'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
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.