Meacham SK Dormition of the Virgin Mary Ukrainian Orthodox Church 1922

Meacham, SK, Dormition of the Virgin Mary Ukrainian Orthodox Church, 1922

Early history

Meacham, Saskatchewan, Canada, is a village within the Rural Municipality (RM) of Colonsay No. 342. It is situated on Highway #5, and it is almost directly east of Saskatoon.

In the late 1890s, when settlement was beginning through the arrival of immigrants from what is now Ukraine, the settlements began in the southeast of what was then the North-West Territories, between Grenfell (in the southeast), and Rosthern and Hafford (north of Saskatoon), and around what is now Yorkton. Meacham was not by any means a major destination at that time.

Nevertheless, some of the newly-arrived to Canada did arrive in the area of Meacham, where they settled. As usual, these newcomers were primarily homesteaders and farmers.

The majority of the newcomers had emigrated from the province of Galicia (Halychina), but some came from the province of Bucovina (Romania). Both regions at that time were under the authority of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The majority of these arrived in 1907 from the Horodenka and Husiatyn counties, and the city of Halych in Galicia.

Holy Trinity Cemetery, 1904

Because of certain indications regarding interments, it can be known that there were some newcomers to the west of Meacham, since there are interments there dated to 1904. One may suggest, therefore, that before there were enough people to establish a place of worship, out of necessity a cemetery was established before anything else. Meanwhile, people would be praying at home, or in small groups in various homes on Sundays and Feast-days.

Active development in and around Meacham

In the summer of 1910, Meacham was no more than prairie peppered with surveyors’ spikes. The Grand Trunk Railway built the railway line into Meacham station from Young, beginning in 1910. By 1911, businessmen were making their way to Meacham.

Incorporation of the village

The village of Meacham was incorporated on 19 June, 1912. Thereafter, it experienced growth and expansion until being devastated by the droughts of the 1930s. The strength and resiliency of the locals kept Meacham alive. To this day, the village thrives on the tenacity and spirit of its citizens.

According to the oral history of the parish, there were no priests available to serve Meacham at that time. However, during those years, the whole of Canada was at least technically part of the “Russian Mission” and the “Diocese of New York and North America”. It was also during this time that there were activities of the so-called “All-Russian Patriarchal Orthodox Church”, and the “Independent Greek (Presbyterian) Church”. Nevertheless, there were other communities that were not able to secure pastoral care. There was a great shortage of clergy.

Even so, the perception that there were no clergy at all is likely mistaken. Missionary clergy were indeed circulating round about the prairie settlements. Although very many parishes lacked resident clergy, they did receive occasional visits, during which people were baptised and married, and prayers for the departed were offered.

At that time, also, ordinary people were often not clearly aware of the differences between the Orthodox Christian Church and the Ukrainian Catholic Church. As occurred in other places in Canada, the lay-people banded together in order to support one another and to pray together. This was the way of farming, particularly of people whose homeland was the same, and who likely emigrated from a similar district.

In the case of prayer without a priest, the Divine Liturgy and other sacramental services, worshipping together at Matins, Vespers, or Obednitsa (Typical Psalms) was more feasible, and mutually supportive in the course of a difficult life. It was also typical of parish communities at that time.

Holy Ascension Ukrainian Orthodox Catholic Church, 1911

The Ukrainian settlers near Meacham constructed the first church in 1911, 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the village. The wood-constructed building was in the form of a Cross (cruciform), and it had one small dome. All the people worshipped together. Then, in 1914, Bishop Nykyta Budka (the first Ukrainian Catholic bishop in Canada) served a moleben in this building. Even so, the parish history indicates that there was still no priest available to serve the parish.

During many of these years, a movement was underway towards the development of a Ukrainian Orthodox Church that would use the Ukrainian language. This movement was in part related to a broader, wider-reaching movement of believers who had rediscovered the Orthodox Faith away from the Ukrainian Catholic Church which for several hundred years had subsisted under the Pope of Rome.

Establishment of the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of Canada, 1918

The first sobor (Church assembly) which formed the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of Canada (UGOCC) took place on 28 December, 1918, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. This sobor was concerned to provide Orthodox Christian worship to the believers in the Ukrainian language instead of in Church Slavonic. The Ukrainian Brotherhood found a temporary bishop in the person of Metropolitan Germanos (Shehadi), who was a missionary metropolitan of the Antiochian Orthodox Church in the USA. He continued to oversee the early development of the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of Canada from the USA until 1924.

In this context, it must be recalled that a successful farmer at Meacham, one Isidore Novosad, was a leader amongst the group of farmers who mortgaged their farms in order to finance the beginning of the UGOCC. The most notable of these were his son Luka Novosad, and his 2 sons-in-law, Ivan Kvastnytsia, and Onufriy Klukevych.

Isidore Novosad, one of the first UGOCC benefactors

Purchase of the original temple, 1918

In 1918, the non-Roman Catholic (that is, in this case, Orthodox Christian) Ukrainians “purchased the shares” of the Ukrainian Catholic members. It was in this very year that the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of Canada (UGOCC) was established officially.

The parishioners were not yet ready to establish the Orthodox parish officially, but they began to pray together while they prayed, and thought about what to do next. Meanwhile, it seems that the people still tended to pray together. They may have been served occasionally by priests who visited occasionally, or when there was a particular need.

Establishment of the parish, 1922

In due time, the Ukrainian Catholics acquired another church building, which they purchased from the already-established Roman Catholic community of Meacham in 1922. It became Ascension Ukrainian Catholic Church.

It was in this same year that Holy Trinity Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of Meacham was established officially.

First 3 Ukrainian Greek Orthodox parishes

It was also at that time that the Ukrainian Orthodox Parish of the Holy Trinity in Meacham, Saskatchewan, became one of the first 3 parishes of the newly-established UGOCC. Holy Trinity Cathedral in Saskatoon had been the very first of the parishes. Saint Mary the Protectress, about 66 km northeast of Saskatoon, was the other such parish.

Change of status of the UGOCC in 1990

In 1990, the “Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of Canada” was officially renamed “The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada” (UOCC) by an Act of Parliament.

In 1990, the 18th Sobor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada in Winnipeg, Manitoba, decided to enter into Eucharistic Union with the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople (Istanbul). This decision also changed the relationship with the other Orthodox dioceses and parishes in Canada in a positive way.

Rural depopulation

As became the case everywhere on the Canadian prairies, during the 1930s, there began a steady reduction in the population. The Great Drought of that decade was a major factor. However, the availability of machines reduced the physical labour required for farming. As a consequence, the process of consolidating and merging of farms began. Subsistence family farming began to fade away. This process continued steadily after World War II with the development of commercial farming and the establishing of farms as businesses as they became larger and larger units.

Centennial of the UOCC, 2018

In 2018, the 100th anniversary of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada and also of Holy Trinity Cathedral were marked at an extraordinary sobor (assembly) at the cathedral in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

The purpose of the sobor was to celebrate 100 years of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada. The celebrations were attended by Ukrainian Orthodox faithful from across Canada and beyond.

The Sobor began on Thursday, 9 August, 2018, with a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy in the Chapel of Saint Petro Mohyla Institute, presided by Bishop Andriy (Peshko) of the Eastern Eparchy, with the responses sung by the Clergy led by Father Michael Lomaszkiewicz. This was followed by an All-Canada Clergy Conference.

Centennial Clergy Conference

All gathered for Vespers at the Mohyla Institute Chapel and this was followed by a wine and cheese reception as the delegates and guests registered for the Extraordinary National Council.

The celebrations continued for a year.

2020-2021 Coronavirus-19 virus restrictions on parishes

In early 2020, the Covid-19 virus made its appearance in Canada, and it quickly became a world-wide pandemic. Because of the rules governing gatherings that were laid down by the provincial and city governments, the parish stopped any further services after 8 March, 2020. Including the rules regarding social distancing, the decreasing numbers permitted for any gathering, and the considerations regarding the health of all concerned, this and other parishes were required to close for a time.

As elsewhere, there was some controversy about the legal requirements.

Election of Metropolitan Ilarion II (Rudnyk), 2022

Election of a nominee by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada

On 15-19 June, 2022, the 24th Sobor of the Ukrainian Orthodox of Canada was convened "on-line". This conference-meeting was convened thus instead of convening physically (as customarily) in Winnipeg, Manitoba. There were 6 cathedrals in Canada where this meeting took place simultaneously through a computer-network : in Winnipeg, Manitoba (Holy Trinity Metropolitan Cathedral) ; Vancouver, British Columbia (Holy Trinity Cathedral) ; in Edmonton, Alberta (Saint John's Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral) ; in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (Holy Trinity Cathedral) ; in Toronto, Ontario (Saints Vladimir and Olga Cathedral) ; in Montréal, Québec (Saint Sophie Cathedral).

There was a total of 205 delegates, which was near the average attendance for such sobors.

In the course of the work of the Sobor, there was the necessary election in order to nominate to the Holy Synod of the Church of Constantinople a candidate for election as Archbishop of Winnipeg and Metropolitan of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada, who would succeed the Retired Metropolitan Yurij (Kalistchuk).

There were 3 candidates who were considered : Archbishop Job (Getcha), Bishop Ilarion (Rudnyk), and Bishop Andriy (Peshko). The final choice of the members of the sobor was Archbishop Job (Getcha). He had received more than the minimum required 51% of the votes, and there was no subsequent voting required.

The election by the Sobor (Assembly) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada then had to be confirmed by the Holy Synod of Bishops of Constantinople (as is described in the Consistory By-laws).

Upon having received the nomination (with accompanying documents) from the Sobor of the UOCC, the Holy Synod of the Church of Constantinople elected Vladyka Ilarion (Rudnyk) to become Archbishop of Winnipeg and Metropolitan of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Canada.

The Holy Synod of the Church of Constantinople elected Archbishop Job (Getcha) to become Metropolitan of Pisidia, in west-central Türkiye (Turkey), north of Lycia, and east of Ephesus.

Confirmation of election in Constantinople/Istanbul, 2022

On 29 August, 2022, Vladyka Ilarion (Rudnyk) was at the Phanar in Constantinople for the purpose of the first confirmation of the election in June, 2022. He co-served the Divine Liturgy with Patriarch Bartholomew (Archontonis) in the Cathedral of Saint George at the Phanar.

Enthronement as Metropolitan of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada, 2022

On Saturday, 19 November, 2022, at 9:30 a.m., in Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the Enthronement Hierarchical Divine Liturgy was served. Metropolitan Ilarion (Rudnyk) presided at the Divine Liturgy. He was assisted by Bishop Andriy (Peshko), many priests, several deacons, subdeacons and Altar-servers. Present also were Metropolitan Archbishop Sotirios (Athanassoulas), Exarch of Canada for the Patriarchate of Constantinople, and Retired Metropolitan Yurij (Kalistchuk), Former Metropolitan of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada.

Metropolitan Ilarion (Rudnyk) at the Phanar, Istanbul, 2023

On Sunday, 2 July, 2023, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (Archontonis) was present and praying during the Divine Liturgy at Saint George's Cathedral in the Patriarchate compound. He gave the blessing that Metropolitan Ilarion (Rudnyk) preside ("horostasia") over the Divine Liturgy. Metropolitan Job (Getcha) of Pisidia, Bishop Athenagoras (Ziliaskopoulos) of Nazianzos, and the Honourable Roman Nedilskyi, General Consul of Ukraine in Constantinople were also present and praying with the congregation of the Faithful.

Change of calendar for the UOCC, 2023

On 1 December, 2023, in accordance with the resolutions of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada, Metropolitan Ilarion II (Rudnyk) announced that, effective that day, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada moved to use the New (Revised Julian) Calendar. He allowed that for a brief period of time, a parish might remain on the Old (Julian) Calendar.

It seems that subsequently, John's Cathedral in Edmonton, Alberta, was the first to adopt the New (Revised Julian) Calendar.

However, a previously-existing group of persons began to encourage resistance to the immediacy of this change. It was their understanding that the process would be determined ultimately and finally at the next general sobor of the UOCC. Therefore, on 16 December, 2023, Metropolitan Ilarion issued a formal letter concerning the situation, together with a letter of support sent to him by his predecessor (Retired Metropolitan Yurij (Kalistchuk)). He called the resisters to repentance.

Further depopulation

As the decades passed, the population of resident Ukrainian Orthodox persons in the region of Meacham continued to decline. Either the elderly fell asleep in the Lord, or younger people moved away for the purpose of study and/or work.

As a consequence, the regular cycle of worship in the parish declined as well, since the funds became scarcer and compensating a priest became more and more difficult. Eventually, the parish was reduced to having services only at the annual Provody (Memorial Service in the cemetery after Pascha), and when there would be a special need.

Holy Dormition Parish Cemetery

The Dormition of the Virgin Mary Cemetery was established in 1904, and it has continued in its existence and service ever since that time.

Coordinates : 52.10774, -105.78943 (52°06'27.9"N 105°47'22.0"W)

Land description site : NE 21-36-27 W2, in the Rural Municipality of Colonsay, Saskatchewan.

The earliest interments listed at the cemetery were in 1904

In 2025, there were 127 interments listed

Holy Dormition Temple and Cemetery

Holy Dormition Cemetery

Holy Dormition Cemetery, Cemetery Cross, Prayer-table

Particular parish information

This parish is a part of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada (UOCC). Saskatoon Region), of the Central Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada. The bishop is Metropolitan Ilarion II (Rudnyk).

This parish follows the Revised Julian (New) Calendar.

The Altar Feast-day of the parish is the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos, 15 August. During most of the years of its activity, this Feast-day fell on 28 August.

In 2025, there was no assigned parish priest.

Address :

Land description site : NE 21-36-27 W2

GPS : 52°06'28.5"N 105°47'22.8"W

Rural Municipality of Colonsay, Saskatchewan, No. 342.

S0K 2V0

Mailing address :

Saint Mary's Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Meacham

c/o Box 4

Wakaw, Saskatchewan

S0K 4P0

Aerial view of the Temple and cemetery

Directions :

Meacham is located 69 km (43 mi) of the City of Saskatoon, south of the junction of Highway #2 and Highway #5.

From Saskatoon, drive eastwards on Highway #5 until the junction with Highway #2. Turn right. Drive south on Highway #2 until arriving at the Village of Meacham. Turn right, into Meacham.

From Meacham, drive west from Highway #2 and Quebec Street for 1.9 km. Turn right (north) at the first cross-road. Drive 850 m.

The Temple and cemetery are on the left (west) side of the road.

In 2025, the main contact person in Meacham is Jerry Sopatic.

References

UOCC listing for the Dormition Parish

Orthodox World listing for the Dormition Parish

Additional information :

Bush, Peter, “The Independent Greek Church in Canada, 1903–1912 : A Middle Ground on the Canadian Prairies between Ukrainian Immigrants and Presbyterianism” (Hungarian Journal of English and American Studies, Vol.28, No 2 (2 December, 2022))”.

“Collection of Material Relating to the 50th Anniversary of the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of Canada, 1918-1968” (Winnipeg : Consistory of the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of Canada, 1968).

Sametz, William, “My father the priest : the life and times of the Very Reverend Dr. Peter Sametz : founding missionary priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada” (Toronto : Hypertex Plus, 2008). ISBN : Yereniuk, Professor Roman, “Short Historical Outline of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada” (UOCC) ISBN : 9780969670056.

A brief History of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada

Orthodoxwiki list of Orthodox Christian parishes in Saskatchewan

Findagrave listing for the Dormition Cemetery

Church of Constantinople web-site

Orthodoxwiki article about the Church of Constantinople

Patriarch Bartholomew (Archontonis)

Metropolitan Germanos (Shehadeh)

Metropolitan John (Theodorovych)

Bishop Mstyslav (Skrypnyk)

Metropolitan Ilarion I (Ohienko)

Metropolitan Michael (Khoroshy)