Saint Sava Church, Edmonton

Mar 5, 2025 - 12:58 Updated: Jun 18, 2026 - 17:13

Saint Sava Church, Edmonton

Address: 12904 112 St NW Edmonton AB, T5E 6J1

Phone number: 905-560-0563

Website: www.edmontonserbs.com/pages/st-sava-church

Priest: Fr. Desimir Vidovic (dean)
Parish: South Edmonton Parish
Phone number: (587) 988-5512
Email: desimir2222@gmail.com

Fr. Desimir Vidovic was born on May 29, 1968 in Grabovica, to father Milorad and mother Stana (née Stevanovic). He completed elementary school in Grabovica in 1983. He graduated from the Holy Three Hierarchs Theological Seminary in Krka Monastery in 1988, and then went to the army. He enrolled in the Faculty of Theology in Belgrade in 1990. After the outbreak of war in his homeland, in 1992, he left the faculty and went to the war-torn area. He was appointed a religious teacher in 2002 at the elementary school in Cajnice. He was ordained to the rank of deacon in Kraljevo on February 28, 1998. He was ordained to the rank of priest in the Stubal Monastery near Kraljevo on March 1, 1998. The holy rite of ordination was performed by Bishop Nikanor. From September 1999 to June 2001, he was a parish priest in Rumenka near Novi Sad. In September 2001, he was appointed priest at the Holy Archangel Michael Church in Vancouver. He was the editor of the newspaper Srpske zemlje for many years. At the consecration of the new church on March 5, 2005, he was awarded the title of protonamesnik by Bishop Longin. Bishop Georgije of Canada promoted him to the rank of protopresbyter on November 21, 2010. He is married to Jelena, née Stjepic, from Visegrad. They have three children: Mihailo, Anastasija, and Gavrilo.

Priest: Fr. Njegos Perkovic
Parish: North Edmonton Parish
Phone number: (780) 707-1977
Email: fr.njegos@gmail.com

Father Njegos was born in Ilidza near Sarajevo on January 13, 1993, to father Zeljko and mother Sretena. He has been in Canada with his family since 1998. With the blessing of His Grace Bishop Georgije of Canada, he enrolled in the Saint Peter of Dabar-Bosnia Theological Seminary in Foca in 2008. With the blessing of Bishop Georgije, he enrolled in studies at the Saint Sava Faculty of Theology in Libertyville in 2013 and graduated in 2017. With the blessing of His Grace Bishop Longin of Midwestern America, he enrolled in master's studies at St. Vladimir's University in New York in 2019 and graduated in 2021. His Grace Bishop Irinej of Eastern America ordained him to the rank of presbyter on October 15, 2023, at the Holy Archangel Gabriel (New Marcha) Monastery in Richfield, Ohio.

History

During the nineteenth century, the first Serbs came to the western parts of Canada, and settled in the present-day provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. Little is known about the early beginnings of our ancestors in these regions. The first settlers settled in scattered places on the vast Canadian Prairies. This was one of the reasons why it took the Serbs a long time to organize their community. The first Serbian Church and School Congregation in these areas was founded in 1912 in Regina (Saskatchewan), where Serbian immigrants, mostly from Banat, settled. We know that in Alberta, in the thirties, we had larger Serbian communities in Edmonton, Edson, Cadomin, Mercola and Jasper. The descendants of those settlers in these areas still live in Edmonton and other places in Alberta. During this period, a branch of the Serbian National Alliance was registered in Alberta in October 1937 in Cadomin under the name Srpski radnik (Serbian Worker). We do not know how long this branch of the Serbian National Alliance existed or what its activities were.

After the end of World War II, Serbs from smaller towns in the province of Alberta moved to Edmonton and Calgary, which were heavily populated during this period and are now cities with a population in the millions. Also during this period, Serbs from their homeland continued to immigrate to these areas. During this period we had larger Serbian communities in Edmonton and Calgary as well as smaller communities in the already mentioned places in Edson, Cadomin, Mercola, Jasper as well as in Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Red Deer, Fort McMurray, Grand Prairie and other smaller places. The largest Serbian community in the northern part of Alberta after the end of World War II is Edmonton. Back in the 1950s, Serbs were trying to better organize their community in this city, but it was quite difficult. During those years, attempts were made to establish a folklore society, a Church and School Congregation, and other organizations, but these attempts were unsuccessful. For the first time, Serbs celebrated Christmas in an organized manner in 1956 in the Polish Hall. The first Church and School Congregation was established in 1961 in the house of Josif Janjic, which was registered with the state authorities only in 1967.

In the early 1970s, a split occurred and the current Saint Sava Church and School Congregation was founded, in the premises of the Romanian Orthodox Church. The Church and School Congregation was registered with the federal authorities on August 3, 1973. Since then, the Serbian community made great progress year after year. Immediately after the establishment of the Church and School Congregation, the Kosovka Devojka Circle of Serbian Sisters was founded within this Church Municipality, as well as the Opanak Serbian Folklore Society and later the Jovan Jovanovic Zmaj Serbian School. All of these church sub-organizations are very active to this day in preserving the Serbian language, religion, culture and customs.

In the 1980s, the Church and School Congregation purchased land for the construction of a church. After a short time, it turned out that the land was not suitable for building a church, so they sold it and bought new land in a better location and closer to the city centre. On the newly purchased land, they built the Saint Sava Church, which was built in the style of the Morava school from the 14th century. The church was consecrated on September 13, 1987, by His Grace Bishop of Canada Georgije with the concelebration of Fr. Vasilije Tomic, Fr. Miroslav Dejanov, Fr. Vukic Atanaskovic, Fr. Bozo Bakajlic, Fr. Oleg Kotiew and Fr. Nikodim Pribojan. The choir of the Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church of Edmonton sang as the procession entered the church. The godfather at the consecration of the church was Mr. Marko Scepanovic. After the preliminary prayers, the faithful followed the bishop in a procession around the church. Bishop Georgije carried the holy relics of the Holy Martyr Lazar of Kosovo. Upon entering the church, the relics were placed on the holy altar. After the Holy Hierarchical Liturgy, Bishop Georgije presented several representatives of the faithful with official gramata certificates for their dedicated work. Marko Scepanovic was awarded for his long dedication to the cause of building a Serbian church in Edmonton, Smilja Spanacevic was presented with her award for her tireless struggle to make Marko's dream a reality, Vuksan Obradovic received his award as president of the Church and School Congregation when the actual construction was under way and the fourth receipient was Andjelko Banovic who constructed and donated the initial iconostasis and was, together with his mother Rosa, the donor of the church bell. After the Liturgy, the congregation gathered at the Mayfield Inn for the Consecration Banquet. There were well over four hundred people present at this gala dinner. There were guests from far and wide including Hamilton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Niagara Falls, Lethbridge, Radium Hot Springs, Vancouver and California as well as representatives of all levels of government and sister churches. Alderman Ron Hayter spoke in the name of the Mayor, Provincial Minister for Energy Les Young spoke on behalf of the province, and the Honourable Steven Paproski represented the Federal Government and brought greetings from Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and First Lady Mila Mulroney.

In 1995, construction began on the church hall and parish house on the church property. The consecration of the church hall was held on April 20, 1996. The holy act of consecration was performed by Bishop Georgije, and the godfather at the consecration was Sveto Milanovic. With the construction of the parish hall and the parish house, the Serbs in Edmonton did not put an end to further work. The war devastation and the hardships of the exiled Serbs from the former Yugoslavia brought many families to this area. The number of Orthodox Serbs increased manifold. It was a new challenge for both the priest Fr. Drago Knezevic and the church administration. Thanks to the efforts and commitment of the entire community, much has been achieved. In recent years, special attention has been paid to working with young people. The basement rooms of the parish hall were renovated and the smooth operation of the Serbian language school and folklore society was enabled. The school classroom was equipped with the necessary furniture. Young folklorists were given their own space for rehearsals and there was also space to form the Vuk Karadzic Library. The gathering became a tradition on Friday evenings and continues to this day.

In addition to work on the cultural and national level, church construction has not been neglected. Young and recently arrived Serbs are increasingly accepting the duties of members of the church administration, who provide new impetus for further work. New doors have been installed on the church. It is also worth noting the great effort put into covering the church with copper in 2008, which solved the long-standing problem with the roof covering and leaks. The following year, in 2009, a granite floor was installed in the church. The work on beautifying the church has not gone unnoticed by the faithful, who are attending the holy services in increasing numbers. The following year, in 2010, the Diocesan Assembly was held in Edmonton. In the summer of the same year, the long-time parish priest, Protopresbyter-Stavrophor Drago Knezevic, left the Edmonton parish. Protopresbyter-Stavrophor Dragomir Ninkovic was appointed the new parish priest, with the blessing of His Grace Bishop of Canada Georgije, on October 1, 2010. At the end of April 2012, the widely respected Mrs. Smilja Spanacevic reposed in the Lord. Mrs. Smilja left a deep and indelible mark on the Serbian community in Edmonton and was its leader for many years. Through the kindness and contribution of Mr. Milan Mrdjenovic from Edmonton, the church received a new woodcut iconostasis in 2013, made by Mr. Nikola Ribic from Banja Luka. The Kosovka Devojka Circle of Serbian Sisters donated to the church the Tomb of Christ and the Bishop's Throne, the work of the same artist. The icons for the iconostasis were made by icon painter Dragomir Marunic from Belgrade with the help of his son Nemanja and Dragan Stankovic.

In the summer of 2014, the previous parish priest, Protopresbyter-Stavrophor Dragomir Ninkovic, left the Edmonton parish. With the blessing of His Grace Bishop of Canada Georgije, Protopresbyter-Stavrophor Desimir Vidvovic was appointed as the new parish priest on August 1, 2014. In the spring of 2015, more precisely from April 21 to June 11, the interior of the church was frescoed. The frescoes were done by protomaster Dragan Marunic, Nemanja Marunic and Dragan Stankovic. His Holiness the Serbian Patriarch Irinej, administrator of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Canada, visited this northernmost Serbian community and the Saint Sava Parish in Edmonton on Friday and Saturday, June 12 and 13, 2015. This is the first visit of the Serbian Patriarch to the city of Edmonton and the province of Alberta. On Saturday, June 13, His Holiness, with the concelebration of Protopresbyter-Stavrophor Vasilije Tomic, Archimandrite Philip Speranza (Orthodox Church in America), the parish priest of Calgary and the dean of the Western Canadian Deanery Protopresbyter-Stavrophor Obrad Filipovic, the parish priest of Kitchener Protopresbyter-Stavrophor Dragomir Ninkovic, the parish priest of Regina Protopresbyter-Stavrophor Radovan Maric, the local parish priest Protopresbyter Desimir Vidovic, Protodeacon Damjan Bozic, priest Fr. John Kaoukakis (Greek Orthodox Church), priest Fr. Mircea Panciuc (Romanian Orthodox Church), Protodeacon Jesse Isaac (Orthodox Church in America), and Subdeacon Nenad Vojvodic, celebrated the Holy Hierarchical Liturgy and consecrated the completed frescoes of the Saint Sava Church. The godmother of the fresco painting was Rosa Banovic, who has been a member of this Church and School Congregation since its founding.

During the summer of 2016, a metal fence was installed around all church buildings. During the month of August 2020, the windows in the church were painted. On Friday January 26, 2017, His Grace Bishop of Canada Mitrofan visited on his first canonical visit to the Edmonton parish.

Parish priests

Fr. Vukic Atanaskovic (1978–1981)

Fr. Radisa Ninkovic (1982–1985)

Fr. Nikodim Pribojan (1985–1988)

Fr. Miodrag Popovic (1988–1993)

Fr. Prvoslav Puric (1994–1996)

Fr. Drago Knezevic (1996–2010)

Fr. Dragomir Ninkovic (2010–2014)

Fr. Desimir Vidovic (2014–)

Fr. Njegos Perkovic (2025–)