The first liturgies were celebrated at Spedden in the late 1920s at the homes of local supporters of the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of Canada, and at the Spedden Narodnyi Dim. Rev. T. Horbay began visiting the settlement in 1927, sowing the seeds that eventually flowered with the construction of Holy Trinity Church. However, the founding meeting of the congregation was only held on April 17, 1932, when sixteen members joined the ranks of the faithful petitioning the Consistory in Winnipeg for formal acceptance. Lots were subsequently purchased from the CNR in 1934, though eight years would pass before the congregation was ready to erect a place of worship. Construction of a sanctuary began in 1942, with volunteers working under the direction of John Krusckow and Nick Nickolywich. In 1943 Mike Muzyka assumed the role of head carpenter, overseeing congregation members as they gradually completed the church and then finished off its interior over the course of several years. However, by July 1943 the crosses and domes for the church were ready to be blessed, indicating that the building was ready for occupancy around that time.
From its inception the Spedden congregation was always served by priests who were based in Smoky Lake, and thus a close bond developed between the two communities. These bonds were further strengthened by the many family relationships linking the UGOC congregations in each. In the fall of 1950, when an attempt was made by the Consistory to transfer Spedden to the Glendon district so as to bolster the size of the latter, the move immediately provoked a revolt among the members of the former and a protest from the Smoky Lake leader, Nick Gavinchuk. After the Spedden faithful threatened to suspend their activities and to prevent the Glendon priest from using their church for services (though they bore no ill-feeling towards him personally), the Consistory apparently thought better of this idea and wisely restored the status quo.
Unfortunately, the original structure was destroyed by fire on Easter Sunday, 21 April 1957. It is believed that the fire started as a result of the kadylo, or incensory, being emptied outside the church, where the embers subsequently set the grass ablaze. The resulting fire consumed the sanctuary as village members looked on helplessly, since no fire department was able to come to the rescue. The original kadylo was saved. Undaunted by this painful blow, parishioners set about rebuilding the church the following year, when head carpenter Mike Panas, assisted by John and Metro Bodnar, began the task of once again mobilizing volunteers into a construction crew. A cruciform structure, surmounted with a large central dome and with two smaller domes over towers flanking the façade was subsequently erected on the church property. The new sanctuary was formally consecrated at hierarchical service celebrated in 1962 by Bishop Andrew of the Western Diocese.
In 1981 Father Lorne Kubin, with some creative help from Larry Wowk, decorated the interior of Holy Trinity Church with traditional rospys designs. The rose motif was inspired by the mission church at Saddle Lake First Nation’s Reserve; Larry Wowk was responsible for painting the six-winged cherubim. Fundraising to purchase an iconostasis began in 2000, with Deacon Nazari Polataiko (who was then running the UOCC church store at the Consistory) and his father Yaremi in Chernivtsi winning the contract to produce an icon screen. The beautiful and elaborate iconostas, featuring icons by Tatiana Polotaiko and decorated with gold leaf, was made in Chernivtsi, then shipped to Spedden.
In the late summer of 2015, the Spedden faithful narrowly escaped having their church burnt down a second time. Friday August 27, 2015, the Ukrainian Catholic Church a short distance away on Highway 28 was struck by lighting and completely destroyed. The following evening, at around midnight, an arsonist attempted to set fire to Holy Trinity church as well. Fortunately, miraculously, his efforts failed, as the back windows of the sanctuary were scorched but the church failed to catch fire.
In 2016 the congregation hosted 8 liturgies a year.
Play Memory Eternal Chant
GPS Co-ordinates: 54.140118, -111.725308
Cemetery Co-ordinates: 54.151921, -111.766923
Affiliation: Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada
