Morochow

Introduction

The village of Morochow is located 18 km from Sanok. The local Orthodox parish includes the villages of Morochow and Mokreh which were long-developed oil production centers. The first mention of Morochow dates back to 1402.

In the center of the village is the beautiful church of the , which belongs to the Sanocki Dean of Przemysl – Gorlice Orthodox Diocese.

History

The first mentions of the Orthodox church in Morochow date back to 1429.

In 1692, the Przemysl – Gorlice Orthodox Diocese adopted the rulings of the tragic Union of Brest. The decision of the bishops did not meet the people approval. It was a period when – as historians emphasize – the hierarchy was left without believers, and believers without hierarchy. Legally, believers from Morochow returned to Orthodoxy in the 60s of the last century, rejecting the forced rite imposed on them.

The contemporary church was built in 1837 with a tower built in 1854 over the porch. As the legend informs, the place of construction of the temple was not accidental. First, the old church was built at the upper part of Morochow, on the so-called Witriany. One day, during the fire, the wind brought a page from the Evangelium to the place of the cemetery at that time. Residents perceived it as a sign and decided to build a new church on this place. The ashes were moved to the new cemetery and buried in a common grave, which was given the shape of a mound. So says the legend – фы is known – is not confirmed by historical sources.

In 1946 and 1947, the residents of Morochow and Mokre were resettled as a result of the tragic action of “Wisla”. Liturgical life in the church stopped.

Some of them returned a few years later and immediately began to rebuild the destroyed temple. In 1961, the Morochow church became a legally existing Orthodox parish within the boundaries of the Rzeszow Dean of the Orthodox Church in Poland.

Architecture

The church of the Meeting of our Lord in Morochow is more Western-Lemko than the East-Lemko style. It is a wooden building of a log structure, lined with wood. It is a three-part oriented temple. Above the porch rises the tower of pillar construction, topped with a tin bulbous dome with a hexagonal cross. The nef is covered with a tin one-rolled roof, topped with two tin bulbous tents, descending from west to east with a lower-end bell tower on the east side, in which there are three bells. The sanctuary with the sacristy completed on the south side, is closed in a rectangular form. The entrance to the church leads through a porch, atypically, on the south side.

Inside the temple, a four-row iconostasis with authentic icons of the 19th century draws attention, as well as a bribery part, decorated with an icon of the Theotokos and a modest painting representing the sky with stars.
Two wooden crosses were placed next to the church in memory of the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus.

In 1985, the Orthodox Church in Morochow was added to the register of architectural monuments.

Attractions

Special attention in the Morochow church is drown to:

• procedural icons, so-called feretrons, delivered from a non-existent church in Zawadka Morochowska and Plonna
• the newly found icon of St. Fekla’s martyr, as well as the icon of St. Panteleimon with a particle of relics.