A Ukrainian Summer: where to go, what to do...
Church capital of North America: Lamont County, Alberta
by Tina Hunt
LAMONT, Alberta - Summer 2000 heralds the long-awaited publication of Lamont County's Church Tours Booklet. With four different, self-guided tours covering all 44 county churches, this is a marvelous opportunity for historical and cultural enthusiasts, and for those who would just like to do something, to explore the countryside, gaze in wonder at the onion domes that so magnificently dominate the skyline, and rediscover their roots.
Lamont County, situated approximately 32 miles northeast of Edmonton in Alberta, has a proud legacy as the birthplace of the oldest and largest agricultural settlement of Ukrainians in Canada.
The nucleus of the pioneer Ukrainian colony was in the vicinity of Star, some seven miles (11.6 kilometers) northeast of the modern-day town of Lamont. There, in 1894, four immigrant families filed for adjacent homesteads at what became the center of a thriving bloc settlement that eventually encompassed the region that now comprises the Kalyna Country Ecomuseum.
Not surprisingly, the historic Star district was also the site where organized Christian life first took root among the Ukrainians of Alberta - at about the same time that the sod huts originally put up as temporary shelters by the pioneers began to be replaced by modest, thatched-roofed houses.
As more and more newcomers from Europe made East Central Alberta their home, Lamont County experienced a remarkable church-building boom expressive of the deep Christian faith brought over from the Old World by the settlers. This rich spiritual heritage is still very much in evidence today, in the numerous churches that can be found in the towns and villages and on country roads in virtually every part of the municipality.
Embracing several Eastern Rite confessions as well as an array of other Christian denominations, the churches of Lamont County include both sanctuaries of historical significance, as well as uniquely beautiful structures that are representative of the ancient architectural traditions imported to the New World by turn-of-the-century immigrants from Europe.
Especially renowned are the Orthodox and Catholic churches built by Ukrainian pioneers in the Byzantine style. With their distinctive domes and free-standing bell towers, these churches have an iconic presence on the Canadian prairies akin to that of the celebrated grain elevators that once were a familiar sight on every horizon.
Unfortunately, like the latter, the future of many of these spiritual treasures is increasingly under threat due to the relentless tide of changes transforming the Canadian countryside at the dawn of the third Christian millennium.
It is partly to help preserve these inspiring monuments to the faith of the early settlers that Lamont County has prepared these self-guided driving tours to the churches and shrines bequeathed by previous generations for all to cherish as part of the religious inheritance of Alberta.
Tina Hunt is acting tourism coordinator for Lamont County. She may be contacted for further information at: telephone, (780) 895-2233; fax, (780) 895-7404; or e-mail, [email protected].
Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, May 7, 2000, No. 19, Vol. LXVIII
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