Description of Historic Place

Situated on 2 hectares of maintained grounds, St. Michael's Ukrainian Greek Catholic Parish is a Municipal Heritage Property located approximately 7 kilometres north of the Hamlet of Wishart in the Rural Municipality of Emerald No. 277. The property features a wood-frame church topped with a central dome built in a cruciform plan in 1924, a wood-frame parish hall constructed in 1936, a wood-frame belfry constructed in 1916, a cemetery, and a concrete memorial cross.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of St. Michael's Ukrainian Greek Catholic Parish resides in its association with Ukrainian settlers in the area. These settlers began arriving in 1907 and set about constructing a church in 1908-1909. By 1924, the needs of the parish had outgrown this initial building and the present church was constructed a short distance away. The desire of the settlers to maintain their Ukrainian heritage is evident through the large central dome, cruciform plan, interior paintings, and the four crosses on top of the church representing the cross. In 1936, the parish hall was added to the site, demonstrating the property's role as a place for social gathering and maintaining Ukrainian culture. Since this property became the site for St. Michael's Ukrainian Greek Catholic Parish in 1924, it has stood as a local landmark, religious centre, and gathering place in the area.

Source:

Rural Municipality of Emerald No. 277 Bylaw 5/2004.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of St. Michael's Ukrainian Greek Catholic Parish resides in the following character-defining elements:
-those elements that reflect the property's association with Ukrainian settlers in the area, including the cruciform plan of the church, the large central dome topped by a cross and the four crosses on top of the church, the raised pulpit and religious paintings inside the church, the church's arched windows and stained glass, the belfry, the memorial concrete cross on the grounds, the Cyrillic characters used on grave markers, and the signage on the front gate;
-those elements that speak to the property's use as a social gathering place, including the grounds and the open interior of the parish hall;
-the spatial relationship between the church, parish hall, belfry, memorial cross, cemetery, and grounds, and the rural location of the property.