"Merry Christmas!"
If you're familiar with the Julian calendar you'll know that today is Christmas Day.
The old bell house comes home...
The original Saint Elias Church was completed in 1904 with the interior being painted and decorated the following year. In 1906 the bell house you see in the photos here was built and fitted with two bells.
In 1954, only six years after being completely renovated, the church caught fire on Christmas Day. Although the church couldn't be saved, many of the contents were rescued from the flames. The cause of the fire was never established but plans to build a new church were immediately undertaken and by that summer building was well underway.
During construction of the new temple it was also decided to build a new bell house. The original bell house, sans bells, was in time donated to the Shandro Museum where it stood untouched for well over six decades. I don't know the specifics but somewhere along the line the museum closed and all of the historic buildings on the grounds, including the old bell house, were left to languish.
Then someone at the church had a great idea...let's bring the old bell tower home! And that's exactly what happened. The newer bell house was dismantled, a new concrete pad was poured for the return of the old bell house and by late 2021 the old bell house was back home...complete with red bows for Christmas. Enjoy!
Historical information courtesy of the Canadian Orthodox History Project with a special thanks to Ron Rosychuk.
Saint Elias Ukrainian Orthodox Church and bell house were photographed near Pakan, Alberta on February 28, 2022.
