Albion Interactive History / Organizations / Churches
Russian Orthodox Church, 1916
Past Places of Worship
810 Austin Ave
Description
The Holy Ascension Orthodox Church at 810 Austin Avenue was erected in 1916 to serve the spiritual needs of the several hundred Eastern-European immigrants who had settled in Albion. Many were White Russians and Ukranians who came here to work at the Albion Malleable Iron Company. The project was coordinated by Helen Egnatuk (1850-1946), the matriarch of the local Russian community. The church was named an official historic site by the State of Michigan in 1983, and still holds services today.
The picture of the building is from 1928, the second picture is the youth group standing on the porch in 1927..
Source: Frank Passic. Albion in the 20th Century. Chicago, IL: Arcadia Publishing. 2002.
Choir of Holy Ascension Russian Orthodox Church in 1951.
This unusual photograph shows mourners at a funeral conducted at the Russian Orthodox Church. Notice the deceased in his casket which has been perched on the church steps.
Source: Frank Passic. A Pictorial History of Albion, Michigan; From the Archives of the Albion Historical Society. Dallas, Texas: Curtis Media Corporation. 1991.
In the choir picture the priest is Rev.John Sokolov, the 3rd woman to the right is his wife, Irina, the 4th woman is Raissa Dimitrievich, my mother — and the girl just below Irina is me, Marina Dimitrievich, age 15. My name now is Marina Kurkov, age 90; I live in Ohio and have run across this photo accidentally, via ChatGPT. (My father, Peter Dimitrievih was a priest at that church through 1954, when I graduated Albion High (as Marina DeMett) and went on to the U of M I can be reached at [email protected].