Peno - St. Michael the Archangel Russo-Greek Orthodox Church
80 km northeast of Edmonton or 25 km east of Andrew
Peno County (SW-18-57-18-W4)
The area around Peno was settled by individuals from Halychyna area, Western Ukraine from about 1899 to 1903.(1)
The Parish was established around 1909. Construction of the church began after the parish was founded. Under the direction of a local carpenter Mr. Korpan, parish volunteers assisted in the Church construction.(2)
Oriented on the east-west axis, the church is designed on a central longitudinal cruciform plan following Byzantine traditions. The church has a single large central dome on an octagonal base. In addition, the church has a cross-gable roof. The church site is surrounded by flat arable land, with second or third-generation trees. One enters the narthex through a small vestibule under the choir loft. The narthex leads into the nave and a chancel (or presbytery) on a raised floor. Within the chancel there is the sanctuary that surrounds the altar. In addition, there are two identical sacristies located north and south of the crossing with individual entrances from the exterior. The sanctuary has a three-tier iconostasis. There are no additional entrances from the exterior to the church's interior. A large drum fixture rises from the intersection of the roofs over the nave. The structure supports a high octagonal (onion-shaped) dome that is covered with a silver-coloured metal. A large wrought iron cross sits on top of the dome. In 1918, Philip Pawliuk built the three-tiered iconostasis and other religious wooden structures. At the same time, Peter Lipinski painted the walls, ceilings and icons in the Church. The dome was originally painted sky blue and adorned with angels and stars. The dome and stars have since been repainted but the angels have not been altered.(3)
One can say that Peno is one of Peter Lipinski's earlier works. There is a variety of styles and materials in his icon paintings. One can see a variety of colours ranging from his darkish-brown (the Apostles) wall icons to the brightly-coloured icons on the iconostasis. For the three-tiered iconostasis, Peter Lipinski painted the icons on the top-tier and the Royal Doors. The remaining icons found on the iconostasis are reproduction lithographs. An open bell-tower built from split field stone stands in front of the Church. The cemetery is located less than a kilometer south from the Church.