According to a report published on 7 October 1925 in Ukrains’kyi holos, the first Ukrainian Orthodox Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the Myrnam area on 6 September 1925 by Rev. I. Kusey. A Ukrainian Orthodox congregation was formally organized in Myrnam in 1930, when the town was enjoying a period of growth stimulated by the arrival of the railway three years earlier. However, because of the hardships brought on by the Great Depression, the congregation was unable to begin building a separate place of worship for more than a decade, during which time services were held in the New Myrnam School.
As the economy started to improve at the outset of the Second World War, the Orthodox faithful of Myrnam were able to increase the tempo of their activities and to take on the challenge of building a church. The congregation officially joined the ranks of the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of Canada on 26 January 1941, when the necessary papers were filed with the Consistory in Winnipeg. Meanwhile, a fundraising drive had been initiated the previous year, with construction finally beginning on a sanctuary in 1943. Wasyl Dolinsky, Michael Kawich, and Philip and Dmytro Hucal were contracted to serve as the work crew on the project, while Wasyl Topolnitsky was engaged to do the wiring. Ready for use in 1944 (when Rev. L. Diachina celebrated the first liturgy), the rectangular wood frame structure with a full basement had a medium-sized dome over an entranceway tower that housed the belfry, and two smaller domes at the corners of the facade. The new edifice henceforth became the hub of Ukrainian Orthodox community life in Myrnam, which reached its peak of vitality over the next two decades.
Between 1941 and 1950, a total of 111 church services were held at Holy Trinity Church. During this decade, the congregation had approximately 150 active members, when families were counted in their entirety. In 1951, Rev. I. Shwetz – who had been the resident priest since the end of the war – reported a paid membership of forty for his Myrnam flock, a figure that remained constant for several years.
The iconostasis was painted in 1958 by the renowned artist, Wadym Dobrolige (1913-1973). A successful fundraising drive brought in $1,400 toward the cost of this project. That same year Rev. M. Kryschuk assumed pastoral duties in the Myrnam area, his first assignment after his ordination. The appointment of a brand-new priest helped to revitalize the local Orthodox community, which was then being slowly undermined by vigorous competition from other denominations. At the time, the congregation had 28 registered members, a figure that rose to 34 the following year (when twenty-four services were held at Holy Trinity), and grew to forty by 1962. However, as the sixties drew to a close the Holy Trinity congregation inevitably began shrinking in size due to the migration of many young people to the city, and the gradual passing of senior members.
A lighted cross was added to the exterior of the church in 1978, thanks to a donation by Mr. and Mrs. Zaparyniuk. In the 1980s several major and minor renovations were made to the sanctuary. The outside walls were re-stuccoed, the domes repaired and repainted, and cedar shingles were replaced by sheet metal roofing. The interior of the church and the basement hall were also repainted, while the church floor was refinished and the flooring in the basement was replaced.
Play Memory Eternal Chant
GPS Co-ordinates: 53.662505, -111.225476
Cemetery Co-ordinates: 53.65818, -111.19265
Affiliation: Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada
