Wildwood-Granada AB †Holy Dormition of the Theotokos Russian Orthodox Skete and Cemetery 1955-1988

Wildwood-Granada, Alberta, Skete and Cemetery in the Name of the Holy Dormition of the Theotokos, 1955

Granada may be spelt Grenada.

Ustinov may be spelt Oustinov.

Prehistory

At some time before his departure from Canada (1951), Archbishop Joasaph (Skorodumov) purchased a piece of property west of Wildwood, at Granada, Alberta, for the purpose of establishing a male monastic community. This purchase was related to his purchase of a property at Bluffton, Alberta, for the purpose of establishing a female monastic community.

In particular, parishioners at Saint Vladimir's Church in Edmonton referred to this area as 'Granada'. They recalled that during World War II, there was a logging camp near there, where Prisoners of War (POWs) worked. If the former logging-camp and the actual monastery property were the same, then Vladyka Joasaph's deep understanding of life in Christ is the more evident.

Foundation of the skete, 1955

The Skete of the in Wildwood-Granada, Alberta, Dormition of the Theotokos in Wildwood-Granada, Alberta, was founded by Bishop Vitaly (Ustinov) in 1955 under the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR), and it was populated for a time by monks associated with the Brotherhood of the Holy Transfiguration Skete in Mansonville, Québec. This Brotherhood of Saint Job of Pochaev included the Hieromonk Seraphim (Filimonoff).

In 1954, the "Brotherhood of Saint Job of Pochaev" had moved from Brazil in South America (where they had previously emigrated from Europe) to Canada, where Bishop Vitaly was assigned to be the ruling Bishop of Edmonton and the Western Provinces. The change was difficult for them all. However, Vladyka Vitaly was a strong leader, and events moved quickly.

Soon, an abandoned sawmill and the surrounding 300 acres (121 hectares) in the so-called wilderness (120 km/75 mi west of Edmonton, Alberta) became available. This was at Granada (near Wildwood) and the Northville post-office, in Yellowhead County. This site was amongst other subsistence farms nearby, and quite near Chip Lake (a source of fish). The subsistence farms usually had some livestock, and there was some grain farming in accordance with the conditions necessitated by a colder climate.

On this property, situated on the north side of Highway #16 (later to be known as the "Yellowhead Highway") and south of Chip Lake, the monks established a new monastic community dedicated to the Holy Dormition of the Mother of God. The monastery faced this main highway which passes from Edmonton to Jasper and farther west.

A controversy arose in the region. There was a small Temple which belonged to the Moscow Patriarchate Parishes near Tomahawk, near Drayton Valley, about 50 km (32 mi) distant from Granada. This Temple was seldom used, and Bishop Vitaly secured an agreement with one of the parishioners that the Temple be moved to Granada. It is this Temple which served the monks and which has remained there from that time. However, those who were left bereft of their Temple were not quick to forget the event. Nevertheless, accommodations were quickly built for the now numerous brotherhood. The main building included some monastic cells.

Father Seraphim (Filimonoff) in solitude, 1957

In 1957, Bishop Vitaly was unexpectedly transferred to Montréal, Québec, to become the Russian Orthodox Church outside Russia (ROCOR) Archbishop of Montréal and all Canada. Likewise, his brotherhood moved away with him, and they left Father Seraphim (Filimonoff) behind in Granada as the keeper and abbot of the now tiny Dormition Skete. Therefore, plans to expand the monastery were abandoned. Similarly, some other monastic communities nearby to Edmonton were left behind, also with a few brothers remaining.

Father Seraphim at the skete

At the same time, Father Seraphim was assigned to serve as the circuit priest for the parishes of the ROCOR in the rural areas west of Edmonton. These responsibilities included serving the Temples in Granada, Wildwood, Edson and sometimes Bluffton. Eventually, 12 small log cabins were built on the property. They were constructed in north-Russian style (meaning that the logs were simply peeled ; there was special forming for corner-joints).

When a new house was built for Father Seraphim (modest though it was), he preferred to keep to his old quarters. The new house had been built on money left for the monastery in the estate of Ivan Vasilievich Ciupak. Ivan Ciupak was a very quiet bachelor, a faithful member of Saint Vladimir's Russian Orthodox Church in Edmonton, who, in his retirement, loved to spend time at the monastery with Father Seraphim.

Father Seraphim at the skete

Repose of Father Seraphim 1988

After the repose of Father Seraphim in 1988, the skete (a small monastic community) effectively ceased its monastic life for the time being.

Thereafter, various clergy and others have inhabited the buildings ; but an actual, functioning monastic community has yet to be re-established on the site. Nevertheless, the community was considered to be an active one. ROCOR clergy in the region continued to visit there and to serve there, particularly from the Saint Vladimir parish in Edmonton.

Saint Job of Pochaev Printing Press

"Monastery Press" was the name of the publication house of the Brotherhood of Saint Job of Pochaev which came to Canada in 1954 with Metropolitan Vitaly (at that time, Bishop of Western Canada). When Vladika Vitaly was made ruling bishop of all Canada, the press was installed in the Montréal headquarters of the brotherhood. Monastery Press published many works in both Russian and English and also service books in Church Slavonic. They also developed a candle workshop.

By the mid-1990s, after many years of active printing, the Brotherhood was no longer printing (because of fewer monks, and the age of the ones remaining). Therefore, in 1997, during a Lenten visit to the Saint Vladimir Church in Edmonton, Metropolitan Vitaly told the rector, Priest Andrew Kencis, that he wanted to give him 2 A.B. Dick printing presses, and that he should begin to print. Vladyka blessed Father Andrew to use the "Monastery Press" name and its logo as his own, and independently.

Therefore, in the autumn of 1997, Father Andrew rented a cube van. Together with some of his parishioners (3 men and their sons) and a male parishioner from the All Saints parish in Calgary, Father Andrew made the journey across the country to Montréal in order to collect the presses and bring them back to a small print shop on the property where he lived, at the Holy Dormition Skete.

When they arrived in Montréal, at the monastic residence, the presses had to be hauled out of the basement with great effort, and loaded into the cube van. The larger press took 8 hours to move, and the smaller press took much less time. Immediately, they began their return, although there was now scarcely space for their belongings. In the course of their return, they visited Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, New York, where they received necessary extra instructions about the operation of the machines.

In January, 1998, the name of the press was officially registered in Alberta. With the blessing from Metropolitan Vitaly, Father Andrew’s first publication in the early Spring of 1998 was a hardbound, clergyman’s service book for the Liturgy of Saint Basil (in English), translated by Monk Laurence of Holy Trinity Monastery. After further consultation with Metropolitan Vitaly with regard to subsequent publications, Father Andrew received the instruction and the blessing to publish various texts.

Maintenance of the property after 2000

After the split occurred in 2001 between Metropolitan Vitaly (Ustinov) and the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (which produced the Russian Orthodox Church in Exile), the skete was served by clergy of that group.

However, the skete, together with the Holy Dormition Monastery in Bluffton and the Parish of Saint Vladimir in Edmonton then moved to "The Church of the Genuine Orthodox Christians in America", a semi-autonomous metropolis (diocese) of a moderate Old-calendarist Synod of Bishops in Greece (of which there are many), which has its centre in New York City, New York.

The Archpriest Andrew Kencis, who at that time was the rector of Saint Vladimir's Church in Edmonton, and who also gave pastoral care to the Holy Dormition Monastery in Bluffton, took up residence on the property of the skete.

Archpriest Andrew Kencis

Particular monastery information

This skete is a former monastic community (in 2020 without monks) of “Genuine Greek Orthodox Church of America”, under the omophor of Metropolitan Demetrius (Kyriacou) of New York and America. It is a part of the Diocese of Etna and Portland.

The diocesan headquarters and the Saint Photios Theological Seminary are located at the Saint Gregory Palamas Monastery near Etna, California, and the diocesan Cathedral of the Holy Nativity of the Theotokos is in Portland, Oregon. The bishop is Bishop Auxentius (Chapman).

The monks of this skete followed the Old (Julian) Calendar, as do the current inhabitants.

The Altar Feast-day of this Skete is the Dormition of the Theotokos, 15/28 August.

In 2024, the Archpriest Andrew Kencis (who now belongs to the Genuine Greek Orthodox Church of America) cares for this property and the skete.

Address :

Russian Orthodox Holy Dormition Skete

Granada

Northville, Alberta

T0E 2M0

Directions :

Granada-Northville is west of Wildwood, and near Chip Lake to the north. It is 128 km (80 mi) west of Edmonton, Alberta.

The site of the Dormition Skete may be found by driving on Highway #16 (Yellowhead). The monastery is on the north side of Highway #16, between Range Road #100 and Range Road #101, 3 or 4 km (2.5 mi) to the west of Wildwood.

The post-office address of Northville is found by turning north on Range Road #101, then turning right on Township Road #535A.

Archpriest Andrew Kencis

c/o 6824-128 Avenue NW

Edmonton, Alberta

T5C 1S7

References

Hopko, Thomas, ‘Monasticism’ in “The Orthodox Faith”, vol. 2.

Langston, John, ‘Fr. Seraphim of Northville’ in “Orthodox America”, issue 83, vol. 9, no. 3 (September, 1998).

Prokurat, Michael ; Golitzin, Alexander & Petersen, Michael, eds., 'Monasteries' in “The A to Z of the Orthodox Church” (Lanham, MD : Scarecrow Press, 2010), pp. 223-224. ISBN : 978-0-8108-7602-6.

...... 'Monasticism' in “The A to Z of the Orthodox Church” (Lanham, MD : Scarecrow Press, 2010), pp. 225-227. ISBN : 978-0-8108-7602-6.

Radford, Tom ; Savage, Harry et al, "The Best of Alberta" (Edmonton : Hurtig Publishers, 1987), ©Hurtig, 1987. ISBN-10: 0-88830-319-X

Seide, Georg, "Monasteries and Convents of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad", English translation by Theophilos Lasswell (Munich : Monastery of Saint Job of Pochaev, 1990). ISBN 3-926165-13-8

Additional information :

Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia Canadian diocese

Archbishop Gabriel (Chemodakov)

Alberta Parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia

Listing of the Diocese of the Canadian parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia

Orthodox World listing for the Holy Dormition Skete

Archimandrite Seraphim (Filimonoff)

Russian Orthodox Church in Exile web-site

Russian Orthodox Church in Exile parishes

Metropolitan Vitaly (Ustinov)

Orthodoxwiki article about the Church of the Genuine Orthodox Christians of America

Web-site of the Church of the Genuine Orthodox Christians of America