'We will rebuild': Fire destroys 118-year-old Orthodox church in eastern Alberta
A Romanian Orthodox church east of Edmonton burned nearly to the ground on Tuesday.
St. Mary’s Romanian Orthodox Church was built and blessed in 1905 outside a Romanian settlement called Boian northwest of the community of Two Hills.
The Two Hills County fire department was called around 6 p.m. and asked for help from the RCMP a short time later.
Police are investigating but told CTV News Edmonton on Wednesday it was too early to know whether the fire is suspicious.
At the end of July, the church was scheduled to host a celebration of the 125th anniversary of the Romanians' arrival in Boian.
According to the church's website, St. Mary's was designated a provincial historic resource in 1976.
The Canadian Romanian Society of Alberta in a public statement said it was working "out a way for all of us to help and to rebuild the church in a timely fashion."
“My grandparents are buried here, my husband is buried here, we got married here, our nephews were baptized in this church," she told CTV News Edmonton on Wednesday.
She raised her daughter Wanda Lutyck-Neufeld in a home about five kilometres north of the church site.
“Driving up today, when I got to the highway and I’m looking over it's like you can't tell this spot exists anymore. You know what I mean, it's like there’s nothing there,” Lutyck-Neufeld tearfully told CTV News Edmonton.
She said seeing the photos of the fire was heartbreaking.
"When I saw the one of the church with the fire literally in the church. To me it almost defied belief like it’s burning internally, it’s devastating. I felt like it gutted me.”
Mircea Panciuk served as the priest at the church for 54 years.
He retired in March, and now lives in Montreal.
He had returned to the community on Tuesday for what was supposed to be a farewell dinner.
"I flew in yesterday and landed, got some phone calls right away. Yeah, very very shocked about what happened," he said.
"Already I've found a feeling of we will rebuild, we will continue what was left to us by these pioneers that came here."
The church plans to hold services outside in the interim.
Two Hills is about 140 kilometres east of Alberta's capital city.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Marek Tkach
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
WATCH LIVE As GC Strategies partner is admonished by MPs, RCMP confirms search warrant executed
The RCMP confirmed Wednesday it had executed a search warrant at an address registered to GC Strategies. This development comes as MPs are enacting an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power, summoning one of its contractors to appear before the House of Commons to be admonished publicly for failing to answer questions related to the ArriveCan app.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Disappointment widespread over budget's proposed $200-month disability benefit funding
Advocacy groups across Canada are expressing widespread disappointment about the amount of funding earmarked in the 2024 federal budget for the long-awaited Canada Disability Benefit.
Former Sask. massage therapist who sexually assaulted clients has day parole revoked
A former massage therapist who pleaded guilty to a string of sexual assaults has had his day parole revoked.