Thanks to the wooded character of the terrain, in Prykarpattia places of worship have long been built of wood. Historians cannot yet establish the exact date of the appearance of these little shrines, but on the site of shrines destroyed over time, new churches were erected, many of which have survived, and services are now held in them. Examples of wooden sacred architecture have the status of architectural monuments, but are not always protected in a proper manner. Unique structures undergo radical changes during irresponsible repairs using modern materials, losing their authenticity. Let us examine, on the example of the churches of the Stryi area, the state of the wooden monuments in the villages of the Stryi district of Lviv region.
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| Strilkiv. Lviv region. The Saint Nicholas church. 1650. Architectural monument of national significance |
Strilkiv
The oldest church is located five kilometres to the south-east of
Stryi in the village of Strilkiv. The Saint Nicholas church dates to 1650 and has the status of an architectural monument of national significance.
The three-frame building of the Boyko type is built of beams, which is characteristic of Ukrainian churches. The nave has a four-sloped pyramidal roof. The roofing, the upper part of the church and the pentice girdling it are made of shingle. To the north of the church stands a single-tier belfry.
In a glass case by the entrance is placed a wooden figure of Saint Nicholas.
The shrine stands on a rise, to which metal steps lead. Services in the Saint Nicholas church are held only on the patronal feast — 19 December; since 1990 the community has prayed in a new spacious church with large beautiful windows and a belfry of unusual design.
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| Strilkiv. Lviv region. The Saint Nicholas church. 1650. The steps |
Dobrivliany
With the status of a monument of national significance is the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Dobrivliany, four kilometres to the north of Stryi.
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| Dobrivliany. Lviv region. The Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross |
In 1629 a Polish landowner erected a small shrine, in which the foundress found her final rest. A hundred years later, the benefactress's descendants extended the church, and her grave is now inside the place of prayer. The two-frame structure without iron nails is covered with shingle. The old residents of the village recall that once, among the church relics, there was a chair of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi with an inscription. In the godless times the villagers managed to save the shrine from destruction, but services were not held in it. Now it is opened only on 27 September, on the patronal feast. The church is surrounded by buildings and is not visible from the road.
Pidhirtsi
To the east of Stryi, in the village of Pidhirtsi the Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit, built in 1810, also has the status of an architectural monument of national significance.
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| Pidhirtsi. Lviv region. The Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit. 1810 |
Until 1939 the patron of the church was the landowner Baron Brunytskyi. After the war the shrine was closed, and the faithful went with prayer to other villages. In 1989 the church was returned to the faithful and its restoration began. In 2016 a new large church was built in the very centre of Pidhirtsi, but this one the community cherishes as the cultural and spiritual heritage of the village.
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| Pidhirtsi. Lviv region. The Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit. 1810 |
Bratkivtsi
In almost every village to the south-west of Stryi there is a wooden church. In Bratkivtsi the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord was built in 1876.
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| Bratkivtsi. Lviv region. The Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord. 1876 |
The three-frame church is covered with a metal roof. Sacristies are built on to the faceted altar from two sides. The nave is crowned by a five-sloped roof, while the babynets and the sacristies have a two-sloped one. A memorial plaque on the wall of the church testifies to the sacrilege of the godless authorities, who plundered the shrine in 1986. The faithful cherish this monument of local significance, and with the growth of the community services are held in the new Church of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin, of 2013.
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| Bratkivtsi. Lviv region. The Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord. 1876 |
Dolishnie
The youngest wooden churches of the Stryi area are located in the villages of Dolishnie and Semyhyniv. The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin was built in 1922 on the site of its predecessor, destroyed during the First World War. The golden covering of the only church in the village is visible from afar and confirms the community's desire to dress it richly.
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| Dolishnie. Lviv region. The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin. 1922 |
Semyhyniv
In Semyhyniv the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, cruciform in plan, was consecrated in 1941.
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| Semyhyniv. Lviv region. The Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. 1941 |
Stankiv
Moving in a southerly direction from the Stryi turn, in every settlement you notice the metal finials of wooden sacred architecture shining in the sun. In Stankiv the Church of the Holy Trinity was built in 1850 on the donations of the villagers and under the guidance of a priest. In Soviet times the shrine was closed, and on the instruction of the head of the collective farm the Roma carried off the church utensils and holy images. A collective-farm museum was set up in the prayer premises. After lengthy efforts and wanderings through bureaucratic offices, in 1986 the church was reopened for the faithful.
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| Stankiv. Lviv region. The Church of the Holy Trinity. 1850 |
Morshyn
In Morshyn the Church of the Protection of the Blessed Virgin was erected in 1825. In the years of the persecution of religion, services were held illegally behind doors boarded up with planks. In 1943 the shrine was visited by Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytskyi. At present a museum of icons of the Mother of God is open in the restored church.
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| Morshyn. Lviv region. The Church of the Protection of the Blessed Virgin. 1825 |
Lysovychi
The oldest active church is located in the village of Lysovychi on the border with Ivano-Frankivsk region. On the plaque of the Church of the Epiphany of the Lord the date of construction is given — 1712. But there is also another version — 1755, possibly the time of the completion of the building works. The three-frame, three-tier building on an oak base is crowned with three cupolas. In 2014 the community repaired this masterpiece of wooden architecture of local significance using shingle, remembering the craft skills of the folk masters.
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| Lysovychi. Lviv region. The Church of the Epiphany of the Lord. 1712 (1755) |
Zaderevach
In the neighbouring village of Zaderevach the Church of Saint John the Baptist also has two dates of construction — 1808 and 1826. A few years' difference for such a venerable age has no particular significance if the monument is cherished and its history is known. For the shrine's anniversary the villagers made an effort and made it gleaming, covering the three-frame building and the pentice girdling it with sheet metal, installing plastic windows and lining it with clapboard.
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| Zaderevach. Lviv region. The Church of Saint John the Baptist. 1808 (1826) |
Volia-Zaderevatska
The dates of construction of the Church of Saint Michael the Archangel in the neighbouring village of Volia-Zaderevatska differ — 1807 and 1856. The two-frame church (nave and altar) is crowned by a small cupola. The little shrine did not manage to avoid a Euro-renovation with the replacement by large plastic windows. The church is known for the fact that in the 1930s its priest was Father Andrii — the father of the OUN leader Stepan Bandera.
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| Volia-Zaderevatska. Lviv region. The Church of Saint Michael the Archangel. 1807 (1856) |
Velyki Didushychi
In Velyki Didushychi, the most remote village on this branch, the Church of the Presentation of the Lord was consecrated in 1811. The church was brought from Stryi and set on a stone foundation on the site of its burnt predecessor. In the godless times the church was a spiritual centre for the faithful of the whole district, where the Bolshevik authorities had closed the shrines. For the 200th anniversary the monument was re-dressed in a Euro-outfit, without concern for preserving the traditions of wooden folk architecture. Services are held in the newly built church.
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| Velyki Didushychi. Lviv region. The Church of the Presentation of the Lord. 1811 |
Nezhukhiv
In the north-westerly direction, in the village of Nezhukhiv the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin appeared in 1875 or 1865. The three-frame structure is covered with sheet metal and crowned by a large cupola. Sacristies are built on to the square altar. Earlier the church was lined with boards vertically. After the repair works the slab-wood was laid on the walls of the shrine horizontally.
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| Nezhukhiv. Lviv region. The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin. 1865 (1875) |
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