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| Heavenly Rays of Light |
I saw photos of this beautiful church in September and found out that I would be passing right by it a few days later. How serendipitous, how fortuitous! Everything was falling into place with very little effort on my part.
Not too far off a main highway, those unmistakable 'onion' shaped domes come into view over the trees. Hard to miss whether you're looking or not, however I don't think this road gets much random traffic. We poked around and took pictures here for about an hour without seeing another vehicle pass by. We even rang the bell but that didn't bring anyone either. Not sure who I thought might show up anyway...
The sign in front states this is Ascension of Jesus Christ Ukrainian Catholic Church, Kopernick Parish. It is also called Kopernik (Nowy Sokal) Ascension Parish. The first church on this site was built in 1904, and was tiny at only 18'x30'. It was sold in 1914 and a new, larger church was constructed the same year. Unfortunately that church burned down in 1951. The current, and much larger and taller church was built between 1953-1960.
On one side of the church is the cemetery. On the other side, the Parish Hall that was built in 1933. The church has been closed for regular services since 2009 but it still looked after. It appears that a yearly grave blessing Liturgy takes place. The Parish Hall is no longer in use.
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| This monument is a cross from the 2nd church that burned down |
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| Bell Tower |
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| H at the Parish Hall |
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| Dramatic sky this way! |
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| Blue skies this way! |
I was hoping to see inside but not all churches are open. Luckily, I connected with a lady named Kim Tanasichuk who shared her photos of the inside of the church, her photos of the amazing interior are below:
I truly feel lucky to see these places that have deep roots in the history of our province. I love taking photos and being able to learn a bit of history along the way is priceless. Thank you for reading this blog!
Check out my friends at BigDoer who visited here first and wrote a wonderful article about it.
My photos taken Sept 15th, 2017
Interior photos courtesy of Kim Tanasichuk
it is a pretty church
ReplyDeleteThanks Adam! I haven't spent time in many churches but I would have to agree!
DeleteAbsolutely stunning photos. I shouldn't be surprised, but I am, to see such luxury inside a small, rural church.
ReplyDeleteThanks Vicki! You can sure tell a lot about the people who built this church.
DeleteThat church is a beauty. How fortunate to connect with someone who had interior shots.
ReplyDeleteI hate to see such abandoned properties! That parish center was huge.
Thanks Marie, I love it when things like that come together! It's sad that I see so many churches no longer in use. Less people in the rural areas and less people attending church I guess.
DeleteGorgeous church and outbuildings - and great photos!
ReplyDeleteThanks Steve, I struggled with the photos and the light but at least I was able to showcase this beauty a bit.
DeleteThis is a really beautiful place, inside and out. Btw, it's also nice to see lots of photos of it too. Great post, Jenn!
ReplyDeleteThanks Michael, I didn't want to write a huge post, my friends over at bigdoer.com had done a great article earlier. I really enjoyed looking around this place.
DeleteAwesome photos Jenn. I absolutely love this church and the inside is just as nice as the outside. It was nice that Kim shared the inside photos with you. The sky makes the photos even more dramatic looking.
ReplyDeleteWell done!
HI Bill! One of the only things I like about the internet is the amazing people I have connected with, including all the wonderful blogs I have found! The interior looks so nice I think.
DeleteIn love! I so love those "onion" dome churches. Never tire of them. They won't let me inside though - you know, flames and the dangers associated with that.
ReplyDeleteThanks Chris! Haha! Those interior photos are as close as I will get I think! I put a link to your article since it had much more information than I provided. Thanks for reading!
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