Greek Catholic Parish Church of St. Michael the Archangel, Brunary Wyżne (UNESCO List)
The Greek Catholic church of St Michael the Archangel in Brunary is one of the most impressive wooden orthodox church buildings in this part of the Carpathian Mountains. It was erected in the late 18th century. For about 150 years, it was a place of prayer for Lemkos, Ruthenian highland people who were mostly Eastern-rite Catholics who spoke their own Eastern Slavic language, known as Rusyn or Ruthenian. After World War II, the communist authorities deported Lemkos to the so-called Recovered Territories adjoined to Poland’s western frontiers.
The church was then taken over by Roman Catholics and received its current name – Our Lady of the Assumption. The history of Brunary dates back to late Middle Ages. There probably had already been an Orthodox church here by the 16th century. In 1596 some Orthodox bishops signed the Union of Brest, recognising the primacy of the Pope and Catholic dogmas, most of the residents of rural areas became Uniates, that is Greek Catholics. At the dawn of the 17th century, a Greek Catholic parish was established in Brunary. Worshippers initially used the former Orthodox church, which after several dozen years was replaced with a new one. Brunary was among the largest villages of the Lemkovyna Region, which is why at the end of the 18 century, the previous, smaller church was replaced with a new, larger one, which has survived to the present day.
The building comprises three parts and is oriented in the traditional manner, meaning that the chancel and main altar are oriented towards the east – the direction from which the saviour is said to be returning.
West of the chancel is the nave, where historically the male members of the congregation would gather. At the western end, is the babiniec, with a tower above it. The babiniec was the place for female worshippers were to gather. The nave and the babiniec have a log frame structure in which the walls are constructed of wooden beams stacked one on top of another and connected with carpentry joints at the corners. The tower has a column-frame structure with vertical posts and horizontal beams.
The interior is dominated by a pale shade of blue and is ornamented with polychrome murals with floral and geometric motifs. The oldest paintings date back to the 18th century, the newest ones – to the 20th century. The altar area is covered by an 18th century iconostasis – a wall made up of rows of icons, icons characteristic for churches of the Eastern rite. The presence of a side altars is a sign of the church’s adaptation to the decor typical of a Roman Catholic church. This phenomenon is sometimes known as ‘latinisation’.
Application – a virtual walk around the church
The church is 19 metres in height, with a length of 24 metres and a width of 12 metres. The walls of the vestibule are a cool, light green colour and are decorated with a multitude of dark green twigs with elongated leaves scattered at regular intervals. The flat ceiling is pale pink. The nave is rectangular and measures some 20 metres in length, with a width of 11 metres. Its walls feature white frames in the shape of vertically arranged rhombuses painted against a background of pale, muted green. They are decorated with a pattern of green leaves and small red flowers Their petals are arranged in forms similar to crosses, resembling cross-stitch embroidery on a traditional Łemko blouse. In the centre of the diamonds there are single, bouquets of flowers and fruit forming circles with dark green leaves.
Above these diamond forms, some two metres in height, the folk painter depicted a green and white fabric with lacework edges. The play of light and shadow make it look very realistic. Above this run double lines of horizontally arranged rhombuses, alternating green and red, while the ceiling is surrounded by a floral pattern. The ceiling itself is painted in a faded pale blue and is decorated with several circular patterns, featuring green and red leaves and flowers. The iconostasis standing on the border of the nave and the chancel is a wall composed of sacred icons painted on wooden boards.
It served as a window to the World of the Diving, whilst also serving as a pictorial Bible for the congregation. This wall consists of five rows of Icons. The first row from the bottom stands on a platform known as a predella, which itself is decorated with biblical scenes. The icons in the second row are the icons of the governorate – depicting the images of the patron of the church – the Archangel Michael, as well as St. Nicholas of Myra.
The icon of the Archangel Michael is known as the ‘Temple Icon’. Above this is a row of small round icons depicting feasts derived from New Testament events. From the left, the first six icons show scenes from the life of Mary, while the next six show scenes from the life of Christ. Between them is placed the Mandylion, or image of Odessa – an image of the face of Christ.
The central icon on the fourth row is an example of ‘Christ Pantocrator’ – the almighty Christ in judgement, either side of which are icons showing the apostles. The iconostasis is crowned by an ornately decorated Byzantine cross. On either side of the cross are 3 small round icons from the fifth row. These depict figures from the Old Testament and are surrounded by fantastical gold frames in the shape of crowns. The iconostasis also houses three doors. The central door, made from a single board of wood, is known as the Tsar’s Gate and bears a likeness of the Four Apostles. To its sides are the diaconate gates. The door surrounds depict the images of Melchizedek and Aaron. In the center of the chancel, the main altar stands under a wooden canopy on slender columns. It has the form of a table with a rectangular tabernacle on it.
The walls here too are decorated with paintings. All around, under the ceiling runs a pattern imitating a textured green and red fabric. Below, the walls are covered with vertical green branches against a background of grey, green and yellow rectangles. The flat ceiling imitates the sky. The sun, moon and many tiny yellow stars shine on the blue background. In the middle, exactly above the tabernacle, is painted a yellow square surrounded by clouds. On this background is a triangle with an eye. This is the symbol of the Eye of Providence and is surrounded by rays of light and the heads of angels.
