The Ukrainian Orthodox church in Ottawa has celebrated its 75th anniversary as a congregation. As part of the 2024 anniversary year, the church embarked on an ambitious fundraising goal of $200,000. The church held multiple fundraisers throughout the year, according to Parish Priest Father Taras Kinash. In total, the church raised over $160,000, allowing it to repair the roof.
“It’s a place of community gathering,” Kinash said about the church. The banquet hall is frequently home to events like the ones used as fundraisers in 2024.
“It started a year ago with pysanka bingo,” Kinash told the Kitchissippi Times. Pysanka are the traditional painted easter eggs, which the church combined with a bingo night and dinner to kick off the year. There was also a borscht cooking competition that featured dozens of borscht variations from regions across Ukraine.
In addition to the roof repairs, the church was able to renovate portions of the church’s hall and foyer.
In 1949, members of the Ottawa Ukrainian community put into action the idea of a Ukrainian Orthodox church in Ottawa, joining the Ukrainian Catholic congregation founded in 1914. In October 1949, the church held its first meeting, attended by the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Canada. The church service took place at a Greek Orthodox church formerly located on Albert Street.
Six months later, the parish purchased its own building located at the corner of Main Street and Colonel By Drive. The building was a former Anglican church, bought and remodelled for a total cost of $19,000, according to the parish.
From their new parish, named in 1950 the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, the church established Ukrainian language schools for children in Ottawa and a branch of the Ukrainian Women’s Association of Canada.
In 1962, the church purchased the land on Byron Avenue, where the church now stands. The banquet hall on the ground floor of the building was built first and served as the church’s new place of worship for 12 years, beginning in 1964.
The church accepted three proposals for the sanctuary and, in 1977, began construction on the design by Ukrainian-Canadian architect Yuri Kodak, who designed dozens of Ukrainian churches across North America throughout the 20th century. The church opened its doors a year later and has been hosting services since then.
The church plans to continue hosting community events and conducting outreach. Their next fundraising goal is a new men’s bathroom.
