Lamont - St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church
55 kilometers southwest from Sherwood Park; 65 kilometers southeast to Vegreville
Lamont County (50th Avenue and 48 Street)
During the late 1930s, many individuals began to leave their farms and move to major urban regions in Alberta. Many rural areas around Lamont (Skaro, Star, Chipman) provided these individuals the oppotunity to attend church service. However, there was no parish in Lamont during this time.
In 1937, Father M. Sianchuk, OSBM, gathered together various individuals to form a parish. In January 1940, the group was able to raise enough money to purchase 3 acres of land for a church in the town-site. They did not receive clear title to the land until June 1941.(1)
In July 1941, the group was able to purchase from Deep Creek an abandoned school house. They moved the building to their newly acquired site. This building served the parish as its place of worship for several years.(2)
Over time, the area became prosperous. In 1947, work began on the construction of a larger church to serve the growing membership. The new church was built on the site of the old church.(3)
Oriented on the east-west axis, the church is designed on a central longitudinal cruciform plan following Byzantine traditions. The church has one large dome plus 2 smaller domes. The site is surrounded by residential homes.
One enters the narthex through a small vestibule under the choir loft. The narthex leads into the nave with north and south transepts and a chancel on a raised floor. Each transept has its individual entrances from the exterior. Within the chancel there is the sanctuary that surrounds the altar. In addition, there are two identical sacristies located north and south of the crossing with individual entrances from the exterior. There is an iconostasis.
A large drum fixture rises from the intersection of the roofs over the nave. The structure then supports a high octagonal (onion-shaped) dome. A large wrought iron cross sits on top of the dome. There are two (2) smaller domes by the entrance door. The cupolas have false windows imitating the Church's real windows.
The interior is decorated with a variety of stenciling and icons. Wadim Dobrolige did all the artistic paintings and decorations for the Church in 1965.
An open bell-tower stands in the church yard.
A church cemetery is located about 100 meters south of the church property.