St. Nicholas Parish – Buchach

St. Nicholas Parish in Buchach was founded by Ukrainian settlers in the Innisfree area and began with services in the private home of Vasyl Hlus. The first church was built in 1911 after Petro Hlus advanced the idea in 1910, and the parish became known locally as “the Church at Hlus’” because of its early connection to the Hlus family. The original church was later donated in 1971 to the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village on Highway 16, preserving it as part of Alberta’s Ukrainian heritage.

A new church was discussed in the 1950s, and by 1958 the basement had been excavated; Bishop Neil Savaryn blessed the cornerstone on August 2, 1959. The parish had 55 families in 1957 and about 32 families, or 80 people, in 1972. The community also had three cemeteries, including one blessed in 1910 by Fr. Naucratius Kryzanowsky, and its history reflects both strong faith and the difficult political tensions that shaped some of the earliest parish years.