Rare Orthodox church rebuilt

Joe Achtemichuk loves his heritage. A Ukrainian by descent, he spent two years renovating a Ukrainian Orthodox Church on his ancestral land in order to honour his familys history in Rhein, Sask.

St. Elias (Orthodox Church) came about because my family was very involved in its initial construction being that my grandfather donated the land for it. My dad was crucial for getting the lumber for it, said Achtemichuk. I wanted to recognize them because they went through some extremely difficult times, especially my grandfather who was part of the first wave of Ukrainian immigrants that came to Canada.

Achtemichuks grandfather, Vasyl Palamaryk, left the Ukraine in 1900 to establish a homestead northeast of Rhein. He donated a portion of his land for the church in 1907. Palamaryks son, Jacob Achtemichuk, donated the spruce logs for its construction in 1912.

In 2011, Achtemichuk and his wife Tess along with his cousin, Winnipegger Horace Paulmark, began reconstruction.

When I drove by the church it appeared to be in a very bad state of disrepair. When I looked at it initially, I thought the only thing that could be done was to give it some dignity and replace it with a carne, said Achtemichuk.

After speaking with some locals, the retired pharmacist decided to preserve the church.

(After closer inspection) I found out that it was repairable and in fact it was remarkably in good shape, partly because the eves of the building pushed the water away from the foundation of the church. The roof is tin so its well preserved. The walls just needed some good paint, he said.

St. Elias is a Canadian-take on orthodox churches found in the Boyko region of the Ukraine, with a wide midway eave between the ground and the roof, which protects the walls of the structure from the elements. Apparently, there are very few of the Boyko-style churches left in the country that still contain the midway eave.

It took the Achtemichuks and Paulmark two years and $4,000 to complete renovations by 2013.

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Rare Orthodox church rebuilt