The church was designed by Archbishop Vladyka Arseny and built by Russian and Ukrainian parishioners. Of the four remaining Russian Orthodox churches it was the largest, and perhaps the most attractive. Its unique features were its three domes of different shapes, sizes and heights, and the bell tower as part of the church.
The church was one of three major structures of the mission: the others being an orphanage and a monastery/seminary. Together with the seminary it was the place for celebrations that included street processions and pilgrimages.
After regular church services were discontinued in the mid 1980s, the church was cared for over several years by a volunteer. But after it was vandalised in 2003 the church’s demolition became a serious consideration.
However, a restoration project was initiated by Montreal-born Dorothy (Dot) Connelly, a new resident of Sifton, and Katya Szalasznyj of Saskatoon. Their efforts attracted wide support including from the Orthodox Church of Canada. Ultimately the restoration became part of the Manitoba Prairie Churches Project, a joint venture of the Thomas Sill Foundation, the J. M. Kaplan Fund (of New York) and the Manitoba Historic Resources Branch.
The annual summer service and pilgrimage were reinstated in 2004. The church received a visit and personal blessing from His Grace, Seraphim, Bishop of Ottawa and Archdiocese of Canada. The Bishop Arseny Archives in Saskatoon loaned valuable artifacts and publications for a museum in the church. By the summer of 2010 all major restoration – including the moving and replacing of the building onto a new foundation — had been completed.
On the night of Wednesday, September 8, 2010, the church and its contents were completely destroyed by a fire of unknown origin.
A Russian (Orthodox) cross now stands where the church once stood.
Photographed in 1987.
First published in Senior Scope, July, 2018.
Included in Testaments of Faith, Manitoba’s Pioneer Churches.