Delph Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church
35 km. northeast of Lamont or 18 km. southeast of Waskatenau
Lamont County (NW-18-58-18-W4)
The area around Delph, Alberta was settled by immigrants from the Chotkiv Region, Western Ukraine in the early 1900s. In 1911, the parish was incorporated. In 1912, the cemetery was established. During this time, church services were held at private homes. (1)
In 1917, work was begun on the construction of a new church. A belgian named Lickman was responsible for the construction work - a wood frame structure based upon a crucifix design with a large central dome and two small side domes. Master carpenter Philip Pawluk built the main altar, tabernacle, two side alters, the processional icon, tetrapod and sanctuary icon. In 1925, Peter (Petro) Lipinski completed painting the walls and icons. In 1939, a fieldstone bell-tower was built. (2)
Oriented on the east-west axis, the church is designed on a central longitudinal cruciform plan. The church has one main central dome plus two small side domes on the front of the church. The site is surrounded by flat arable land, second or third-generation trees. Also, the site is located several kilometers from the North Sasakatchewan River.
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 no 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 iron cross sits on top of the dome. Two twin towers surround the nave. Each tower is capped by a an octagonal drum capped by a small round dome. A metal cross also sits on these smaller domes.
The interior is heavily decorated with a variety of stenciling and icons. As mentioned, Peter (Petro) Lipinski did all the artistic paintings and decorations for the Church.