Description of Historic Place

Ss. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church (Bodnari Church) is a Municipal Heritage Property located on a one-hectare parcel of land eight kilometres east of the Village of Smuts in the Rural Municipality of Grant. The building is located on a rural, landscaped parcel of land and features a 1936 wood-frame church with a large central dome atop a cruciform plan, and a free-standing belfry.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of Ss. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church (Bodnari Church) resides in its use as a place of worship. Constructed in 1936 on land donated by Teodor Bodnar, one of the settlers that arrived in the area from the Borshchiv region in the Ukraine, this church replaced the original 1906 log and clay structure that the congregation had outgrown. The church's cruciform design reflects the style of church architecture common in the Ukraine, and demonstrates the Ukrainian Catholic parishioners' commitment to preserving their cultural and religious traditions in a new land. Topped with a large central metal-clad dome with cupola and two small cupolas atop front towers, the symmetrical building is complemented by its gable roofline, rounded-arch windows, and nearby free-standing belfry. These typical Ukrainian Catholic features further reinforce the Ukrainian community's connection to its homeland and its commitment to maintain its religious traditions.

Source:

Rural Municipality of Grant No. 372 Bylaw No. 4/2003.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of Ss. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church (Bodnari Church) resides in the following character-defining elements:
-those elements that reflect the building's use as a place of worship for the Ukrainian Catholic community, including its cruciform plan with large metal-clad dome, three domes with cupolas and crosses, stained glass, religious ornamentations and decorations, open interior space, and vaulted ceiling;
-its rural setting, including the spatial relationship between the church, free-standing belfry, and surrounding cleared landscape.