S
ettlers of the Brinsley area undertook the organization of an Orthodox congregation shortly after getting established on their homesteads. In 1915 they built a church of rough-hewn logs on the corner of a farm owned by John Hackman (Ivan Hekman), but this structure was destroyed by fire in 1920.
A new place of worship was then erected on the same site in 1924 by volunteer workers, with George Deputat serving as the chief contractor. At the same time, the Brinsley congregation renamed their sanctuary the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Holy Ghost, having in the meantime joined the ranks of the fledgling UGOC. However, in 1935, when Fr. Horbay fell ill, the congregation again turned to the Russian Orthodox Church for pastoral care, which was provided by Fr. Ambrose Chrustawka. The Brinsley faithful subsequently returned to the Ukrainian Orthodox fold when Fr. Chrustawka joined the UGOC in 1941.
A tripartite structure crowned by a medium-sized central dome on a large octagonal base, the Brinsley church also has smaller domes over the narthex and sanctuary. A clapboard belltower is situated northwest of the church. In 2008 the belltower contained 2 banners with Romanian inscriptions, whose icons were unsigned but appear to have been painted by Peter Lipinski. Inside the church there in 2014 there was a signed icon by Lipinski dated 1929. In 2008 the belltower’s windows were broken, exposing the interior and its contents to the elements, but now seem to have been fixed.
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GPS Co-ordinates: 53.890256,-111.786451
Affiliation: Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada
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