BUCHANAN -Having been established in 1909, the St. Nicholas Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Drobot District, located north of Theodore near Buchanan, recently celebrated the 115th anniversary of the parish’s establishment (Chram).
According to information provided by church members, the June 30 celebration took place, “with friends and family, some of whom are descendants of the pioneers who built the church and cemetery, and lie therein.”
The Drobot church as well as other Canora and area community churches are currently served by Fr. Yurii Obukh who with his wife Liudmyla immigrated to Canada recently.
The traditional mass was led by Fr. Yurii Obukh with his wife Dobr. Liudmyla assisting in singing as well as altar server, Kevin Stewart, and cantor Zenovia Zuch. Fifth and sixth generation descendants of pioneers interred in the Drobot cemetery were present on this day of celebration and the traditional three kolachi (braided bread) and fruit graced the church.
With the congregation moving out of doors, Father Obukh blessed water in remembrance of Jesus’ baptism and the revelation of the Holy Trinity as well as the Orthodox belief that creation is sanctified through Christ. The blessed water is used to bless the graves in the cemetery and can be taken home by the faithful to use to bless their homes or to drink in sickness.
This segment of the day’s religious services was followed by a procession of the parishioners who walked a circle around their church singing hymns with the Fr. Obukh blessing the building with the newly sanctified water.
Parishioners and Fr. Obukh then gathered at the Drobot cemetery, described by Wikipedia as the largest rural cemetery in Saskatchewan with 350-plus graves. The three kolachi and a variety of bowls of fruit and sweet treats were placed om the crucify platform and blessed before Fr. Obukh with cantor Zenovia Zuch, altar server, Kevin Stewart and cross bearers Michael Makowski and Orville Drobot blessed each individual grave in the cemetery, with congregants singing the traditional Orthodox Lament Vichnaya Pamyat (Eternal Memory).
As Drobot Church experienced a fire in 1927, which destroyed the church records and the wooden crosses in the cemetery, metal crosses, with no names have been placed where it appears there may be a burial mound. These also were blessed.
A dinner followed complete with the traditional foods of the local Ukrainian community, including cabbage rolls, perogies, cornmeal, mashed beans, and a variety of salads and side dishes as well as meats to round out the meal, concluding the celebration.
The booklet published to mark the church’s centennial in 2009, which used information found in Dr. Jennie Dutchak's Mamornitz Revisted, states that original settlers of the Drobot district were primarily from the Province of Bukovyna in Ukraine. Some of the villages they immigrated from were: Dobrynivtsi, Dorashivtsi, Horoshivtsi, Tovtry, Vaslov,Ivtsti and Vashkivtsi. These settlers endured many and extreme hardships. To be helped in these difficult times, the pioneers felt the strong need for spiritual support.
The founding fathers of the church were: Tanasko Drobot, Hryhoryi Dariichuk, Gregoryi Kereliuk, Dmytro Kerelchuk, Domentyi Hupka, Georgii Kozak, Dmytro Magas, Kost and Onufrii Maksymiuk, Diordi Pasichnyk, Nykolai and Vasyl Stinka, Petro Wasylovych, Dmetro Sas, Ivan Stinka and Ivan Zaharia.
St. Nicholas Ukrainian Orthodox church was established on Dec. 23, 1909. The four acres of land for the church site was donated by Gregoryi Kereliuk, a pioneer settler who came to Canada in 1902. On Dec. 23, 1909 the Certificate of Title to the land site was issued to the first trustees of St. Nicholas Church: Tanasko Drobot, Aleksander Wasylovych, Tanasko Darichuk. Georgi Pasichnyk and Domenty Hupka.
The church was constructed of logs. The structure had an added porch and was topped with a "banya" (steeple) and a cross.
The Russian Orthodox Church had begun missionary work and its priests were the only priests available to serve the Ukrainian Orthodox churches. Rev. Ioan Zlobin was one of the first priests to serve the parish between 1909 and 1914.
In February of 1927, an accidental fire destroyed the church and most of its contents. Through the valiant effort of some parishioners, a few articles were saved. The rest of the contents and records were destroyed.
Construction of the new and bigger church began that same year on the original site and was completed on March 18, 1928. A cross, to mark the commemoration and consecration of the Feast Day of the Pentecost, was erected in 1930 by parishioners Vasyl and Paraska Stefanyshyn. The chandelier and the Royal Doors were carved by a Polish carpenter in 1933.
The four-acre churchyard also had on site a parish residence (built before 1914), a horse shed (which still exists), a bell tower with four bells (built by George and Teodor Halyk, and Dmytro Magas), and the large cemetery. The residence was in use until 1933, then it was sold.
In 1947, the parish purchased a large mess hall in Yorkton from the Royal Canadian Air Force. The building was moved to the present site, across the road from the church. This facility was the site of many church dinners, concerts, weddings and Saturday night dances.
Many years ago, a fire ravaged the cemetery site. The wooden crosses marking gravesites were destroyed and other crosses had deteriorated beyond repair.
In the early 1990s, the members of the parish had metal Orthodox crosses made. These crosses were placed wherever there were burial mounds without a marker.
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the St. Nicholas church and the forefathers who established the parish, a large cross was built, erected and donated by Rose (Magas) Popowich, and Jerry and Phyllis Viczko, descendants of the Magas family. This family was also instrumental in the construction and installation of the gates at the entrance to the churchyard.
The membership of church has been steadily declining. But dedicated members and descendants of the pioneer families have diligently and tirelessly strived to preserve, maintain and enhance the church site.
The centennial booklet included a dedication “to the men and women who came to this country 100 years ago. They were greeted by a wilderness, severe climate conditions, a strange language and loneliness. They struggled through unimaginable difficulties. Sweat and tears flowed freely. They put their faith in God to carry them through and built for us everything that we see around us today. May God remember them in his kingdom.”
For the future, the congregation, supported by donations of family interred in the cemetery, plans two projects to maintain this historic church.
1). Cemetery restoration project: To facilitate ongoing upkeep of the cemetery, those grave covers which have sunk will be levelled with new topsoil brought in, grave covers which are broken or damaging to equipment will be removed and leaning markers will be straightened. Any family member who wishes to discuss this work is asked to call Chris Drobot at 306-543-7855 to make an appointment with the project team.
2). Church hall: The siding on the hall, purchased from the RCAF in 1947, will be replaced with materials yet to be confirmed.
“This congregation looks forward to many more years of worship and community in our church and hall,” concluded the information provided by church members.
