- my father, Jaroslaw Iwanusiw, who was my faithful secretary during the filming, and who was largely responsible for the preparation of the map,and for corrections to the text.
- my mother, Iwanna Smolynska-Iwanusiw, who was a valued companion during the filming excursions.
- my wife, Bozhena Wertyporoch-Iwanusiw, who wan a witness not only toall the filming, but also to the writing, compiling, and correction ofthis book, as well as a source of ideas and encouragement.
- my daughter, Olena Iwanusiw-Coba, who for four years maintained end updated a list of all the churches, and who keyed and corrected the whole thing into the computer.
- Rev. Sister Eleanor who proofread the English text.
- my acquaintance, Mirko Kertyczak, who supplied photographs of churches from localities where I was not allowed to travel.
- the artist Paul Lopata who prepared the crests of the Lemko Apostolic Administration, the Eparchy of Peremyshl, the Lands of Peremyshl, and numerous crosses used throughout the book,
- the artist Roman Radylecky who sketched all the non-existing churches,sometimes from photographs that left much to his imagination.
- many unnamed friends and acquaintances in Poland who supplied informationor advice on the project.
- many friends and institutions in the free world who supplied photographs, advice and information, These include: The Ukrainian Canadian Museum and Archives in Edmonton, Wolodymyr Lesniak, Mykola Duplak, and others.
- The Eparchy of Peremyshl belonged to the Greek Catholic Rite. The current name for this rite is the Ukrainian Catholic Rite. Either name may be used in the book.
- The Catholic Church is made up of many Rites. The Roman Catholic Rite is the largest, and the Ukrainian Catholic Rite is the second largest Rite in the Catholic Church.
- Most eastern European languages have more than one word for "church". Traditionally the [Lemko] word "kostel" is used for a Roman Catholic place of worship, while the word "tserkva" is used for a place of worship of an Eastern Rite church - whether Catholic or Orthodox. Because no similar distinction exists in English, the word "tserkva" is used in the book, for a place of worship of the Eastern Rite church, and the word "kostel" for a Roman Catholic church (plural: tserkvy, kostely).
- In this book the words "Orthodox church" refer to the "Polski Autokefaliczny Kosciol Prawoslawny". In spite of the "Polski" in the name, most consider them to be the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
- The names of the localities are written in Ukrainian according
to the spelling used by Dr. Wolodymyr Kubijovych.
The Ukrainian names have been transliterated into Latin for use on the map according to the following table.
À A Ç Z Á B Æ Zh  W È Y à H ² I ¥ G ¯ JI Ä D É J Å E Ê K ª JE Ë L The transliteration of Ukrainian names into English has been carried out according to the table given below. This table has been designed to facilitate the proper pronunciation of Ukrainian names by the English-speaking readers.
À A Æ ZH Á B Ç Z Â V È Y Ã H I I ¥ G ¯ YI Ä D È Y Å E Ê K ª YE Ë L The present day Polish names are not used in this publication.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Outlined here will be the history of Ukrainians from Halychyna (Galicia), descendants of a Slavic tribe called White Croats. They lived for more than a millennium on territories that are now a part of Poland, History tells us that these people were an integral part of the Kievan Rus' for 360 years; following this, they spent 420 years under Polish domination and, later, 155 years under Austrian administration.
Forty years ago, the Polish government expelled these people from their ancestral lands to the Ukrainian RSR, or to other parts of Poland. The expulsion was very cruel and the population defended itself by all available means.
To this day, one can read references in Polish literature to the evacuees as "bandits". One must ask the question: Who is the bandit? Is it the one who defends himself against expulsion from his ancestral lands or the one who carries out the expulsion?
This book is dedicated to all those
who suffered or laid down their lives
in the defense of their nation,
their church,
their village,
their neighbour,
or their family.
Let these red poppies represent and remind us of their innocent blood.
A. POLITICAL BACKGROUND
B. RELIGIOUS BACKGROUND
C. PERSONAL DEDICATIONS
D. CHURCHES OF THE LEMKO APOSTOLIC ADMINISTRATION
E. CHURCHES OF THE JOINT EPARCHIES OF PEREMYSHL, SAMBIR AND SYANIK
F. NONEXISTING AND OTHER CHURCHES
G. BIBLIOGRAPHY
H. INDEX OF LOCALITIES
I. MAP OF THE EPARCHY OF PEREMYSHL
Map Retrieval By Coordinates - click on an area.
(Within specific images, in red - the church has been ruined, and in certain cases the village no longer exist. Current high resolution topographic maps are available.)
The following table provides a clickable option to retrieve the individual map coordinate images. Each image is in GIF format and the average file size is approximately 50 kilobytes.
01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 F F5 F6 F7 F8 F9 F10 E E4 E5 E6 E7 E8 E9 E10 D D4 D5 D6 D7 D8 D9 D10 C C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 B B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7 B8 B9 A A4 A5 A6 A7 A8
In April 1998, Oleh W. Iwanusiw published PART II of CHURCH in RUINS entitled "Churches of Ukraine, Peremyshl Eparchy". Check the link below for the second publication. Oleh Iwanusiw can be contacted by snail mail at:
296 Mill Road, #F1
Toronto, ON
Canada
M9C 4X8
or via email at olehwi@rogers.com.
There are still a few copies of "Church in Ruins" available. The author would be glad to supply anyone with a copy. The cost would be the same as in the book stores - US $55, or CND $70. This includes shipping charges to US/Canada. To order your copy of the book, please email the author
Local Links:
Churches of Ukraine, Peremyshl Eparchy
Lemkos
Document Information
Document URL: http://lemko.org/lih/churchir/chirmain.html
Copyright © Oleh Iwanusiw
E-mail: olehwi@rogers.comOriginal page design and layout by Walter Maksimovich
E-mail: walter@lemko.org
since Jun 18, 1997LV Productions, Ltd.
Originally composed: September 14th, 1996
Date last modified: October 12th, 2005
Church in Ruins
by Oleh W. Iwanusiw
INTRODUCTION
In 1988, Ukrainians all over the world will be celebrating the millennium of Christianity in Ukraine. It grieves me to affirm that in Ukraine itself, although religion in not officially outlawed, it is persecuted by agencies of the State. The small number of churches that are open are all part of the Russian Orthodox Church, a church which claims, but does not possess, continuity in the millennium.
The aim of this hook is to show the demise of the churches, clergy, and faithful of one small part of Ukraine. This small part is the portion of the Eparchy of Peremyshl that is within the borders of present day Poland.
In this book you will find color photographs of churches that still exist. The photographs are divided into two chapters. The first chapter covers the churches of the Lemko Apostolic Administrative, while the second chapter covers the rest of the Eparchy of Peremyshl. Generally speaking, the photographs are arranged according to deaneries. They start in the west, the Deanery of Mushyna, and end in the north-east, the Deanery of Varyazh.
In the third chapter you will see drawings of churches that no longer exist. These were made by Roman Radylecky from private and published photographs. Included in this chapter, are lists of no longer existing churches whose pictures we could not obtain. Should you, the reader, have photographs of churches that are missing here, please send these to the St. Sophia Association In St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. We will make an effort to update this publication.
A detailed map of the Eparchy of Peremyshl in also a part of the book. Every locality which has or had a church is marked on it.
Most of the photographs were taken by the author during trips in the years of 1984-86. Some photographs were obtained from M. Kertychak and are so marked.
I consider the effort spent in preparing this book as my contribution to the celebrations of the millennium of Christianity in Ukraine. I hope that the publication will show religious and civil authorities the great injustice that has been perpetrated on the Ukrainian population of the Eparchy of Peremyshl. I equally hope that the fate of the descendants of these people will improve in the years to come.
I hope that you, the reader, will find a photograph of the church of your locality, or that of your forefathers. Unfortunately, the churches wheremy forefathers worshipped no longer exist!
In conclusion, I must thank many individuals who assisted in the preparation of this book. These include:
The author will be proud, and indeed honored, if this publication will contribute to the history of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, and will become, even in a small way, a part of the diverse celebrations commemorating the Millennium of Christianity of Rus'-Ukraine.
AuthorToronto, 1967
"Church in Ruins"
illustrates the present condition of churches of the Ukrainian
Catholic (Byzantine Rite) Eparchy of Peremyshl, part of which
territory fell within the boundaries of present day Poland. While a
few of the churches are recognized and protected as architectural
antiques by Polish museums, and others havebeen acquired and are cared
for by the Polish Roman Catholic Church, the majority of the churches
were destroyed and no longer exist.
The author attempted to visit every one of the 690 churches in some 650 municipalities. His pictorial record is shown on the pages of this publication. Here you will find illustrated some fine examples of Lemko and Boyko wooden sacral architecture, as well as the painful remnants of churches that have been destroyed for whatever reason.
Shown on the front portion of the jacket is the church in Malava. Its walls are crumbling from the chemical action of fertilizers that have been stored here for forty years. The church's cross is shown on the rear.
It is thrust in the ground where the altar once stood.
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Oleh Wolodymyr Iwanusiw was born in Halychyna (Galicia), Western Ukraine, and came to Canada after W.W. II with his parents and sisters. He completed his education by obtaining a BSc. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Alberta in Edmonton. Since then, to the present time, he makes a living by applying electronics to the measurement needs of electrical power systems. Oleh is neither a professional photographer nor an author. He collected materials for this publication during four trips to Poland. He considered it appropriate to prepare this publication for the celebrations of the Millennium of Christianity in Ukraine and in memory of his grandfathers, both of whom were priests in the Eparchy of Peremyshl. |
COMMENTS
A few explanations are in order: