Church of the Dormition in Szczebrzeszyn

The white Orthodox church on ul. Sądowa looks modest, but it is the oldest sacred building owned by the Polish Orthodox Church. Its walls date from the 16th century and stand on the foundations of an even older church, and its history connects Catholics, Calvinists, Orthodox and Eastern-rite Uniates. In the 20th century it came close to demolition and then decayed for decades – today it is a church again.

History: four denominations within one set of walls

Archaeological research has shown that in the 15th and early 16th centuries a church with an apse and crypt stood here – perhaps the first St Nicholas' Church, founded around 1394 by Dymitr of Goraj. In 1555–1592 the town belonged to the Protestant Górka family. Andrzej Górka probably took over the church and made it a Calvinist meeting house; when there were too few Protestants, he handed it to the Orthodox and paid for its rebuilding. Iron doors bearing his initials date from 1540.

After 1596 the parish joined the Union with Rome. The Uniates repaired the church several times; in 1777, two days before Christmas, the chancel collapsed, and Father Jan Karol Lipowiecki rebuilt it. The same priest, wishing to raise the church's prestige, entered a false founding date – 1194 – into the parish chronicle, which later authors repeated. After the Tsarist authorities abolished the Union in 1875 the church was Orthodox; it stayed open until 1915.

In 1938 it was put on a list of Orthodox churches to be demolished, but residents' protests stopped the work. After the war it was used as a warehouse and then fell into ruin. In 2006 it was handed to the Orthodox Church and thoroughly restored in 2008–2010.

What to see

• 17th-century wall paintings, uncovered during the latest restoration.
• The iconostasis, destroyed in the First World War and restored.
• The iron doors of 1540 in the chancel wall, with Andrzej Górka's initials.
• The exterior, two parts under red roofs with small domes.

Tripto tip

The church belongs to the Orthodox parish in Biłgoraj and is not open every day – the interior is easiest to see during a service or by contacting the parish in advance. You can see the outside at any time. It stands at ul. Sądowa 11, a short walk from the synagogue and the market square with the beetle monument – three places of worship of three faiths within a few hundred metres are the best lesson in Szczebrzeszyn's history. Allow 15 minutes outside, half an hour with the interior.