Orthodox Churches of Alberta, Canada From a Bird’s Eye View

My mother's family fled Volhyina Ukraine because of persecution of their Orthodox Faith by "Ukrainian" Fascists. The whole concept of "Ukrainians" is a myth. They don't exist. The Ukrainian language is a mix of Polish and Russian Period! The people of Galicia were Russians Poles Romanians Jews Roma and Hungarians. The word Rusyn is Latin for Russians. Galicia is Russian land occupied by Poland for 300 years and later by Austria. I'm proud to by a Russian-Polish Canadian on my mother's side of the Russian Orthodox Church and from Galicia.

These photos are so beautiful! As a new convert to Orthodoxy, i wish more of these churches were filled with people and parish life. So many have a single service, or two, a year. But there are so many beautiful churches outside of the city!

Dear Michael, The modern term for Rusyn is Rusin, Rusyn, Rusnak, Carpatho-Russian, Carpatho-Rusin, Carpatho-Rusyn and Ruthenian. The "name change" actually spread from Central Ukraine which at that time was known as Little Russia. The history of the term "Ukrainian" was not simply a "name change". It is a long process that is still happening. The process is known as "ukrainization" (украинизация). In the USA and Canada some people from Austrian Galicia, Austrian Bukovina and Hungarian Transcarpathia changed their ancestral name but many did not. Many people in North America still refer to their ancestors and themselves as Rusin, Rusyn, Ruthenian, Carpatho-Russian etc. The OCA (until 1970 known as the Russian American Metropolia) was not only comprised of Lemko people. The parishioners at Shandro, Dickie Bush and Pakan in Alberta were Bukovinians. In Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario many parishes were comprised of people from many different regions of Galicia, Bukovina and Transcarpathia. The parishioners of the Star Church in Alberta were from the historical region of Pokutia. As a matter of interest, in the 19th century Yakiv Holovatsky, one of the members of the "Ruska Troitsa" in Austrian Lemberg (Lviv), referred to it as Pokutian Rus'. St. Job of Pochaev originated from this area of Galicia. People in Galicia, Bukovina and Transcarpathia identified themselves with the Great Rus' Peoples meaning White Russian, Little Russian and Great Russian peoples as did N. Gogol, T. Shevchenko and a multitude of others. The Russian Orthodox Church in Western Canada is comprised of the progeny of Bukovinians, Lemkos, Galicians, Transcarpathians and the many other peoples of Historical Rus'. Keep up the interest, the reading and the research as there is much published on the subject of Rus'.

The term Ukrainian is the modern word for Rusyn. Rusyn (or Ruski) sounds like Russian and for that reason Rusyns decided on a name change in the 19 century. This name changes spread from Eastern Ukraine to what is now Eastern Poland. The name change did not take fully hold until after WW2 in the Transcapathian region (next to Slovakia) and that is why Andy Warhol(a) always referred to himself as a 'Rusyn' and not Ukrainian. His parents immigrated around 1919 to the USA and integrated themselves into "Rusyn" community. Famous Canadian-Ukrainian historian Peter Marunchak said that immigrants came to Canada as Rusyns, Bukovinians, Austro-Hungarians, Little Russians, Lemkos, Galicians, etc... and it was only in Canada that they realized that they were the same people and for that reason quickly adopted the name Ukrainians. The OCA churches in Western Canada are almost 100% tied to the Lemkos (now Eastern Poland) who identified with the Russian Orthodox Church and believed they were a sub-group of the so called "Great Russians" (or Muskovites) but they in fact spoke a Western Ukrainian dialect. Bukovinians also aligned themselves with the Russian Orthodox Church but quickly quit this church to form their own Ukrainian Orthodox Church because once in Canada they too realized they spoke Ukrainian and not Russian. The Russian Orthodox Churches in Western Canada are comprised entirely of the progeny of Bukovynians and Lemkos who now consider themselves Ukrainians.

Dear Roman, My grandparents also originated from Bukovina and Galicia, former lands of the Austrian Empire. They immigrated to Canada between 1899 and 1921. The term "Ukrainian" was not used by them nor their family members nor by anyone else they associated with at the time. As a matter of fact, they did use the terms "Galician, Bukovinian, Rusin, Rusnak, Russki" and said they spoke "po-russki". They considered their literary language to be pre-revolutionary Russian - as a matter of fact, I have inherited my grandfather's Bible which was published in 1901 in Vienna. The Bible is written in pre-revolutionary Russian as were the other books grandfather and his relatives brought to Canada. The churches pictured here all were within the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church until 1970 when the Russian American Metropolia was granted autocephaly and came to be called the Orthodox Church in America. Four of the churches are still within the Russian Orthodox Church. In the diaspora, Ukrainian nationalists usually did not remain within the Russian Orthodox Church. What you need to always keep in mind is that the terminology used today to depict people of the past is used to help clarify for contemporary understanding although does not always match what people called themselves and what they considered themselves to be. In 1900 the majority of East Slavic people in Galicia, Bukovina and Transcarpathia considered themselves, their historical lands, language and culture to be "Russki". If in doubt, please visit the National Library and Archives of Austria in Vienna. As a historian it is necessary to always understand the reality of what it was like in the past. If a person does not speak and/or read an East Slavic language or dialect then it is even more complicated to understand the concept of "Ukrainian" and how it came to be used in the 20th century. Reading only English or Ukrainian is not enough to understand what "Ukrainian" means. Keep researching and praying and God will open your eyes also.

Roman wrote: "Your article Rusyns, Bukovinians, Galicians as if they were separate national groups when in reality they were all Ukrainians in modern terms." As I understand it, Rusyns are the East Slavic people who live natively in the Carpathian mountains. Bukovina is a place in the Carpathian mountains, and its people are Bukovinians, and they are one of the sub-groups of Rusyns. Scholars debate whether Rusyns count as a sub-group of Ukrainians or if they are a separate group from the Ukrainians.

True, but....My father and his family were/are from Galicia and they were Rusyn before WWI and then called themselves Ukrainians-never Galicians. The same is true of my mother's family from Bukovyna - they all state that they are Ukrainian, never Bukovynians. Ukrainian is a nationality (like French, German, Romanian, Spanish, etc.) as well as a country. Thus all Ukrainians are Rusyns and vice-versa. One can be a Romanian-Ukrainian, Polish-Ukrainian, but not a Galician-Ukrainian, Bukovynian-Ukrainian, Lemko-Ukrainian, Volynian-Ukrainian and so on, any more than a Saskatchewan-Canadian, Albertan-Canadian, Pennsylvanian-or-Southern/Western-American. This conversation can go on forever, so I choose to end it. May God open your eyes and your heart to see the truth, and it will set you free.

Roman: No authority, just common sense. I think the best people to ask about the difference are the Bukovinians, Lemkos, etc. Also, Ukraine is a country but not a nationality, just like America. A person can be an American but still be Hispanic, for example.

Might you tell us who made you such an authority on history? No, I wouldn't call Romanians or Moldavians, Poles or Russians Ukrainians just because they live on the territory of present-dy Ukraine. But, my dear friend, there is a great difference between them and Galicians, Bukovinians, Lemkos, Podoliany, etc. The latter are just different parts of one Ukrainian nation, just as Prussians, Swabians, Saxons, Bavarians, etc. are parts of one German nation - different in many ways because of historical circumstances, but still one nation. People like you always seem to enjoy dividing Ukrainians into these parts just so as not to admit they are Ukrainian. By the way, your Metropolitan Ilarion - is he Ukrainian, or is he a Galician, a Lemko, or a Rusyn or a Russian?

Roman, if you hadn't sounded like you don't know history, I wouldn't have offered the lesson. That was the very point: Why not call them Austro Hungarians? All of the people you now call Ukrainians who immigrated to Canada at the turn of the 20th century? And I suppose you call Romanians and Moldavians Ukrainians, too, just because they're living in what is now Ukraine? Why do we have terms for Americans like, "Afro-American", "Mexican-American", "Jewish American" and on and on? Why should people just give up their ethnicity because you've decided they should since they are all living in the same country? Really, I wouldn't think I would have to explain such things to a person with a doctoral degree in history. Might you tell us, where you got that degree?

Dear Ivan. All Ukrainians at one point in history were called Rusyns and some continue to use this ancient name. These names were used by the authorities of the different states to designate the Rusyns living under their rule, and to prevent any irredentist ideas from developing. Are Moldavians, Wallachians, Transylvanians Romanian or are they different ethnic groups? Why not then call them Austro-Hungarians? Like it or not, in today's world, all of these regional groups are called Ukrainians. Having a doctorate in EEhistory, I somewhat doubt I suffer from a lack of knowledge of history.

Roman: At the time, yes, they certainly were separate national groups. It says right in the text that these people came from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. And just try telling a Carpatho-Russian (Rusyn) that he's just Ukrainian, without his roots! I am afraid you are suffering from a lack of knowledge of history.

As a former resident of Alberta I thoroughly enjoyed masterful photos of our faith's churches. I truly believe, that Alberta's countryside is the PERFECT setting for God's people worship. They don't call Alberta "God's Country" for nothing. Once again: Spasibo Mikhail and Ekaterina, you made an old man very, very happy!

Your article Rusyns, Bukovinians, Galicians as if they were separate national groups when in reality they were all Ukrainians in modern terms. One would not write: Virginians, New Englanders, Pennsylvanians, etc. all joined the great trek westward in the late 18th century. Rather, Americans from all the colonies (or the states) moved west. Thank God at least that you didn't call all of these immigrants "Russians", which they certainly were not. Nice pictures of typical western-Ukrainian-styled churches.

What joy and peace come to the soul from viewing these pictures. Thank you.

Mikhail and Ekaterina / Aerialphoto.ru Beautiful work. How did you get all of the photos without snow? Thank you for memorializing the churches Greg