Intresting facts

Lemko People

Lemko people, also called Rusyns, are a legally recognised ethinic minority in Poland. Historically, it is a mysterious people as their origin is not fully known. Most often they are claimed to be the descendants of Wallachian people who came here from the south of the Carpathians but they may also come from Ukrainian people from the time of the inner Principality of Kiev. These people have always lived in a modest way in the valleys, on the slopes of the Beskids. They dwelled in the areas which stretched from the Wysoki Dział in the Bieszczady up to the valley of the Poprad in the Beskid Sądecki and Shlakhtov Ruthenia on the border between the Beskid Sądecki and the Little Pieniny. The area is called Łemkowszczyzna (Lemko Land). They were shepherds and craftsmen, they lived peacefully in harmony with nature and other people. They built mainly from wood and erected a lot of beautiful Orthodox churches and chyże – long cottages in which they lived. They had inhabited Łemkowszczyzna up to the Second World War after which they were forcefully resettled. Some of them managed to come back. However, the majority of Lemko villages are abandoned. We will come across shrines, roadside crosses, the ruins of cottages or fruit trees in the middle of forests which indicate that in the past there used to be a household.

WHAT IS AN ORTHODOX CHURCH?

An Orthodox church is a temple of Eastern Catholics and serves Eastern Orthodox Christians or Greek Catholics. The name (cerkiew) was taken from the word ‘kyriakon’ which denotes ‘the house of the Lord’. Interiors are the most significant in Orthodox churches – they are to be accustomed to rich, Eastern liturgy, they are to create symbolic space and express the mystery of God. Exteriors are less important – they solely constitute a frame for everything that is inside. Orthodox churches are usually oriented – the presbytery is directed to the east, in the direction of the sun which symbolises Jesus Christ. This custom refers to the ancient cult of the sun.

THE THREE-PART STRUCTURE OF AN ORTHODOX CHURCH

A classical Orthodox church is tripartite i.e. it is divided into three parts. Its most significant part is the presbytery (sancturary, światłyszcze) which is a place intended only for priests, the embodiment of heaven, separated from the rest of a temple by the iconostasis. It is where the altar is located. The nave is designated for the congregation which is to reflect life on earth. The last part is narthex which is also called pre-nave. Initially, it was occupied by catechumens and penitents which could not participate in the Eucharist. Later, it was dedicated to women who might have distracted praying men in the nave. The tower is usually situated over the narthex.

The Log Construction

Reading about Orthodox churches, we will come across the information that they are of log construction. It is a commonly used type of construction in the Carpathians which has been known since prehistoric times. A wall consists of beams made of horizontally placed logs (bierwiony) which are connected in the corners (quoins) as scarf joints. It happens that beam-ends are protruding beyond the building. Such walls are sometimes shingled i.e. covered with small boards usually of coniferous wood.

The Iconostasis

The iconostasis is a wall inside an Orthodox church which is supposed to separate the presbytery from the nave, it is to introduce the faithful to the mysticism of what happens in the sacred place which is normally out of their reach. Initially, the balustrade had this function, later a variety of different boards which supported icons. The final form of the iconostasis was shaped in Rus at the turn of the 14th and 15th century. Today, the iconostasis is a wall made of icons whose arrangement is strictly defined. The wall consists of 5 rows. At the bottom there are sovereign icons (the most important ones, there are usually four of them which represent the Mother of God, Jesus Christ, the patron saint of a temple and the most worshipped saint in the vicinity), the royal doors which can be entered only by a priest and the deacon doors. Above, there are festal icons which represent the most significant feasts during the liturgical year. The next row is the Deisis which shows Jesus, Virgin Mary and John the Baptist. Next to them, we will see the icons presenting apostles interceding for sinners to God. The fourth row depicts the Old Testament prophets and patriarchs. At the very top, we will see characters from the Old Testament (e.g. Adam and Eve) with God in the middle.

Two temples in the spa

Two wooden constructions wait for us in Wysowa – the older Orthodox church and the younger Catholic church. The Orthodox Church of St Michael the Archangel in Wysowa is another example of Orthodox churches built in the west-Lemko style. It dates back to the second half of the 18th century (it was constructed on the site of a temple which had been consumed by the fire). It was erected as a Greek Catholic, tripartite church but after its renovation at the beginning of the 19th century the nave was connected with the narthex. Inside, we can admire the complete, baroque iconostasis and the neo-gothic polychromy.

The Orthodox Church of St Michael the Archangel in Wysowa

At present, it serves as an Orthodox church. The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of few wooden temples which have served as Roman Catholic churches from the very beginning. It is a bit younger than its Greek Catholic friend – it was constructed in the first half of the 20th century but it refers to the tradition of the former, wooden architecture of the region. It consists of one nave and a bit narrower presbytery. Inside we can see the baroque altar with a painting presenting the assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary painted by Mieczysław Wyrobek.

The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Five wooden Orthodox churches on the border

On the border between Uście Gorlickie and Krynica Commune there are 5 wooden Orthodox churches within a distance of 12 km – statistically, we will see a wooden temple every 3 km! After another 10 km, we are in Mochnaczka

Niżna where the last Orthodox church of the Low Beskids is situated, as a matter of fact, on the very border with the Beskid Sądecki.

The Orthodox Church of Saints Cosma and Damian in Banica

The last Orthodox church which can be seen in the area of Uście Gorlickie is the Orthodox Church of Saints Cosma and Damian in Banica (next to Izby) which currently serves as a Catholic church dedicated to the same saints. The building was erected in the 18th century as the fourth temple at the place. It was built in the west-Lemko style with walls made of logs and a shingled roof. The walls inside were painted blue in the 19th century. The rococo iconostasis from the 18th century is worth our attention.