Andrew and I stopped in Sarto this past summer and I went a little photo-happy because I think the onion domes on the two small Ukrainian churches are beautiful.
First, I ran up to St. Michael’s Ukrainian Catholic Church.
There’s a cairn in front! I went in closer, for a picture.
We’re planning a trip to Ukraine. Soon I guess we’ll be seeing a lot more of this kind of alphabet!
The transom above the doorway is interesting:
In front of the church, there is this… cairn? Stone? Marker? (What would you call it?)
Here’s a cool view of the church from the side:
Next up, I crossed the road and hurried over to Saints Peter and Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church!
These domes are a different colour. I wonder how the two churches came to exist in such a small village. I suppose Sarto was a centre of activity for the area Ukrainian population when these churches were established.
I love looking up at the sky and seeing the onion domes!
Such a lovely church.
Sarto is a neat village because not only does it has these two pretty churches, but it also has a little general store, a community hall, and a historic school site which opens for tours in summer. That’s one “service” for every two residences! Amazing. I love it.
Another reason that I find Sarto so neat — it’s located in Hanover, which had been the East Reserve, full of Mennonites. But the farmer-Mennos found this location to be especially difficult for growing crops, so they left it alone, and Ukrainian settlers moved in shortly thereafter. Though of course the Mennonites had only been in Ukraine (then called “South Russia”) for 100 years, whereas of course the Ukrainians had been there much MUCH longer (thousands of years?) I find it interesting that the two groups came from the same country, roughly about the same time (ish), drawn to settle in the same destination across the ocean.
More posts about Sarto: