We continue our journey through Yavoriv region in my permanent column “Heritage through the pages of the past”.
Wooden Church of St. App. Peter and Paul (the former name of the Church of the Conception of St. John the Baptist) in the village of Glynytsia, Yavoriv district. The oldest information about the church of Hlynytsia dates back to 1510. The modern wooden church was built in 1689.
On the door of the southern door in the nave, a carved inscription has been preserved, certifying the date of construction. The iconostasis of the church is a four-tier carved and gilded, dating from the 18th century. At the beginning of the 20th century, it may have been partially rebuilt (a wide arch was completed between the 1st and 2nd tiers).
The church building damaged by fire, which burned down at the beginning of the 19th century, was rebuilt in 1821. The church underwent another restoration in the 1920s. At the same time, a square wooden belfry covered with a pyramidal roof was erected to the southwest of it.
The church was heavily damaged during the Second World War and was restored after its end. However, due to the lack of qualified craftsmen, the restoration was carried out unprofessionally, using low-quality wood and violating the previous forms of the temple. The central drum was strongly shifted to the viv-tar part. In 1951, the church was closed. Stepan Dubas, an 80-year-old local resident, recalls the last service that took place here officially in 1951, then services were held underground: “Our priest came secretly, changed into women’s night clothes and got here like that,” the old resident recalls. In 1989, the church was opened, and in 1990, the church was returned to the Greek Catholic community, a priest, Fr. Mykhailo Shuvarik. At the same time, the temple was repaired. 3 On November 22, 2003 and until today, the priest Fr. Stepan Hrytsan. In 2007, the Church of the Conception of St. John the Baptist was renamed the Church of St. Ap. Peter and Paul.
A new brick three-tiered belfry was built in the church yard, which, like the church, ends with a gable roof and a lantern with a crown. The church was in a state of disrepair – tilted in the western direction, the walls of the nave had rotted to the bottom and were deformed. In 2017, emergency work was carried out on the dome of the temple: the supporting structures of the central drum and the dome were restored, the foundation was waterproofed. The church was restored to its original appearance: the frame of the structure was leveled and the dome was moved to the right place. The tin roof of the altar and the roof of the nave and nave were replaced with copper. The church has architectural evidence.
Thanks to the efforts of the villagers, the church has an extremely beautiful appearance. Today, festive services are held in the wooden church. The church stands in the center of the village, by the main road on a small hill and fascinates with its beauty.
Source: Schematism of the Greek-Catholic clergy of the united dioceses of Peremysk 1926-1939.
Source: Slobodian V. Churches of Ukraine. Przemyśl Eparchy. Lviv 1998
Source: Kurash R., Slobodian V., Chornovol 1. “Catalogue of monuments of history and culture of the Yavo-rivsky district of the Lviv region.” Drohobych-2003.
Source: Prach B. Clergy of the Przemyśl Diocese and the Apostolic Administration of Lemkivshchyna. – Lviv: 2015, v. 1: p.618.10:47