Poland’s Most Beautiful Orthodox Churches
Orthodox Christmas is the best time to admire the architecture of Poland’s Orthodox churches. Extremely varied, they range from woodworking masterpieces to more contemporary forms.
The Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church is the second-largest religion in Poland. According to various estimates, there are 500,000 to 600,000 Orthodox believers, and over 320 churches scattered all across the country. Many Orthodox churches are priceless monuments, with some dating back to the early 16th century. But newer churches also deserve our attention for the way their designers have translated the somewhat restrictive construction rules into the language of contemporary architecture.
The Church of Hagia Sophia, Warsaw
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St. Sofia of Divine Wisdom, photo: Kgbo / commons.wikimedia.org
Built on the southern outskirts of Warsaw in 2015, this is the first new, free-standing Orthodox church in the capital in over a century. The first service was held in the still-unfinished structure in May 2018.
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Orthodox Church, visualization, ul. Puławska in Warsaw, photo: APA Markowski Architekci
Standing at over 20 metres tall, with a surface area of 1000 square metres, it was designed by APA Markowski Architekci and was directly inspired by the contours of one of the world’s most-recognisable buildings – the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. The Warsaw church is topped off with a copper-covered dome more than 16 metres in diameter, and its interiors are adorned with murals and mosaics.
The Church of the Holy Spirit, Białystok
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Orthodox church of the Holy Spirit in Białystok, photo: Piotr Mecik / Forum
The largest Orthodox church in Poland, and one of the largest in Europe, The Church of the Holy Spirit was built in the 1980s and 1990s, and consecrated in 1999. It was designed by the famous Białystok architect Jan Kabac, who gave the church its characteristic central section, crowned with five onion domes. Its interior walls are covered in frescoes, and its impressive iconostasis contains 260 icons and took ten years to complete. The Białystok church is built of brick, and its façade was designed to evoke the tongues of flame that appeared to the apostles during the Descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
Holy Trinity Cathedral, Hajnówka
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Holy Trinity Cathedral in Hajnówka, photo: Wojciech Kryński / Forum
Built between 1974 and 1992, this cathedral was designed by architect Aleksander Grygorowicz, with the assistance of Jerzy Nowosielski, who is known for his interest in religion and Orthodox art. The cathedral has a unique organic form – its asymmetrical shape is comprised of interconnected concrete shells covered with high, arching roofs. Most Polish Orthodox churches are constructed in a traditional style, reminiscent of historical Orthodox shapes, but the Hajnówka cathedral proves that such buildings can still be made to look contemporary while staying true to the time-honoured rules.
The Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Supraśl
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Monastery of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Mother of God and St. Jana Theologa in Supraśl, photo: Piotr Mecik / Forum
One of Poland’s four Orthodox monasteries is in Supraśl near Białystok, and its complex includes a fortified church unlike other buildings of its kind. The sturdy form of this plaster-topped brick structure with a rectangular base and imposing towers at each corner resembles a small medieval castle. It was erected in the early 16th century, a few years after Aleksander Chodkiewicz had founded the monastery.
The Cathedral of Saint Aleksandr Nevsky, Łódź
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St. Aleksander Nevski in Łódź, photo: Marcin Jurkiewicz / East News
The Cathedral of Saint Aleksander Nevsky was built in 1884 with funds raised by rich Łódź factory owners. The construction committee included Karol Scheibler, Izrael Poznański, and Juliusz Kunitzer, who supported the investment irrespective of their own religious beliefs. The plans for this graceful church covered in multi-coloured stone slabs were drawn up by the municipal architect, Hilary Majewski. Although the church was said to have been built out of loyalty to the Russian partitioners, it did not suffer the fate of other Orthodox churches once independence was regained. It escaped demolition because such luminaries of the city had been involved in its construction.
The Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God, Puchły
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Orthodox church of the Protection of the Mother of God in Puchły, photo: Mariusz Olkowski / Forum
A number of the surviving historic churches in Podlasie have a common feature: exteriors painted in vivid colours. One of the most beautiful is to be found in Puchły. The first Orthodox church in the village probably appeared in the 16th century, but the current wooden building dates from the 1920s. This richly ornamented church was painted a particularly bright blue during renovations in 2014.
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Orthodox Church of the Exaltation of the Lord's Cross in Narew, photo: Krzysztof Kundzicz / commons.wikimedia.org
There are other similar wooden, vibrantly painted examples around the area, such as the enchanting architecture and colours of churches in the villages of Narew, Podbiele, and Trześcianka (the latter is a striking green).
Subcarpathian wooden churches
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Orthodox Church of the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God in Chotyniec, photo: National Heritage Institute
After Podlasie, the Subcarpathian region has the second-largest amount of priceless historic Orthodox churches. Their significance for subsequent generations was confirmed when they acquired UNESCO World Heritage status in 2013; a recognition covering sixteen buildings – eight each in Poland and Ukraine. Built between the 16th and late-19th centuries on the boundary of Western and Eastern cultures, these wooden Orthodox and Catholic churches are a unique historical record of this multicultural region, and date back to when the area was inhabited by Huculs, Bojkos, Lemkos, and Galician Ruthenians. Although each of these peoples residing in the region had their own building traditions, the Subcarpathian wooden churches formed a coherent whole, documenting the religion and craftsmanship of those ethnic groups.
Among the most precious surviving wooden Orthodox churches are those in Chotyńiec, Radruż, Smolnik nad Sanem, and Turzańsk in Podkarpackie, as well as Powroźnik, Owczary, Kwiatoń, and Brunary in Małopolska.
The church in Biały Bór
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Orthodox Church of the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God in Biały Bór, photo: Sławomir Kamiński / AG
The aforementioned Jerzy Nowosielski had been familiar with the Orthodox religion since childhood and started painting icons as a student. In time, the artist learned the secrets of Orthodox theology and began transposing them into the language of art in a unique way. Although known mostly for his paintings, Nowosielski had always wished to create architectural designs as well. His dream came true between 1992 and 1995 with the building of the church in Biały Bór, which Nowosielski co-designed with architect Bogdan Kotarba, working on the structure and its interiors.
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Church of the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God in Biały Bór, interior, photo: Forum
This small church is incredibly coherent. Its unusual, almost graphic quality harmonises with a dark-hued interior, illuminated only by images of saints painted on the walls. In 2019, the Biały Bór church became a listed historic building, the ‘youngest’ in Poland to be given a preservation order.
The Cathedral of Saint Aleksandr Nevsky, Warsaw
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St. Aleksander Nevski, Warsaw, photo from the collection of M.J.Meshchaninova's / wikimedia.org
Despite its remarkable scale and form, this cathedral only existed for a few years. Built at the turn of 19th and 20th centuries on Warsaw’s Saski Square, it was a place of worship, as well as a symbol of Russian authority and domination, which is why it was demolished in the 1920s, shortly after Poland regained independence. All that remains are photographs and salvaged fragments (on display in the basement of the Cathedral of Saint Mary Magdalene in Warsaw and the Faculty of Architecture at Warsaw University of Technology). The building was extremely impressive thanks to its elaborate, rich decoration. Even after the decision to tear it down, experts tried to defend the cathedral as an outstanding feat of architecture. But it was finally destroyed between 1924 and 1926 and its materials were used in many new constructions, e.g., the plinth of the statue of the Warsaw Mermaid by the Wisła River and the canopy over the entrance to the royal crypts on Wawel Hill in Kraków, as well as several Catholic churches.
Originally written in Polish, translated by MB, Oct 2020