Saint Mary’s Romanian Orthodox Church of Boain, by Fred Braakman

“Thank you Father Panciuk for 54 year and Over 1400 Divine Liturges, Baptizing over 300 children, Performing over 350 memorial services, officiating over 100 marriage ceremonies, Providing Romanian Families Spiritual Leadership, and Special Services with Eternal love from all the members of The Canadian Romanian Society of Alberta.“

---

In early 2023 I was commissioned to make a photograph for the Canadian Romanian Society of Alberta of Saint Mary’s Romanian Orthodox Church of Boain, located in east central Alberta, north of the Hairy Hill community. After 54 years of dedicated service, the Rev. Mircea Panchiuk was retiring, and the parish wanted to give him a gift as a memory of the church that he served. I was asked to make a photographic print of the church using traditional darkroom methods. What started as a single photograph of the church ended up becoming a tryptic of three separate images. The three images included a frontal view of the church, a view of the carved wood memorial cross of Boain that was located at the front entrance to the church, and a sideview of the church which included the cemetery that was located nearby.

The finished tryptic was framed and delivered in June of 2023. Tragically the day after the photograph was delivered the church had burned down as a result of an electrical issue. Fortunately, the church will be rebuilt in a similar design as the original.