Saint Petka Serbian Orthodox Church () is an Eastern Orthodox church located in Lakeshore, Ontario, Canada. It is under jurisdiction of the Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Canada of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
The church was originally constructed from 1962âÂÂ64 as the Maidstone Central Public School. The significance and uniqueness of the building is its architectural style of the 1960s when Canada was approaching its centennial year and special attention was given to construction of new schools and other public buildings across the country.
The church is dedicated to Saint Paraskeva of the Balkans, a saint of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
In the 1960s prior to the Canadian Centennial some 900 buildings were built with "national unity" in mind. The building is unique for its orientation to landscape, horizontal, clean lines, flat facade, with the main entrance doors surrounded in glass and decorative ceramic tiles.
The building was designed and built in Postmodern style by architect John Peter Thomson.
After operating for 50 years, the Greater Essex County School Board sold the school and 8.21-acre lot to the Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Canada in April 2014, thanks to more than 300 Serbian donors who attended two on-site fundraising events in March 2014. The Saint Petka Church and School Congregation was initially founded by Bishop Georgije (ÃÂokiÃÂ) in 2013. With the ascent of Metropolitan Mitrofan (KodiÃÂ), the school building was altered inside to serve as a parish home and a community hub to over sixty Serbian families in Tecumseh and Lakeshore, Ontario.
Fr. Miroljub Todoroviàand Fr. Drago Kneà ¾eviàserved the parish as temporary priests until 2021, when Metropolitan Mitrofan appointed Fr. Duà ¡ko Markoviàas permanent priest. The current priest is Fr. Marko DimiÃÂ.