Saint Petka Church, Saskatoon

Saint Petka Church, Saskatoon

Address: Rural Municipality of Dundurn No. 314, SK, S7T 0K1

 Priest: Fr. Njegos Perkovic (administrator; 780 707-1977 / fr.njegos@gmail.com)

History

The Founding Assembly of the Saint Petka Parish was held on May 23, 2010, in the presence of the highest church authority of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Canada, His Grace Bishop Georgije. The assembly was also attended by Fr. Radovan Maric, a priest from Regina. Previously, in accordance with the church statute, a petition for the establishment of a parish in Saskatoon was sent to the bishop, signed by 81 persons of the Serbian Orthodox faith from Saskatoon. Based on this petition, higher church authorities adopted a resolution to establish a Serbian Orthodox parish under the name of Saint Petka in Saskatoon, which, in the form of a charter, was presented to those present at the Founding Assembly by Bishop Georgije. That same evening, 29 adults joined the membership of the Saint Petka Parish, and the members voted to elect the parish’s Management and Supervisory Board. Fr. Radovan Maric was appointed parish administrator. The following month, on June 27, 2010, an outing was organized in Meewasin Park in Saskatoon, with the goal of gathering as many Serbs from Saskatoon in one place as possible, so that they could get to know each other better, socialize, and discuss the further development of the parish. The goal was also to work on further expanding the parish membership. About 80 Serbs from Saskatoon came to this outing, and the number of parish members increased to 40 during and after the outing. The parish also generated its first income, mostly from voluntary contributions, in the amount of $290 CAD. An outing to Craik Regional Park, halfway between Saskatoon and Regina, was organized on August 1, 2010. The response was very satisfactory, and most importantly, the brothers and sisters from Regina got to know each other. In August, the parish was registered with the Canadian authorities, and in September, a charity dinner and party called the Srpsko vece (Serbian Evening) was organized, with the hope that this event would become a tradition in Saskatoon. About 150 guests attended this party, not only from Saskatoon, but also from Regina, Yorkton, and North Battleford. Guests of other faiths and nations were also present. The first church Slava was celebrated on October 27, 2010, in the premises of the Ukrainian Church. On that occasion, Bishop Georgije presided over the Holy Liturgy, with the concelebration of Fr. Radovan Maric from Regina and Fr. Djordje Cimesa from Winnipeg, and in the prayerful presence of the faithful and members of the Gracanica Folklore Group from Winnipeg. To the great joy of the people present, for the first church Slava, the bishop donated to the parish an icon of Saint Petka, the work of icon painter Dragan Marunic.

In 2011, the first Saint Sava Academy was held in Saskatoon. For the feast day of The Nativity of our Most Holy Lady the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary in 2011, Bishop Georgije of Canada and Fr. Radovan Maric again visited the Serbs in Saskatoon. After the Divine Liturgy, the Bishop invited those present to embark on the path of purchasing land for a future church. In March 2012, after a membership meeting, fundraising began for the purchase of land for the church. Just one year after the first meeting at which the collection of contributions began, the Serbs in Saskatoon received their own place of worship. On March 5, 2013, a purchase and sale agreement was signed between our parish and the local Haultain (Trinity) Evangelical Lutheran Church, which transferred the ownership of the 2.5-acre land with a church to the Saint Petka Parish. Next to the church is a Lutheran cemetery. The church property is located about fifteen kilometres from the city centre. The church building was built in 1905, so it was necessary to make certain adaptations to accommodate it to Orthodox worship. The Church and School Congregation from Regina provided selfless assistance since the beginning of the parish's founding, and the faithful from Edmonton donated their old iconostasis.

On Sunday July 20, 2014, this newest Serbian church in Canada was consecrated – a church dedicated to Saint Petka in Saskatoon, in the very heart of Canada. The church was consecrated by His Grace Bishop of Canada Georgije, during the Holy Hierarchical Liturgy, which he celebrated in a packed church, with the concelebration of numerous clergy of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Canada. The godfather at the consecration was Bosko Salamic from Regina, who donated $15,000 to the church.

The Saint Sava Serbian Cultural Club also operates at the church.