Melville, Saskatchewan

Melville, St. Mary the Protectress Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Marg Starchuk, Mike Kozakevich, Mike Pankiv, Bunny (Bohdan) Halyk, and Sophie Kozakevich

The parishioners of St. Mary the Protectress, Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Melville have Fr. Mel come out from Yorkton three times a year. The services take place in May, July and October. When Fr. Mel comes out in May, close to Provody (post-Easter memorial services), the service is followed by the blessing of the graves at the Melville City Cemetery. When he comes out again in the middle of July for Khram (the celebration of the saint for whom the church is named), the service is again followed by grave blessings, this time at the Birmingham and Fenwood cemeteries. The parishioners bring a basket covered with an embroidered cloth. In the basket they place a kolach (braided ceremonial bread), fruit, and a candle. After the blessing of the graves, the food is passed around to everyone in attendance. During the blessing, the Priest reads the names of deceased relatives and sprinkles holy water on the graves. Parishioners will take any extra holy water home. They keep this in the refrigerator and drink it whenever they feel ill. Holy water is typically disposed of after one year, but it cannot be simply poured down the drain. One solution is to pour the water on houseplants, as one parishioner noted.

Here we have: St. Mary the Protectress Ukrainian Orthodox Church; The Birmingham Cemetery; the Cupola left from the old Birmingham Church; The Fenwood Cemetery.

Here is a small part of the interview with: Marg Starchuk, Mike Kozakevich, Mike Pankiv, Bunny (Bohdan) Halyk, and Sophie Kozakevich in St. Mary’s Church.