The Holy City of the Wichitas
Each Easter season since 1926, area residents have put on the nation’s longest running Passion Play with a cast of thousands. Thousands more arrive from across Oklahoma and from many states distants for the annual event. Twenty two buildings have been erected in the replica of the Holy Land. Largest of these is the church, a beautiful building that was built to resemble Christ Church in Alexandria, Virginia. Christ Church was founding father and first president George Washington’s home church where he often attended services. Built in the 1930’s, the church at the Holy City of The Wichitas is ornate and decorated in a beautiful style. A small museum on site offers a look at artifacts from the early plays and area residents.
The Holy City of the Wichitas began when Austrian born pastor Anthony Mark Wallock became the pastor of the First Congregational Church in Lawton. Home to Fort Sill, Lawton and the surrounding Wichita Mountains reminded Wallock of the Holy Land. At Easter 1926, Wallock took his Sunday school class into the mountains where they formed a tableau of the Resurrection. The event proved so popular that it was repeated and lengthened into a passion play. By 1930, six thousand were in attendance on Easter morning. Four years later, in 1934 that number increased to 40,000. The on site buildings were built by WPA Labor during the Thirties. The church was one of the last to be built and its’ sturdy walls are of native granite from the site.
A dedication was held on Easter Sunday 1935 for the Holy City of the Wichitas. A cast of 1200 participated in bringing the Easter story of Christ’s passion to the multitudes who gathered in the remote locale.
Today, the Holy City of the Wichitas can be visited daily between 8am and sundown. A small gift shop is available and the dates for the next passion play are on the calendar. Those who wish to see the Passion Play named Oklahoma’s Oberammergau after Europe’s most famed passion play should be in Lawton on Saturday April 8, 2006 or Saturday, April 15, 2006. The lovely church, nominated for the National Register of Historic Places, is available for weddings which are often held in the Holy City.
For details about the Holy City of the Wichitas, call 580-429-3361 or go online to www.holycityofthewichitas.com
