Rozdziele

Introduction

Rozdziele is a village on Lemkowszczyzna, 10 km from Gorlice. One of its monuments is the parish Orthodox church of the Nativity of Mary the Theotokos, which belongs to the Gorlice deanary of Przemysl – Gorlice Orthodox diocese. The church is located in the southern part of the village, by the road on Wapienne.

History

The name Rozdziele appeared in historical chronicles as early as the 18th century, but the first mentions of the Orthodox community in Rozdziele date back to the 16th century.

The present church of the Nativity of Mary the Thetokos was erected in the 18th century in Serednica near Ustryki Dolne, so its architectural style different from the style of a typical Lemkowski temple. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries it was expanded and served to believers until 1947, the tragic action of “Wisla” when the population of Serednica was forcibly resettled on so-called “returned lands”. The disused church began to fall into more and more ruin.

Through the efforts of Orthodox believers from Rozdziele, with support from Archbishop Adam and financial assistance from the lemks living in the United States, the temple was moved to a new place on Lemkowszczyzna and renovated. It was consecrated on August 24, 1986.

The Orthodox church in Rozdziele in 1985 was included in the register of architectural monuments.

Architecture

It is a triple oriented building, with a vestibule, a rectangular nave and an octagonal altar on the south side adjoins the sacristy, slightly disrupting the symmetry of the building. The wooden walls of the temple of log structure, are covered with wooden panels. Below the window line, it is surrounded by a visor, covered with a copper sheet, resting on props, called “soboty”. “Soboty” rarely meet in church architecture of Lemkowszczyzna. The ridge roofs are covered with copper sheet and are topped with an octagous bulbous dome with a deaf drum, on top of which we see an octagous Orthodox cross.

Next to the church is a detached bell tower, which was built in the mid-90s, thanks to financial support of Lemks from the United States.

The whole area next to the church is fenced with a wooden fence, covered with shingles.

Interior

Inside the temple the three-row iconostasis of 1907 which, like the whole church, was moved from Serednica, created by fr. Pawlikowski, draws the attention. nfortunately, the original icons were stolen in the 80s of the 20th century, immediately after the transfer of the temple in Rozdziele, and replaced with modern copies.

The walls of the church is decorated with a modest figurative – ornamental painting, the main element of which is, located under the dome, the icon of the Nativity of Mary the Theotokos.