Hamlin AB Holy Ghost Romanian Orthodox Church 1915

Hamlin, Alberta, Holy Ghost Romanian Orthodox Church, 1915

Dependency of Saint Mary’s Church in Boian.

Ioan-Casian may be spelt John-Cassian.

Prehistory

On the north side of the swiftly flowing North Saskatchewan River, in central Alberta, Canada, north of the former Desjarlais ferry site, there existed a school district known as Gold Creek. The land is sandy, hilly, with many ravines through which in the rainy season and in spring, bubbling brooks flow southwards to the river. Here, too, as early as 1912, several families who had immigrated to Canada from Romania began settling on homesteads. Amongst these was a hieromonk, Teodosie (Nica) (see Bugea, Romanians in Canada, p.74). In 1912, the Priest-monk Teodosie Nica built a log cabin with a second storey, in which he conducted religious services. It was used as a chapel for services until 1916.

This Temple was situated near the settlement of Hamlin, Alberta, 156 km (97 mi) northeast of Edmonton, in what is now the Smoky Lake County.

West and south of the Hamlin store, there is a winding sandy road lined with towering poplars, and a little Temple is nestled on a hilltop bordered by aspens. That Temple is the Holy Ghost Romanian Orthodox Church of Hamlin. The steep hill to the Temple has challenged many car drivers, especially in inclement weather, so many a church-goer trudged up the steep incline, with the vehicles remaining at the bottom of the hill, near the cemetery.

From 1908, there developed a sharp controversy in Saint Mary's Church in Boian about the use of the language in worship. This controversy only increased in intensity during the next several years. This concern first arose because of a great lack of Romanian-speaking priests in the area, and the fact that the priests who were available to serve and to help in Boian spoke mostly Russian or some form of Ukrainian, and they tended to serve in Church Slavonic. In addition, in contrast with their Slav neighbours, Romanians were and are accustomed to being able to understand the language of worship. This situation resulted in the appearance of several small Temples (or chapels) near Boian, in which the Faithful could use the Romanian language. Even without a priest, they could gather and pray and worship together in the Temple which was nearby their farms, and use the format of a reader’s service.

It may be useful to keep in mind that until after the Russian Revolution of 1917, almost all Orthodox Christian communities in North America were canonically a part of the “Russian Mission” in North America, which was a part of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Russian Empire. Even amongst the Slavs, there were not enough priests to care properly for the multitude of wide-spread newcomers to Canada. Further, the political situation during this particular period of time made it difficult to find and to provide for the linguistic/cultural needs of all the Orthodox Christians who now lived in Canada.

Founding the parish, 1915

A photograph of a bearded priest in vestments is found on the inside cover of a register which bears the inscription :

 ‘To Whom it May Concern’, by Notary Public Peter Svarich, Vegreville, Alberta.  On the 15th Day of December 
 1913, the bearer, Teodosie Nica, appeared before me.  His picture appears above and the signature below it 
 verifies to me the identification of this name, character and profession.  He is a duly ordained monk of 
 Vaslui, Romania.  He came to Alberta in January, 1912, and settled on homestead NE22-54-14-W4, where he built 
 a church for the use of the Romanian Orthodox people.  His intention was to build a monastery therein and for 
 this cause solicited funds from the church members and the general public.

On 22 January, 1915, the first general meeting was held in order to prepare to build the “Biserica Altoficiate Romana Ortodocsa cu hramul Pogoriria Duhului Sfant” (“Romanian Orthodox Church dedicated to the Descent of the Holy Spirit”), as it was officially named.

The following names are the members who took part in this historical meeting. Those who were elected to the first parish council are indicated by their responsibility :

 Hieromonk Teodosie (Nica)
 Vasile Basaraba, the first president
 Dmitri Onciul, vice-president
 Vasile Pitruniak, secretary
 George Mihalcian, 1st comptroller
 Nicolae Toma, 2nd comptroller
 Andrei Lutic, 3rd comptroller
 Members : Ilie Aldea ; Ilie Basaraba ; Ion Blesniuk ; John Cojocari ; Mihai Cuciurean ; 
 Tanasi David ; Petrachi Esak ; Andrii Euciuk ; John Harasium ; Elie Kiper ; Nicolae Malin ; 
 Georghe Mohan ; Nicolae Sarbue

Since these persons are the representatives of the other parishioners, the size of the parish council indicates that the general membership of the parish was rather large at that time.

An interesting footnote to the first meeting minutes is that :

 [...] and the church should remain under the Government of Canada - but the priests who will serve are requested 
 to be Romanian Greek Orthodox and to serve in the language spoken from the beginning by the Romanian people.

Even in 1915, the Romanians wanted their parishes to be served by Romanian priests.

Construction of the Temple, 1916

In 1916, the “main Temple” for the intended monastery was constructed. The 10 acres on which the Temple was built, and on which the cemetery was located, was originally given by the Dominion Government. The land reference is : SE22-57-14-W4. This new Temple was 10 m (36 ft) long by 6 m (20 ft) wide and 3.7 m (12 ft) high. The interior of the building resembled those in Romania or in Canada decades ago, in that there were no chairs or benches.

Father Teodosie (Nica) served the parish for 2 years. After this, he was transferred to Regina, Saskatchewan.

Father Teodosie was followed by the Priest Elie Alda (or Aldie), a local pioneer farmer, who had been ordained to the Holy Priesthood. He served the parish for a time. Father Elie Alda fell asleep in the Lord in 1922, and he was interred in the Gold Creek Cemetery. After that, the parish was served intermittently by the priest from Boian. Boian is 24 km (15 mi) south of Hamlin, and across the North Saskatchewan River. At that time, there were no bridges in the area, and a ferry was required in the warmer months. In the winter, the frozen river could be crossed with minimum risk.

On 3 February, 1924, the parish received the following books (in the Romanian language) : "The Holy Gospel" ; "The Octoechos" ; "The Holy Scriptures" (Bible) ; "The Apostle" (Epistle-book) ; "The Book of Homilies" ; "The Pentecostarion".

By 25 June, 1924, the exterior of the Temple was completed.

Some priests who served at Hamlin were :

Hieromonk Teodosie (Nika) (see Bugea, "Romanians in Canada", p. 74)

Father Vasile Cohan (see Bugea, "Romanians in Canada", p. 52)

Priest Vaslie Cohan and his wife

Father Dumitru Diaconescu (see Bugea, "Romanians in Canada", p. 55)

Father Dimitru Diaconescu

Father Teodosie Fiika (Boian) (see Bugea, "Romanians in Canada", p. 57)

Father Horbay

Father Oleniak

Father Mircea Panciuk (see Bugea, "Romanians in Canada", p. 75)

Priest Mircea Panciuk

Father Teodosie Scaletschi (see Bugea, "Romanians in Canada", p. 82)

Father Vasile Toma (see Bugea, "Romanians in Canada", p. 86)

Priest Vasile Toma

Holy Ghost Temple

Archpastoral visitation of Bishop Victorin (Ursache), 1972

On 22 May, 1972, the church was visited for the first time by Bishop Victorin (Ursache), together with Archimandrite Felix (Dubneac), Archimandrite Jerome (Newville), and Father Mircea Panciuk. They offered a prayer-service for the reposed parishioners who are buried in the cemetery.

Depopulation after 1930

As is the case with many other rural Temples, the depopulation of the countryside that accompanied the newer and more mechanised methods of farming deprived this parish of people available to attend services and to contribute to the economy of the parish. Regardless, more rapid transportation and better roads made access to other Temples with more frequent services (including ) Boian) much easier.

When there is a priest available to serve in the Temple, graveside services also are held in memory of the deceased.

The remaining few parishioners resisted the efforts by some to transport the Temple to the Romanian Pioneer Museum at Boian. The Temple still stands as it did in 1916, and it is a living monument to those early hearty pioneers who were of the Romanian Orthodox Faith, and who came to Alberta and helped to develop Canada’s greatest frontier more than a century ago.

The following is a list of parish presidents from 1915 :

 1.  	Vasile Basaraba
 2.  	Gheorghe Mihalcian
 3.  	Elie Aldea
 4.  	1920-1924  Andrii Lutik
 5.  	1927-1935  Elie Basaraba
 6.  	1936-1937  Mike Gigiluk
 7.  	1938-1952  George Bobocel
 8.  	1953-1958  Elie Basaraba
 9.  	1959-1974  Roman Bobocel
 10.	1975-1989  William Basaraba

Archpastoral visitation, 2022

On 14-23 May, 2022, Bishop Ioan-Casian (Tunaru) made an archpastoral visitation to some communities in Alberta. This visit included the historic parishes of the Edmonton area, and the newly-established Calgary Parish. He visited the parishes of Saint Mary, Boian ; Saints Constantine and Helen, Edmonton ; Holy Ghost, Hamlin ; Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Shepenitz (Malin) ; Saint Mary, Hairy Hill ; Saint Andrew, Calgary ; Holy Trinity, Calgary.

On Tuesday, 17 May, the hierarch together with Father George Bâzgan, diocesan-vicar and Father Mircea Panciuk, archpriest for Canada-West, went to the area of Boian village where the first Romanians who came at the end of 19th and early 20th century settled.

The first church visited was the one in Mălin dedicated to the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The parish celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2014.

Following this visit, the bishop and his entourage travelled on to their next stop. This was to the parish of the Dormition of the Mother of God and Saint Dumitru at Boian. After prayers in the Temple, a lunch prepared by some of its members was served in the social hall. The good condition of the buildings was obvious, and it was clear that this community is still clearly understood to be the "mother" of all the other parishes in the region, including the one in Edmonton. After a visit to the Boian Romanian Museum, Bishop Ioan-Casian and the clergy continued on to visit the Temple and Cemetery of the Descent of the Holy Spirit at Golden Creek/Hamlin. Sadly, due to a situation similar to the Hairy Hill building, the Temple in Hamlin was seen to be likewise affected structurally.

Bishop Ioan-Casian and parishioners

Then Bishop Ioan-Casian and the clergy returned to Edmonton, and to prepare for the visits of the following day.

Gold Creek Cemetery of Hamlin, 1916

The cemetery of the Holy Ghost Temple is called "Gold Creek Cemetery". It is located at land-description site NE22-57-14-W4, at Township Road #580 and Range Road #142.

It is near Hamlin and Vilna, Alberta, in Smoky Lake County.

When there is a priest available to serve in the Temple, graveside services also are held in memory of the deceased.

Since the first interment, on 28 January, 1916, there have been 35 burials in the cemetery. One of the most recent burials was that of Nicolae Aldie on 12 November, 1986.

Cemetery entrance sign

Some graves

More graves

Particular parish information

This parish is part of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Canada, of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolia of the Americas. The bishop is Bishop Ioan-Casian (Tunaru).

This parish follows the New (Revised Julian) Calendar.

The Altar Feast-day of this parish is the Day of the Holy Spirit, which is the day after the Feast of Pentecost.

Customarily, a grave-blessing service is offered annually, usually in June, in association with the custom of blessing graves after Pascha. The priest for this community is the one who serves at the Boian parish.

In 2023, more than a century after the arrival of Father Teodosie (Nica), church services are held once a year on the Monday following the Sunday of the Descent of the Holy Spirit, on the Day of the Holy Trinity. The Temple is still extant on a very picturesque site, as it continues to guard the well-kept cemetery. There are very few members remaining.

Address :

Descent of the Holy Ghost Romanian Orthodox Church

Land site description : NE10-56-13-W4

Hamlin, Smoky Lake County, Alberta

Directions :

Hamlin is located 156 km (97 mi) northeast of Edmonton ; 16 km (10 mi) north of Boian ; 6.4 km (4 mi) north of Hairy Hill ; 21 km (13 mi) east of Andrew ; 6.4 km (4 mi) east of Willingdon.

From Edmonton, drive east on Highway #16 to Mundare. Turn left (north) on Highway #855 and drive north towards Andrew. Turn right (east) on Highway #45. Drive to Highway #857. Turn left (north), and drive to Range Road #652E. Turn right, and drive to Hamlin.

Alternatively, from Edmonton, drive northeast on Highway #15N to Highway #37W in Sturgeon County. Then follow Highway #825N and Range Road #224 to Highway #28E. Turn right onto Highway #28E, and drive towards Vilna. Pass the village and turn south on Township Road #859.

Hamlin is situated south of the village of Vilna, at the junction of Range Road #652 and Township Road #859 in Smoky Lake County.

References

Bugea, Eleanor, “Romanians in Canada” (Michigan : Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America, 2009). ISBN : 978-1-929200-14-6.

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.

Toma, Michael G, “Never far from Eagle Tail Hill” (Edmonton, Alberta : Michael G Toma, 1985).

Parish history

Additional information :

Lutic, Les, Wichert, Gail, ed., “Prairie Pioneers – The Romanians – Parts 1-4” (Boian, Alberta).

Malin Cemetery names

Gold Creek Cemetery names

Findagrave reference to Gold Creek Cemetery

Romanian Pioneer Museum of Boian

The Canadian Romanian Society of Alberta

Wikipedia about Hamlin

Roadside Thoughts about Hamlin

Romanian Orthodox Metropolia of the Americas web-site