This Holy Trinity Orthodox Church was constructed in 1928. It follows the building traditions of the prairie Byzantine church style. It is a wood frame church on a cruciform plan. It has two small onion domes on octagonal drums flanking the west facade and a prominent central dome over the crossing on a large octagonal drum. It is surrounded by an open octagonal cupola resting on a small onion dome with a ball above supporting a wrought iron cross. A special feature of the interior is the iconostatis with wood moldings and traditionally painted icons.
in 1903, a parish was being organized by settlers from Bukovyna, Ukraine. The government granted the parish 30 acres of land. Divine Liturgy was held, without a church building, beginning in 1905. This is the same year Alberta became a province. The first church was hewn from local logs and completed in 1909 with much assistance from the parishioners.
In 1912, a thatched-roof manse was built for the priest. A well, hand dug in 1912, and updated with concrete cribbing, still serves the parish today. A bell tower that houses four bells was added to the site in 1916. It still stands today complete with the original cross and bells.
In 1928, the first church burned down on Holy Saturday. Construction immediately began for a new church. Holy Trinity Orthodox Church, as it now stands, was completed in the same year.
The Holy Trinity Orthodox Church is a landmark and an important symbol of religious and ethnic identity in the Smoky Lake region. It represents the early settlement period, an is an important element to the county's cultural landscape. Holy Trinity is still in regular use with an active congregation. The church is part of the larger religious complex that includes the priest's house, cemetery, community hall and the bell tower. The cemetery is the largest Orthodox parish cemetery of its kind in Canada.
This church as designated as a Municipal Historic Resource on My 26, 2011 by Smoky Lake County.
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GPS Co-ordinates: 54.123388, -112.477964
Affiliation: Orthodox Church in America
