Ascension of Our Lord Parish – New Kiew

Ascension of Our Lord Parish in New Kiew began with the first settlers arriving in 1901, when the area was still called Warwick. The first Divine Liturgy was celebrated on July 7, 1903, by Fr. Platonid Filas in the home of Semen Kits, and regular services soon continued in the home of Nykola Yakimec until a small chapel of St. Nicholas was built in 1910. The parish church, measuring 53’ x 40’ with one dome, was built in 1918, blessed on May 16, 1920 by Bishop Nykyta Budka, and officially incorporated that same year as the Ruthenian Greek-Catholic Parish of Holy Ascension of Our Lord United with Rome of New Kiew, Alberta.

The parish had 4 acres for its cemetery and also built a National Hall in honour of Ivan Franko in 1929, about 200 meters from the church. The community faced hardship from the influence of the Seraphim movement, which weakened parish life for a time, but the work of Basilian missionary Fr. Naucratius Kryzanowsky helped strengthen the faith of the Ukrainian Catholic people again. The parish was founded by families including N. Yakimec, S. Busko, V. Steblyk, S. Cvihun, V. Fydyna, D. Marchak, D. Samoil, H. Cymbaliuk, I. Hryciw, H. Melnyk, K. Duk, O. Zuravel, I. Cymbaliuk, S. Hryciw, S. Kilyk, T. Semeniuk, H. Busko, A. Derleyko, M. Kilyk, T. Yaremko, A. Duk, V. Farion, and M. Krysak.