'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
For years she thought her son had died of an overdose. The police video changed all that
Austin Hunter Turner died in 2017, on a night that his mother has rewound and replayed again and again, trying to make sense of what happened.
Niagara Region 'proactively' declares state of emergency ahead of total solar eclipse
Niagara Region says it has declared a state of emergency 'out of an abundance of caution' as it prepares for an influx of visitors for next month’s total solar eclipse.
Social media can alter children's brains and impact mental health: neuroscientist
Neuroscientist Emma Duerden says social media can alter children's brains and have negative impacts on their mental health.
Ontario homeowner on the hook for $27,000 when contractor severed power line
An Ontario man who built a garage on his property has been locked in a battle with his electricity provider for a year and half over a severed power line.
Edmonton broadcasting giant Bruce Hogle dead at 95
An Edmonton broadcasting pioneer has passed away.
Montreal doctors' breakthrough discovery about causes of cerebral palsy giving hope
A breakthrough discovery made by doctors at the Montreal Children's Hospital about the causes of cerebral palsy is giving new hope to one West Island family.
Feeling older than you are? It could be how you sleep
Not getting enough sleep may cause you to feel five to 10 years older than you really are, according to two new studies.
A Filipino villager is nailed to a cross for the 35th time on Good Friday to pray for world peace
A Filipino villager has been nailed to a wooden cross for the 35th time to reenact Jesus Christ’s suffering in a brutal Good Friday tradition he said he would devote to pray for peace in Ukraine, Gaza and the disputed South China Sea.
Sixth suspect charged in double homicide of Bowmanville, Ont. man, pregnant wife
A sixth suspect has been arrested in connection with the murder of a 28-year-old man and his pregnant wife in Bowmanville, Ont., police confirmed Friday.