Alberta Register of Historic Places

Holy Trinity Russo Greek Orthodox Church of Smoky Lake

Smoky Lake, Near

Other Names:

Down in the Valley Church
Holy Trinity Orthodox Church
Russo Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place
The Holy Trinity Russo Greek Orthodox Church was constructed in 1928 following the building traditons of the prairie Byzantine church style and is located just north of Smoky Lake. The Holy Trinity Russo Greek Orthodox Church is a wood-frame church with a cruciform plan. An exceptional feature of the interior of this church is the design of the altar baldachin (the ornamental structural canopy over the altar), with its pilaster mouldings and traditional painted icons. The site includes the church and bell tower.

Heritage Value
The Holy Trinity Russo Greek Orthodox Church is an important symbol of religious and ethnic identity in the Smoky Lake district, has a significant link with the settlement period, and is an important contributing structure to the municipality’s cultural landscape. The Holy Trinity parish was one of the first institutions in Smoky Lake district. The bell tower, built in 1916, remains complete with the original cross and the original bells. The church itself is part of the larger religious complex that includes the priest’s house, cemetery, community hall, and bell tower. Today, the 1912, two-room, log priest’s house still stands. The bell tower, built in 1916, remains complete with the original cross and the original bells. The 1912 hand-dug well with updated concrete cribbing still serves the parish.

Constructed in 1928, the Holy Trinity Russo Greek Orthodox Church is also significant for its style and method of construction, as it follows the building traditions of the prairie Byzantine church style. The Holy Trinity Russo Greek Orthodox Church is a wood-frame church with a cruciform plan, and has two small onion-shaped domes on octagonal drums that flank the west façade, and a prominent central dome over the crossing and set on a large octagonal drum surmounted by an open octagonal cupola that rests on a small onion-shaped dome and ball supporting a wrought-iron cross.

Construction of the church was completed under the direction of Harry Holowaychuk. Reverend Andrew Kokolsky was the parish priest at the time, and to this day parishioners relate how Father Andrew helped lift the iron cross to the very top of the large dome where it was installed and still stands today. It remains a landmark and symbol of Orthodoxy in the Holy Trinity Church of Smoky Lake.

In addition, it is believed that the Holy Trinity site is one of the largest Russo Greek Orthodox cemeteries in Canada with an estimated 1000 burials. Records show that 866 marked and recorded burials, but there were also many, often of infant children, during the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918-20 that are unknown. Many of these graves had wooden crosses which have since disappeared. The markers deteriorated with age, or with fires and that were set to clear the grass and brush at the cemetery before the time of mowers and trimmers.

Character-Defining Elements
Exterior Elements:
- Form, massing, and orientation of the church on its site;
- One central, onion-shaped, octagonal-dome over the main nave;
- Smaller, octagonal, onion-shaped domes over front end of nave and over apse;
- Orthodox metal cross finials on each dome;
- Cross-shaped stained-glass in semi-circular windows;
- Half-wheel window;
- Apse with round-wheel window;
- Location of building across Highway 28 from the Town of Smoky Lake;
- Well-maintained grounds with a mixture of conifer vegetation; and
- Proximity to cemetery east of the church within the same gated area as the bell tower, church hall, and priest house.

Interior Elements:
- Spatial configuration, including the nave, transepts, and sanctuary, separated by an iconostas;
- Decorated iconostas with main and two side entrance doors to sanctuary;
- Altar baldachin (the ornamental structural canopy over the altar);
- Pilaster mouldings;
- Traditional painted icons and paintings;
- Furnishings, fittings, and fixtures;
- Decorative elements to pillars and altar using grape motif;
- Choir loft with stair access; and
- Chandelier hanging from centre of domed ceiling.

Location

Street Address:	17308 Township Road 594
Community:	Smoky Lake, Near
Boundaries:	Portion of Legal Subdivision1 in 28-59-17-W4
Contributing Resources:	Buildings: 1 Landscape(s) or Landscape Feature(s): 1

ATS Legal Description:

Mer	Rge	Twp	Sec	LSD
4	17	59	28	01

PBL Legal Description (Cadastral Reference):

Plan	Block	Lot	Parcel

Latitude/Longitude:

Latitude	Longitude	CDT	Datum Type
54.124333	-112.478768		NA D 83

UTM Reference:

Northing	Easting	Zone	CDT	Datum Type

Recognition

Recognition Authority:	Local Governments (AB)
Designation Status:	Municipal Historic Resource
Date of Designation:	2011/05/26

Historical Information

Built:
Period of Significance:	N/A
Theme(s):	Expressing Intellectual and Cultural Life : Philosophy and Spirituality Peopling the Land : Settlement
Historic Function(s):	Religion, Ritual and Funeral : Religious Facility or Place of Worship
Current Function(s):	Religion, Ritual and Funeral : Religious Facility or Place of Worship
Architect:
Builder:
Context:

Additional Information

Object Number:	4664-0292
Designation File:
Related Listing(s):
Heritage Survey File:
Website Link:
Data Source:	Smoky Lake County, Box 310, 4612 McDougall Drive, Smoky Lake, AB T0A 3C0