In a devastating loss to local parishioners, an Orthodox church that served the Meadow Lake area for nearly 70 years was destroyed in a fire this week. “The interior of the structure is totally burnt out,” said Meadow Lake Fire Chief Joe Grela. “Basically, the only things left standing are the four exterior walls.” The fire at All Saints Orthodox Church was first reported to RCMP, EMS and the fire department Thursday around 2 a.m. Grela said that after the call came in, 12 firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze for five hours. The fire department brought out two fire engines and a rescue unit, but fortunately no injuries were reported as a result of the fire. The fire chief said it’s not uncommon to see structure fires that size in the Meadow Lake area, and the last time the department reported to a blaze of a similar size was in August. Saskatchewan RCMP confirmed the cause of the fire is still unknown. Fire investigators with the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency are currently working to identify the cause and origin of the fire. All Saints does not have full-time staff, so the church is maintained and managed by local parishioners. The All Saints parishioners told CTV News in a statement attributed to the group as a whole that the members are “deeply saddened” by the loss but the parishioners’ “sure hope in Christ… extends beyond the four walls of any building.” The statement said “the many icons, artwork, and decorative ornamentation will be challenging to replace and represented the cumulative support of decades of parishioners’ faithful patronage,” since the church’s founding in 1958. The group is grateful for the outpouring of support from the local and broader Orthodox community and to local firefighters and RCMP officers for their handling of the situation. The parishioners are awaiting the “results of the investigation and have begun the insurance claim process.” The All Saints parishioners group has restricted comments on its initial Facebook post about the fire, commenting: “We’ve restricted comments on this post. We are so grateful for the outpouring of support. This is no place to accuse, condemn, or dehumanize our fellow man.” The group did not elaborate on this matter in its statement to CTV News. Meadow Lake Mayor Merlin Seymour declined an interview pending the results of the investigation but did submit a statement expressing his condolences to those who lost their place of worship. “Losing the All Saints Orthodox Church is a great loss to our community as a whole, and more specifically to the members of our community that attended,” wrote Seymour. “My thoughts go out to them through this loss of such a beautiful place of worship.” All Saints Orthodox Church falls under the Archdiocese of Canada Orthodox Church of America.
