Yablunytsia. Wooden churches and chapels - historical and spiritual landmarks, the cultural heritage of a Carpathian village

A church in a Carpathian village is a beacon that shines without cease; it is the guardian of Divine light, of prayer and of joy. The greatest adornment of the village of Yablunytsia in Ivano-Frankivsk region is the Church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God, which for almost 130 years has delighted the eye with the perfection of its forms, the richness of its interior and the living nature of the wood of the Carpathian forest.

 

Yablunytsia. Church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God. 1895. UGCC

The church rises on the mountainside at a height of almost 1,000 metres above sea level. Researchers of church history point to Yablunytsia as a place where wooden shrines were built that were later moved to Vorokhta and to Plytuvatyi in Lazeshchyna. At the end of the 19th century the Yaremche land was gaining tourist appeal, the number of the faithful was growing, and against the backdrop of the emerald green of the mountains a new house of prayer arose in 1895.

 

Earlier on this hill rose the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord of 1780, which is now a historical and architectural landmark in Lazeshchyna. According to another version, the building dates from 1868, though that may be the year the decision was taken to build a new church. During the First World War the structure suffered damage and was later restored. The church was painted by the artist Orikhovskyi, and the iconostasis was made by the renowned carver Vasyl Turchyniak. The church is built in the traditional Hutsul style. To the central square, smaller squares are attached on four sides. A characteristic feature of Hutsul churches is the skirt roof that protects the building from rain and damp. The log structure consists of round logs of equal thickness laid horizontally one upon another. The eight-walled construction and the four log frames are crowned with cupolas bearing crosses. After the repair, above the skirt roof the walls were sheathed with boards, and the roof and the eaves gallery were covered with sheet metal. The church is in the use of the UGCC community and holds the status of an architectural landmark of local significance.

 

To the south of the church, nearer the cemetery, rises a two-tiered bell tower. The first tier is square in plan, the second - octagonal.

 

On the church grounds, chapels were built during the reconstruction.

 

On the southern side of the church lies a cemetery with stone gravestones and metal crosses from the end of the 19th century.

 

Yablunytsia. The cemetery beside the Church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God

In 1992, in the centre of the village on Heroiv Maidanu Street, there was erected a wooden Church of St. Basil the Great.

 

Yablunytsia. Church of St. Basil the Great. 1992. OCU

The church was built by the efforts of the Orthodox community, preserving the traditions of Hutsul folk architecture.

 

The iconostasis was made in 1995 by the master carvers from Deliatyn V. Savchuk and V. Pryima. M. Kuziuk, an icon painter from Lazeshchyna, is the author of the holy icons.

 

To the south-west, a bell tower glints golden with its dome.

 

In honour of the consecration of the church, a memorial stone cross was set up.

 

In the church yard there is a well with drinking water.

 

In various parts of Yablunytsia one's attention is drawn to the numerous chapels built on private homesteads and on the slopes of the grun ridges, along the road or at crossroads, near the stops and the public institutions.

Yablunytsia. Chapels and sculptures of the Mother of God

Small religious objects were always the norm in Western Ukraine, yet most of the sacred structures were destroyed in the Soviet-Bolshevik times. Nowadays every public institution, enterprise and owner of a garden plot counts it an honour to build a chapel or set up a sculpture of the Mother of God on their own ground. The chapels are adorned with architectural ornaments, are always open to the faithful, and their interior resembles a full-fledged church with religious furnishings. The parishioners bring holy icons, crosses and prayer books to these places of worship. The icons are dressed in embroidered ritual towels, and there are always candles in a little box. The grounds of these small shrines are decorated with flower beds, and sometimes there are benches and lanterns.

Yablunytsia. Chapels and a memorial cross

One of the oldest chapels among the dozen and a half that I came across in Yablunytsia was built even before the First World War, and is now restored and well cared for.

 

Yablunytsia. A chapel

The churches and chapels of Yablunytsia in the Frankivsk region are centres of spiritual development and sacred landmarks of a Carpathian village.