This former church in the Rural Municipality of Dauphin ranks among the oldest Ukrainian Orthodox churches in Canada. The exact date of construction was never recorded but it is believed to have been around 1897. Built of logs in the rare Lemko architectural style, in the 1950s the logs were covered with insul-bric siding. The land on which it stands was originally registered as a “Ruthenian Catholic Church” and the municipal map still refers to it as such. However, sometime in the early history of the church, it transferred to the Russian Orthodox Mission in Canada over the issues of Latinization and land ownership. It subsequently transferred to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church because the congregation felt the Russian priest “acted inappropriately.”
The church was a treasure trove of old icons. It had a number of chromolithographs from pre-revolutionary Russia as well as some pictures targeted at a Roman Catholic audience. Of particular interest were two hand-painted icons dated 1899 and a processional cross dated 1900. None of these three items were signed but they appeared to have been painted by the same iconographer, apparently a professional. Their origins are unknown but they were possibly the oldest hand-painted icons in any Ukrainian church in Canada.
The church was closed and all icons and artefacts were removed. The building stands empty, along with a nearby residence.
Holy Ghost Ukrainian Orthodox Church (June 2015)
Source: Richard Turenne
Holy Ghost Ukrainian Orthodox Church (May 2014)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Holy Ghost Ukrainian Orthodox Church (August 2020)
Source: George Penner
Interior of Holy Ghost Ukrainian Orthodox Church (September 2011)
Source: Sterling Demchinsky
Residence near Holy Ghost Ukrainian Orthodox Church (May 2014)
Source: Gordon GoldsboroughSite Coordinates (lat/long): N51.30894, W100.27573
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Holy Ghost Ukrainian Orthodox Cemetery (RM of Dauphin)
We thank Richard Turenne and George Penner for providing information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Sterling Demchinsky.
Page revised: 28 May 2022
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