The Town of Kamsack, located 80 kms NE of Yorkton or 40 kms east of Canora on highway #5, is well-situated in the scenic Assiniboine River Valley close to Duck Mountain Provincial Park near the Manitoba border. If you plan a visit to the Kamsack area, may I suggest a stop at the National Doukhobor Heritage Village at Veregin, just a few miles to the west, between Canora and Kamsack. I will cover this site in my next journal.

For those of you who were asking, here's more information on the significance of the number of domes on Byzantine/Orthodox churches and on the unique 3-barred cross.

The number of domes: One dome (cupola) signifies Christ, three domes symbolize the Holy Trinity, and five domes represent Christ and the four Evangelists. Seven domes not only symbolize the Seven Ecumenical Councils which formulated the basic dogmas of the Orthodox Church, but also the general use of the sacred number seven in the Church. Nine domes represent the traditional nine ranks of Angels, and thirteen domes signify Christ and the Twelve Apostles.

The three-barred Cross: This cross consists of the usual main crossbeam, plus a shorter crossbeam above that called the signboard, and another, slanted, crossbeam below called the footboard. Symbolically, the signboard is where it was written, in Hebrew, Latin and Greek "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews". The main crossbeam symbolizes where the hands of Jesus were nailed, and the slanted lower portion symbolizes where His feet were nailed. The origin of this slanted footboard is not known, but in the symbolism of the Russian Church, the most common explanation is that it is pointing upward to Paradise for the Good Thief on Jesus' right, and downward to Hell for the Thief on His left.

For more information, a detailed explanation of the external and internal arrangement of an Orthodox church can be found here: http://www.orthodoxed.org/article.php?id=57