Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Orthodoxy and Edmonton

St. Vladimir's is not the only Orthodox Church in Edmonton. Western Canada was largely settled by Ukranian and Russian emigres, and our Orthodox Churches are the most visible part of that heritage. However, most Orthodox Churches in Edmonton have fallen into decline, since the people have forgotten their roots and their faith, and modernism and ecumenism have largely siezed control of the remaining active parishes. St. Vladimir's Parish in Edmonton thus stands out as one of the last remaining bastions of True Orthodox Christianity, the legacy of those pious pioneers and Orthodox monks who helped build the country of Canada.

Edmonton's Geography

Edmonton is a thriving city situated in central Alberta on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River, and several hours away from the Rocky Mountains. Developed farmland surrounds the metropolitan city inhabited by more than a million people, especially to the South and East which opens to the expansive prairies of Western Canada, while civilization fades into a magnificent wilderness of boreal forest just hours out of the city to the to the North and West. Northern Alberta is one of the most pristine regions of Western Canada, including large portions of the Athabaska national park, the largest national park in the world.

Edmonton Today

Edmonton, however, is entirely modern, a technologically inclined city that has maintained the fastest rate of economic growth in Canada for the last several years. Economic growth has been spurred on by the high price of oil, and it is important to note that Canada and particularly Alberta has been largely unaffected by the economic downturn in the United States. Edmonton is one of the safest places in the world, with crime rates well below the national average, and far less crime occurs here than in almost any other developed Western nation.

Living in Edmonton

Despite this booming economy, Edmonton remains Canada's most affordable large city, with a cost of living far below that of comparable Eastern cities like Toronto and Ottawa. Edmonton, in terms of land area, is the second largest city in North America. There is a tremendous amount of greenspace in the center of the city, with a beautiful river valley that is unparalleled anywhere in urban North America. The vast majority of our million people live in single detached residences, and most people own their own homes.