St. MICHAEL – St . NICHOLAS Parish – Парафія св. о. Миколая
Location: Lot 35, Bl. 55, Pl. 18. The church has 40 acres of land (25 acres are farm land) and is 6.5 km. south-east from the town of St. Michael. The first settlers arrived in 1896 (I. Danchuk, I. IUrkiv, IU. Khomliak and L. Protsinskyi families) from Brody and Chortkiv Region of Western Ukraine. Most of the parishioners were living some miles away in Wostok. Between 1897 and 1901 another 19 families arrived from Ukraine. Fr. Nestor Dmytriw, the first Ukrainian Catholic priest in Canada, arrived from the United States in 1896. In 1898 with the support of Fr. Paul Tymkewych the community decided to buy 10 acres of land ($10.00) for their church. Fr. Tymkewych, after incorporating the land for the future Parish, left for the United States. Starting in 1900 Fr. Ivan Zaklynskyi looked after the spiritual needs of the Parish. He stayed in homes of I. Danchuk, V. Hryniv and Sobko Andrukhiv. There was one more Eparchial clergy, Fr. Basil Zholdak, who created a membership list of the faithful and then went back to Ukraine. From the proud beginnings of the Ukrainian Catholic community in Canada, we see from some memoires how some elements were trying to hurt our faithful: “In those times several agents of Russia were infiltrating our people. Many times dressed in black cassocks and long beards and hair, they were disseminating Russian imperialism under the cover of orthodoxy. There was a batiushka (priest) M. Korchynskyi who started his church in Wostok. He was supported by Fr. Krokhmalnyi, a suspended Ukrainian Catholic priest, who purposely was disorienting the faithful. Some of our parishioners, disoriented by these agents, tried to get this Orthodox priest into our community. Here started the dark page of our history. Confrontations, frictions and court battles ended in 1918. Finally in those days a chapel was built in Wostok to shelter the altar from wind and sun. Later a residence was built, and the parishioners started to collect the building materials for their first church”.
First church building – In 1903 Fr. Anthony Strotsky, OSBM, started to visit the faithful in the Wostok district and under his initiative the faithful collected the necessary material to build their first church (20’ x 26’) and residence in 1904. From 1903 Fr. Josaphat Tymochko, OSBM, consecrated the church in 1904, and he was followed by Fathers Athanasius Filipiw, Naucratiius Kryzanowsky and Sozont Dydyk. In 1910 the parishioners welcomed our highest Church leader from Ukraine, Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky of Lviv. The overnight stay was provided by Mr. I. Starko. The head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church realized at once the destructive work of the Russian “batiushky” (clergy), whose purpose was not to build the religious life but to destroy it. The churches at that time were incorporated not as part of a religious entity, i.e. the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, but their ownership was given to the trustees. The Russian emissaries were trying to influence the trustees of the churches. Having their support they were transferring the ownership of our churches to their jurisdictions. Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, a holy man, realized that the sacrifices of our faithful were enormous. He asked the priests and the faithful to secure the property by incorporating it under the Catholic chapter. Bishop Nykyta Budka paid a visit to the Parish in 1914 having the Divine Liturgy at Anton Sloboda’s house. For seven years Fr. Naucratius Kryzanowsky celebrated the Divine liturgy in the house of Mr. A. Sloboda, until the church was incorporated under the Catholic chapter.
New church building – This was the first red brick church in Northern Alberta. K. Sheremeta was the building contractor. The building costs were $11,000.00. The architectural structure was a copy of a typical Ukrainian church in Ukraine. The church is looked after very well. Fr. George Zydan, OSBM, was supportive in building the National Hall (Narodnyi Dim) and establishing the Fr. Markian Shashkevych Society. Thanks to the efforts of Fr. Neil Savaryn the church was painted on the inside, a bell tower was built, and a new organization of the Ukrainian Catholic Brotherhood (UCBC) was established. The consecration of the church was planned for May 24, 1925 but the weather did not permit it. On October 25, 1925 the church was consecrated. On July 10, 1932 and on May 25, 1941 the parish was visited by the Bishop of the Ukrainian Catholics in Canada. Among many outstanding families in the parish one parishioner should be remembered here. Petro Paltsat who discovered that a counterfeit rubber stamp was being used on behalf of the Russian Orthodox Church to forge the documents and who presented the court with substantial evidence in that matter. Thanks to his sharp mind justice to the Ukrainian faithful was recognized in 1918. The Parish has its own cemetery (2 acres) close to the church. The whole community, through many years of turbulence in the past, preserved its identity as an outstanding Parish community in the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Canada.
There have been religious vocations from the parish: Four Basilian Fathers: Boniface Sloboda, Damian Weleshchuk, Ignatius Holowaychuk and Anthony Holowaychuk; two Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate: Sr. Zoya Frances Yurkiw and Sr. Boniface Julia Sloboda.
The following Basilian Fathers served the Parish: Anthony Strotsky, Josaphat Tymochko, Athanasius Filipiw, Naucratius Kryzanowsky, Sozont Dydyk, Basil Ladyka, Sophron Diakowich, George Zydan, Paul Olinsky, Neil Savaryn and Ignatius Lesiuk.
From 1950 to 1982 Fr. Eugene Dmytruk served the Parish. Fr. Dmytruk arrived from Germany, where he escaped at the end of World War II with his wife Neonila, their sons and daughter.
The present pastor is Fr. John Sembrat, OSBM.
