Municipal Heritage Site

Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of the Ascension

Silver Creek, Manitoba

Primary elevation, from the west, of the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of the Ascension, Angusville, 2007

Primary elevation, from the west, of the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of the Ascension, Angusville, 2007

Photo: Historic Resources Branch, Manitoba Culture, Heritage, Tourism and Sport, 2007

Built
1935
Recognized
2005
By
Local government

The register’s text, word for word

Description

The Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of the Ascension, completed in 1935, is a wood-frame building in Angusville. The municipal designation applies to the church and its grounds.

Heritage value

The Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of the Ascension, a dignified wood structure in a quasi-pastoral setting, displays a harmonious vernacular blend of Ukrainian religious architectural traditions and also is an excellent rural example of adaptive building reuse. The impressive church, created by extending and renovating a school moved to Angusville from a neighbouring community, draws on Byzantine, Baroque and Romanesque influences for its aesthetic effect, as seen in its pleasing symmetry, symbolic trio of gleaming banyas (onion domes), prominent facade and round-arched windows. The interior of the structure, including iconography by local artist John Pushka, reflects similar attention to tradition.

SourceRural Municipality of Silver Creek By-law No. 2005-07, October 11, 2005

Character‑defining elements

Key elements that define the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of the Ascension site include:

  • the location in the centre of the village of Angusville, with the building in a traditional east-west alignment on a large plot sheltered by evergreens
  • the separate bell tower composed of an open bell on a stout wood frame

Key exterior elements that define the church's composite Ukrainian-influenced style include:

  • the elongated form, including a gable-roofed rectangular main volume, a hip-roofed polygonal apse and a small northeast corner vestry, all of wood-frame construction on a low concrete base
  • the attractive roofline dominated by three mid-sized banyas clad in silver-coloured metal, topped by tri-bar Orthodox iron crosses and set high on octagonal wooden drums
  • the elegant symmetry of the main facade, including the arched false front with brightly painted dentils, twin cross-gabled towers, a vaulted entrance canopy on heavy brackets, round-arched sash windows and oculus with modest tracery, etc.
  • the orderly fenestration throughout, including tall round-arched sash windows on the side walls, etc.
  • the simple materials and finishes, such as the painted horizontal wood siding, matching plain trim, etc.

Key elements that define the church's symbolic and functional interior include:

  • the traditional layout, including the small narthex with double doors, the nave with a wide centre aisle, the slightly narrower sanctuary framed by a round arch and the ample loft supported by two heavy posts
  • the iconostas of white-painted wood with a double centre door of delicate scrollwork and round-arched side doors with large icons
  • other painted details, including traditional stars on the round-arched nave ceiling, two patterns of faux marble on the wainscotting and iconostas, intricate rospys (banding elements in folk motifs), etc.
  • the modest period materials and fixtures, such as the buffalo board wall panelling, the wood floor, plain window trim, coloured window glass, the loft's steep side stairway, etc.

End of the register’s text

Location

Silver Creek, Manitoba, R0J, Canada

50.73493° N, 101.01711° W

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