Theodore and Anna Fuhr

Theodore Pavlovich Fuhr (1864-1942)

and

Anna “Maria” Fuhr (born Borys) (1864-1939)

Founders of the Orthodox Christian mission in Rabbit Hill near Edmonton, Alberta

Theodore may be spelt Teodor, Fedor, Feodor, Fyodor.

Fuhr has been incorrectly written Fur in some government documents.

Origin in Western Ukraine

In 1864, Theodore Pavlovich Fuhr was born in Wysocko, Subcarpathian (Podkarpackie) Woivodeship, Jaroslaw County, (then and now in Poland).

The Jaroslaw County is a part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship of Poland, situated just west of present-day Ukraine, in a region generally known as "Galicia". This district is a part of the region that contributes to the Vistula River. Jaroslaw County itself has had historical influences from Prussia, but it was a part of the region of Poland which, after being partitioned, belonged for a time to the Russian Empire.

In the mid-18th century, Empress Catherine II invited many Germans into this region (and other regions also) of the empire in order to re-establish organised farming after the invasions by the Ottomans had been repelled.

The Fuhr family, along with very many others, assimilated into the Rusyn environment in which they had settled. They became immersed in the unique culture and language of the Jaroslav region of southeastern Poland, with its distinctive Sian Basin dialect (“Hadayivs’ky hovir”). They also became Eastern Catholics, as their neighbours were Eastern Catholics.

In their case, the Fuhr family were both fervent and informed Christians.

The Eastern Catholic Rusyns of this region were largely Slavic people who had historically been Orthodox Christians. The town of Jarosław itself had been established by Yarslav the Wise, the Prince of Kyivan Rus', in the early 11th century, and the Orthodox Christian Faith had been established in this region from that time. It was not until the development of the Kingdom of Poland and the dominance of the Roman Catholic Church that the situation changed with the forced Union of Brest, which occurred in 1595-1596. Although the people had been placed under the authority of the Pope of Rome, and they constituted a large portion of the population, the Roman Catholics of the region regarded them as "second-rate", and those who were still Orthodox Christians regarded them as betrayers. It was such situations, as well as economic uncertainties and the political uncertainties that accompany the shifting of borders between neighbouring empires that provided some impetus to considering a move when the opportunity eventually came.

Theodore completed high school ("gymnasium") in Wysocko (Vizitzko). He had a keen interest in history, geography and world affairs. With his strong religious convictions and pleasant voice, he soon found a place in the Church as a “dyak” (“psalomshchik”, reader, cantor).

Marriage, 1887

Theodore Fuhr married Anna “Maria” Borys (Borris) in 1887. Anna was also from a family actively living and practicing their faith.

The Borys family were known for their generous and practical sharing. For instance, when they prepared meats for the Feast of Pascha or for the Feast of the Nativity (Christmas), they would divide it up for those in the village who had none.

Over the years, Theodore and Anna received the following children from the Lord : William (1888), John (1890), Alexander (1892), Katherine (1895), Mary (1896), Anastasia (1897), Mary (1900), Evdokia (Eva) (1902), Anastasia (1904), Andrew (1908).

It is important to understand that living the Orthodox Christian way of life is rooted in love for God. It is much more than mere customs and rules (as it were). The Way is rooted in and sustained by love which the Lord provides to those who serve Him.

Once Theodore had come to understand the historical rightness of the Orthodox Way and the Orthodox Christian Faith, he began to promote it amongst his friends and neighbours. He was an outspoken person. As a consequence, he began to have difficulties with the local authorities. In part, these difficulties arose because of the association of the Orthodox Faith in the minds of some with Russia and the Russian Empire : in other words, they implied a political relationship behind the Orthodox Christian Faith.

Emigration to Canada, 1896

On 12 April, 1896, Theodore set sail without his family from Hamburg, Germany, aboard the SS Christiania. By the end of the month, on 30 April, 1896, he had arrived in Canada.

S S Christiania

Theodore travelled the whole way together with Theodore Nemirsky and his family. As usual, they all journeyed across the country by means of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). They stopped in Calgary, North-West Territories (now Alberta) and they transferred to the northbound line which brought them to Strathcona (on the south side of the North Saskatchewan River from Edmonton). From there, instead of travelling to the northeast with the Nemirsky family and others, Theodore Fuhr travelled southwest to the homestead for which he had applied at Rabbit Hill (north of Leduc).

These families had undertaken this great upheaval in their life as a part of the famous Ruthenian emigration and Oleskow settlement scheme of Dr. Joseph Oleskow of Galicia.

Theodore Pavlovich had arrived in Canada early in 1896. Theodore’s wife, Anna, arrived in Alberta with her daughter Katherine and with her mother-in-law Anna later in 1896. Theodore’s mother was Anna Szczyrbiak, who had been born in Wysocko, Jaroslaw, Galicia. She had then been married in about 1863.

When this family arrived in Canada, they were one of many families who had emigrated from different villages of the Jaroslaw county in Galicia. However, Theodore Fuhr and his family were alone amongst these newcomers to settle to the southwest of Edmonton . There, at Rabbit Hills, southwest of Edmonton, Theodore received a portion of land for homesteading at : SE-2-51-25-W.4.M.

However, he cancelled his application because he found a pre-existing homestead, which by then was a developed farm, and which he bought from a German family. A couple of horses, a cow, a plough were amongst his assets. Some neighbours, the Millers, watched over for Theodore and they taught him the ways of the land. This property amounted to a half-section of land (1.3 square km : 320 acres, or 130 hectares). Theodore knew carpentry from Galicia, and he built his own buildings from the best wood that he could find.

His decision to settle in this region opened the way for many others to do similarly, and his presence there smoothed the way for them.

In making this purchase, Theodore became the first Slavic landowner in Canada. Had he begun simply with the homestead, it would have taken several years of hard work in construction and cultivation before he would have been able to own the land he worked.

Another immigrant family (Ivan and Anna Borys and their son Simeon) arrived from their homeland and settled nearby. They were relatives of the Fuhrs.

When Anna joined Theodore near the end of 1896, she found him already established, and the foundation of a community was just beginning to be formed.

The Church was vital to life. Theodore and some others now comprehended that they were no longer obligated to belong to the Uniat church (as previously in their portion of Galicia). Theodore had already begun to gather the neighbours who were willing to listen to him. Theodore was articulate and well-read, and he was able to convince his Ruthenian neighbours about the fulness of the Orthodox Christian Faith. There was a strong positive response.

Visit of missionaries ; reunion with the Orthodox Christian Church ; first Divine Liturgy, 1897

At this time, in association with Theodore Fuhr, some of the other pioneers came to understand that they were under no obligation to continue to belong to the Greek Catholic (Uniat) Rite as they had been while they lived under the Polish and Austrian authority in Galicia. They, with the Fuhr family, began to follow the Faith of their forefathers, that of the Russo-Greek Orthodox Church.

Thus, in 1897, the Rabbit Hill area was first visited by Russian Orthodox missionaries, the Priest Dimitri Kamnev, and the Deacon Vladimir Alexandrov from Seattle, Washington, USA.

Priest Dimitri Kamnev

In June, 1897, a Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the home of Theodore Fuhr.

In his report to Bishop Nicholas (Ziorov), Father Dimitri Kamnev wrote the following about his experience at Rabbit Hill :

 [...] on Sunday we aimed to be with the Ruthenians who lived on the other side of Edmonton, 
 the number of which we have spoken of earlier, twenty-three families.  And in fact, while 
 still in Edmonton, we learned that they were waiting for us at Rabbit Hills.  We arrived 
 on Saturday at the home of Theodore Fuhr, a substantial dwelling, even with a verandah 
 (as he bought his farm with buildings ready-made from a German settler).
 
 Then not paying attention to the rain that came down all day, all the settlers assembled. 
 The All-Night Vigil was served, and Matins the next day, confession, the Rite of Union 
 with the Orthodox Church, the Divine Liturgy, in which those who had made their confessions 
 received the Holy Mysteries.  In the evening an Akathist to the Mother of God was served, 
 which was sung by the whole community.  Next day there was discussion about Church affairs 
 and a request was written to His Grace to accept the newly-united into his Eparchy, numbering 
 99 souls with women and children.  On the 16th in the morning we left via Edmonton and came 
 home on June 20th in the evening.  
 – This report was printed in the "Американский православный вестник" ("American Orthodox Messenger") 
 of that year.

Thus, Theodore Fuhr was one of the signatories of the 1897 petition signed by some others as well, which was taken by Father Dmitri Kamnev to Bishop Nicholas (Ziorov). Theodore Nemirsky of the settlement northeast of Edmonton was a main signatory as well.

In this petition, the signators requested to be received into the Orthodox Church. They also requested that missionary Russian Orthodox clergy come and serve the new settlers in Canada. Theodore, as others, was well aware of the history of his family’s Orthodox Faith in the past, and of the historical links with Kyivan Rus’.

At the beginning, services were held right in the Fuhr home, and newly-born Anastasia Fuhr was baptised by Father Dimitri Kamnev when he arrived to serve the Faithful there.

Despite the repeated suggestions of various bishops that Theodore be ordained, Theodore did not accept the possibility. Rather, he continued to gather people and to teach them. Because of his efforts, either directly or indirectly (much as with Saint Alexis Toth in the USA, hundreds of persons came into the Orthodox Christian Church in Western Canada.

Holy Ascension Temple, 1898

Theodore Fuhr, together with his wife, Anna, of the Rabbit Hill community near Edmonton, Alberta (south of the city, west of Nisku), were amongst the key leaders in building one of the first Orthodox missions in Canada (the Church of the Holy Ascension).

The Orthodox missionaries, Father Dmitri Kamnev and Deacon Vladimir Alexandrov, who held their first service in the summer of 1897, wrote in their report that they had stayed at the Fuhr home. Father Kamnev and Deacon Vladimir had been first sent to Western Canada (following letters of request from the pioneers) in 1897 by Bishop Nicholas (Ziorov) in San Francisco, the head of the "Russian Mission" in North America.

The talents of the Fuhrs were fully laid out before the Church according to the need at hand : a table or a bed for visitors, a letter written on behalf of neighbours, performing the duties of a church reader, or holding services in their home. All was done for the glory of God.

In addition, by establishing where he did to the south of Edmonton, Theodore also enabled the immigration of several hundred other people from his homeland to this same region of Alberta. It became a substantial settlement, although not as large as the Edna-Star settlement northeast of Edmonton.

Indeed, the Fuhr family opened their home to those who were newly-arriving in this region, and they gave people food and shelter as they arrived to prepare their land and establish their homes.

His new home would serve for some time as the church. Then Theodore donated an acre of land for the building of the first Orthodox Temple, dedicated to the Ascension of our Lord. All this time, the parish was increasing with converts to Orthodoxy, a sort of parallel to the American experience of Father Alexis Toth in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.

1898 : a Ukrainian Catholic cemetery ; a favourable government report

During these days, also, there was a real concern about establishing cemeteries in which to bury the departed Orthodox or Greek Catholic faithful, because other Roman Catholic and Protestant churches would not accept the burial of Uniat or Russian Orthodox in their cemeteries.

On 29 June, 1898, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Priest Pavlo Tymkiewicz (of the Diocese of Saint Albert) consecrated a 2-acre parcel of land on NE 20-50-25-W of 4 as a cemetery to be used by the Slavic community. This was to be the beginning of the Nativity of the Theotokos Parish that still exists on that location today. This parish later was united with the Holy Ascension Parish as one Orthodox Christian parish.

On 3 December, 1898, Dominion Colonisation Agent C W Speers reported to Ottawa :

 Theodor Fuhr – Section 4-51-25-W.4.M. – Has been there three years ; has 700 bushels 
 of grain in the granary ; 7 cattle $175 ; 3 horses $150 ; 15 pigs $50 ; house, stable 
 and granary $400 ; all good ; wagon, binder, plough, sleigh and harrows $300 ; 40 acres 
 under cultivation ; 30 tons of hay ; 100 bushels of potatoes.  Came in April 1896 
 with $500 capital.

Theodore Fuhr was the first Ukrainian in Canada to own land and to hold the clear title to the land (he had paid in cash).

By 1898, Theodore Fuhr and his family had been joined in this region by the Dobko, Pidhirny, Olekshy (also spelt Olekshii), Sereda, Borys, Workun (also spelt Vorkun), Pyrch, Manchak, Khimera, Fytsovych families, and many others.

Establishment of a Ukrainian Catholic parish nearby, 1900

In the month of January, 1900, local community families resolved to begin the task of building a Temple. A sum of 100 dollars was raised, and construction was to begin on 26 March, 1900. The name of the new Temple was to honour the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God. Andrew and Varvara Fedor were amongst the founders of this community ; and as well, they were amongst the founders of the future combined Orthodox parish.

On 18 December, 1900, the newly-constructed temple was consecrated by the Ukrainian Catholic Priest Ivan Zacklynski.

Construction of the Orthodox Temple of the Holy Ascension, 1902

During the course of these developments, because he had fulfilled the requirements, Theodore Fuhr had been granted Naturalisation as a Canadian British Subject on 5 November, 1900.

In 1902, the Temple for which the land had been donated by Theodore Fuhr was later erected, and it was named after the Feast of the Holy Ascension. Space for a cemetery was included in the property donated.

Holy Ascension Church Rabbit Hill

Visit of Bishop Tikhon, 1902

In 1902, Bishop Tikhon of the Aleutians and North America (who later became the Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus’, and who was in time glorified as a saint) visited the congregation.

In 1904, Vladyka Tikhon visited the Rabbit Hill area again, and he led services at Holy Ascension Church. This time, he stayed at the Fuhr home, and he presented Theodore Fuhr with a commendation (a “gramota”), dated 12 August, 1904, for his efforts in building the Holy Ascension Church, and for his work towards the return of many Uniats to Orthodoxy. It was during this visit that Bishop Tikhon helped the family by watching over the children while the parents did work in the harvest-season. The children remembered this encounter with the holy bishop for the rest of their lives.

Forty more fruitful years followed before the repose first of Anna in 1939 and then of Theodore in 1942.

Archimandrite Arseny ; receiving a Ukrainian Catholic community ; harmony, 1910

By the end of the first decade in the new century, many families from the Greek Catholic Parish of Saint Mary’s (usually identified with Nisku) wished to unite with the Orthodox congregation of Holy Ascension. With the spirit of Orthodoxy growing in strength, the union of the 2 parishes took place under the condition that the future services were to be held in Saint Mary’s Church (formally known as the Nativity of the Theotokos Church), since it was the larger building. The day of unification, in 1910, was a very solemn and highly emotional event. It was led by Archimandrite Arseny (Chahovtsov), who wrote about this event. Theodore’s grandson, the Archpriest Orest Olekshy outlined his mother Evdokia’s recollection :

 It came to the place that grandfather decided to close down his chapel now that they had the buildings of the 
 Catholic parish, and my mother remembered as a girl St. Arseny giving her an icon to carry, and all the Orthodox 
 that had already been converted in years prior to that in my grandfather’s chapel started walking with banners 
 and Crosses and icons and the Catholics who were ready to get converted left their church with banners and crosses 
 [...] and my mother often said she could not understand why it was such a powerful thing but she said she just 
 thought that this was a historical event, [...] she knew it.  And they met in the middle of the field and all 
 she could remember was that Scriptures were read and then everyone started crying and embracing and from that 
 point where they met they all continued back to the Catholic church and that established a much larger community 
 which became St. Mary’s in Nisku.

Saint Mary's Church, Nisku (Rabbit Hill)

Saint Mary’s Russo-Greek Orthodox Church at Rabbit Hill was officially registered with the Russian Orthodox Diocese of the Aleutians and North America on 2 August, 1917. It was included under the incorporation of the bishop which had been achieved by Bishop Tikhon in Alberta in 1903 (when it was still part of the Northwest Territories).

Home of Theodore and Anna Fuhr at Rabbit Hill

Holy Ascension Cemetery Rabbit Hill

Saint Mary’s Cemetery, Rabbit Hill-Nisku (new Temple)

Repose of Anna, 1939

On 22 October, 1939, Anna Fuhr reposed in the Lord in “Sprucedale”, Alberta.

The Funeral Services for the Burial of a Lay-person were offered at the Nativity of the Theotokos Church at Nisku, Alberta.

After the funeral services, the body of Anna was interred in the cemetery of Saint Mary’s Church, Rabbit Hill, near Nisku, Alberta.

Repose of Theodore, 1942

Oon 2 June, 1942, Theodore Fuhr reposed in the Lord in “Sprucedale”, Alberta.

The Funeral Services for the Burial of a Lay-person were offered at the Nativity of the Theotokos Church at Nisku, Alberta.

After the funeral services, the body of Theodore was interred in the cemetery of Saint Mary’s Church, Rabbit Hill, near Nisku, Alberta.

Grave-marker for Theodore and Anna Fuhr

Reflections

Theodore and Anna Fuhr were certainly enterprising persons with strong faith in God. In moving to Canada, they were not forced out of their homeland as others were. Perhaps the practical choices of their ancestors in moving to eastern Poland in some way prepared them. What would have been particularly appealing would have been the possibility to own their own land, and to have freedom of choice in the exercise of their Christian Faith. Moreover, because of the primacy of this Christian Faith in their lives, they would not likely have undertaken such a major move without being first convinced in their hearts that God had blessed this undertaking.

Upon arriving in Canada, Theodore and Anna did not travel to the area northeast of Edmonton in which the majority of the other newcomers were settling. Rather, they settled in an area to the southwest of that city, and they were quickly joined by many other families from their homeland who were also arriving in Canada. To make such a decision would also require a clarity of perception of the circumstances, as well as an acute awareness of what God was blessing them to do. Those who settled to the northeast of Edmonton had the advantage of participating in the Edna-Star Block Settlement, whereas Theodore and Anna and the others who settled nearby had no such advantage.

As with their fellow immigrants northeast of Edmonton, those who were similarly motivated seized the opportunity to embrace the Orthodox Christian Faith. As Theodore and Anna, some already knew this to be their true spiritual home. Others were quickly convinced that this was so by Theodore and by the visiting clergy. Thus, what happened at that time in the Edna-Star Bock Settlement happened also in the Rabbit Hill area.

It is significant that Theodore and Anna, together with their neighbours, were deeply faithful, Christ-loving Christians, and that their lives were focussed on the daily practice of their Orthodox Christian Faith. They prayed frequently and daily ; they read the Holy Scriptures ; they talked with one another freely about the activity of God’s Grace in their lives. As with other Orthodox Christians, the whole of life is lived in the seeking of God’s blessing and support. In living thus, this family and their neighbours brought with them the seeds of faith which would be shared more broadly, and which would bear fruit (by the Grace of God) in ways which they could not possibly foresee.

References

Archdiocese of Canada – Orthodox Church in America, “The Orthodox Church in Canada : A Chronology” (Ottawa : Archdiocese of Canada, 1988).

‘Priest V Alexandrov : Journey to Canada – A Priest’s Diary’ in “Patriarchal Parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church in Canada”

Sharko, Emily ; Fedor, Hope : St. Mary's Russian Greek Orthodox Parish (Nisku) Historical Society, “Echoes of Faith : St. Mary’s Russian Orthodox Church, Nisku, Alberta’ (Nisku : St. Mary’s Russian Greek Orthodox Parish (Nisku) Historical Society, 1985). ISBN 0889254990.

“The Russian Mission in North America”

Tarasar, Constance J, ed., “Orthodox America 1794-1976 : Development of The Orthodox Church in America” (Syosset, NY : The Orthodox Church in America Department of History and Archives, 1975). ASIN : B000ZLZAUE.

Additional information :

Canadian Journal of Orthodox Christianity : Vita of Archbishop Arseny (with regard to the parish reconciliation), pp. 18-20.

Cremeens, Timothy B, “Marginalised Voices : a History of the Charismatic Movement in the Orthodox Church in North America 1972-1993” (Eugene, Oregon : Pickwick Publications, 2018), pp. 132-134. ISBN : 978-1-5326-1708-9.

Czumer, William A, “Recollections About the Life of the First Ukrainian Settlers in Canada” (Edmonton : Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, 1981), pp. 26, 41.

Kay, Vladimir J, ed., "Dictionary of Ukrainian Canadian Biography of Pioneer Settlers of Alberta, 1891-1900" (Edmonton, AB : The Ukrainian Pioneer’s Association of Alberta, 1984). (Theodore Fuhr (Theodor Fur), p. 86.)

……, Early Ukrainian Settlements in Canada 1895-1900 : Dr. Josef Oleskow's Role in the Settlement of the Canadian Northwest (Toronto : University of Toronto Press, 1964). ISBN : 9781487576554.

Roots of Community : Theodore Fuhr of the Rabbit Hill Community near Edmonton

†Holy Ascension Russo-Greek Orthodox Church and Cemetery (Rabbit Hill), 1898-1910, Nisku, Alberta

Orthodoxwiki article about the Archdiocese of Canada (OCA)

Orthodoxwiki article about The Orthodox Church in America (OCA)

The Nativity of the Theotokos Russo-Orthodox Church, Nisku, Alberta

Patriarchal Parishes of Canada listing for the Nativity of the Theotokos Church, Nisku, Alberta

Patriarchal Parishes of Canada web-site

Wikipedia article about the Patriarchal Parish of Canada

Bishop Nicholas (Ziorov)

Saint Tikhon (Belavin)

Saint Arseny (Chahovtsov)

Metropolitan Platon (Rozhdestvensky)