St. John the Baptist Church, Chipman

In the years 1895-1905, ten pioneer families, in the vicinity of present day Chipman, joined together and resolved to establish an Orthodox Parish of the Russian Greek Orthodox Church in America. They bought 10 acres of land, located east across the road from the present church site, from the government for $10.00 an acre. Even though they owned the land, their resources were insufficient to construct a church, so for their religious satisfaction they traveled 12 miles north to the Holy Trinity Russo Greek Orthodox Church at Wostok.

In 1900, the first parish of the present church was founded, with a small log church being built on the homestead of Peter Stefura, approximately three miles east of Chipman. The parish continued until February 23, 1923 when the church burned at 4:00 a.m. of unknown causes.
When the church was destroyed by fire, it was decided to construct a new one on the ten acres of land that this parish owned at Chipman. At this time, the CNR was willing to sell a ten-acre parcel where the church now stands. This piece of land was traded to the church by Mr. Magzag who bought it from CNR. The members taxed themselves according to their own abilities to raise money for a new church. The new church , which cost $5,000.00, was designed by Rev. Andrew Kokolsky and had the very distinctive features of a large central dome and a high bell tower over the west entrance of the church. On July 7, 1925, the Patronal Feast Day of St. John, the church was consecrated by His Grace Bishop Adam and dedicated to St. John the Baptist.

On the night of September 27, 1963, a fire of undetermined origin completely burned the church and all its rich and historical contents. But a building committee was immediately organized.

Construction of a new church began in the spring of 1965 with volunteer labor by the members. With some sub-contructing, the building was closed in and the first service was conducted in the fall of 1965.

A new, wood-carved iconostasis, imported from Greece, was installed in 1976.

On Sunday, July 4, 1976, the present day church was consecrated by His Grace Bishop Job of Zaraisk, assisted by the clergy of the Patriarchal Orthodox Parishes in Canada.

In 1980, donations were received and a beautiful 264 lamp chandelier was imported from Greece and installed from the top of the dome.

Because of its central position, besides its prior destination to serve the parish, the church serves as the place for meetings and general services for Orthodox V Charitable Association.