St. Onuphrius Church is in Ottawa now....
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...but
its pervious home near Smoky Lake, Alberta, is still worth visiting. A
very beautiful tree-lined road takes visitors in to grassy knoll where the
church used to stand. A monument marks out the size of the church and
tells the story of this pioneer church. The graveyard is beautiful.
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Stories about the church:
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The Reconstruction of St. Onuphrius Ukrainian Catholic Church |
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Father Ruh, a Frenchman who designed Ukrainian churches |
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Art of St. Onuphrius Ukrainian Catholic Church |
Curious as to who St. Onuphrius was? The Smoky Lake Signal, July 17, 1996 tells the following:
St. Onuphrius was a monk who lived in Egypt during the fourth century. He lived as a hermit in the desert of Thebian for 60 years. According to legend, an angel brought him the Holy Eucharist every Sunday.
St. Onuphrius is often pictured as a wild, unkempt figure, usually flanked by two lions. These are the two lions that are said to have appeared at his death and buried him.
It is believed that St. Onuphrius Ukrainian Catholic Church was originally named Onufria, suggestive of Kolo Onufria, "kolo" being an expression used to designate a site near a persons home. In this case, that person would have been Onufry Kulchisky, who lived several kilometers from the church site and was one of the parish's founding members.
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