodox Church in Canada
