The inception of a Ukrainian Orthodox congregation in Peno can be attributed to the disenchantment of some residence with the sectarian intolerance of Basilian priests serving the community from Mundare. By refusing to give absolution to anyone who confessed to reading Ukrains'kyi holos or Vistnyk, and by maintaining that it was better to stay home and play cards rather than attend a Russo or Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the Basilian fathers only managed to promote greater interest in the "forbidden fruit" that these rival denominations represented.
Until 1924 the Christian faithful of the Peno area were largely members of the local Catholic church. However, when a Ukrainian Orthodox priest visited nearby Bruderheim around this time, a small delegation of disaffected Peno farmers went to meet with him so as to learn more about the relatively new formation. Impressed with what they heard, they resolved to continue pursuing the possibility of joining the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of Canada.
The first Ukrainian Orthodox service held at Peno took place in the home of Mykhailo and Teodosia Onyschuk in 1925, with Reverend D. Seneta officiating. As in the neighbouring settlement of Jaroslaw, where former Catholics were in the process of switching their allegiance to the UGOC, the people of Peno were especially moved to hear the liturgy sung in their native language instead of Church Slavonic. Subsequently, Orthodox supporters in the Peno district would attend church in Jaroslaw, though some services were also held in area homes, chiefly the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Nykola Rudko.
In 1936 an executive committee was struck to formally organize a Ukrainian congregation in Peno. Its first goal was to establish a cemetery on one acre of land donated by Trofim Michalchuk, a quarter mile south of the future church site. The newly constituted parish held its inaugural church service on April 7, 1937, with Rev. T. Horbay celebrating Divine Liturgy at the Rudko home. The burial ground was then blessed by Fr. Horbay on Sunday July 25, 1938.
Next, members of the congregation directed their energies toward building a National Home so as to provide a meeting place and a focus for local religious and cultural activities. Starting as far back as 1934, a youth group was organized in the community on the initiative of Volodymyr Kupchenko, putting on concerts and bingos to raise money for a Narodni Dim. Work on the structure finally began in 1940, when a basement was excavated with the help of horse drawn scrapers. Wood for the frame was then donated and partly purchased from Nick Rudko, the exterior of the building being completed by 1941. That same year the still unfinished hall was incorporated as the Ivan Franko Educational Society of Peno, Alberta, several more years being required to complete the interior. The new facility was officially opened on 25 May 1942, when Rev. Stratychuk blessed the dedication by celebrating a Divine Liturgy. Henceforth, the Ivan Franko National Home was the site of numerous other religious services until a church was acquired by the Peno congregation.
In 1950 the members of St. John the Baptist parish bought the former Huwen United Church (believed to have been constructed in 1917) for the sum of $350.00. They also purchased a half-acre of land adjacent to the Ivan Franko Hall (from John O. Zazula), where they moved the sanctuary and appropriately modified its interior for its new purpose. An Orthodox cross was added to the steeple, but otherwise the exterior has retained its Protestant appearance.
The Ivan Franko National Home continued to be used for local cultural and social events, also serving as the parish hall for church-sponsored functions. In 1964, a dining and kitchen area was added to the building, other improvements being made as funds became available.
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GPS Co-ordinates: 53.890001, -112.677852
Cemetery Co-ordinates: 53.886559, -112.678935
Affiliation: Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada
