Carpathian Church of St. Archangel Michael

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We posted an entry several years ago about the Carpathian Church of St. Archangel Michael which is located on Petrin Hill. At that time the church was in rather poor condition on the outside. The church, except for the glass windows and metal bars over them, is totally made of wood with even the 'nails' being wooden. Since the building is hundreds of years old the wood was quite weathered and some of the overlapping shingles looked like they were going to come apart. We were able to peek through the windows at that time and the interior appeared to be filled with materials being stored there. We were sad to see such a treasure as this neglected and lonely. That has changed greatly. The parts of the steeple that are supposed to have paint are now red, green and white the colors representing faith, hope and love for the Orthodox Church. The wooden shingles have been straightened and are firmly in place. But best of all the interior has been restored and services on held here on Sunday and Monday mornings.

The front door was open and we saw people looking inside. We were very excited to

think that we could see how the interior of such an old church would look. Imagine our surprise when we were allowed to go inside. Not only that but when I asked, I was given permission to take photos of the interior. I hope you enjoy them. The icons, the candles, all the things used for worship reminded us very much of churches in Moscow. The exterior while not identical called to mind the Stave Churches we saw in Norway. However it was built in Velke Loucky near Mukacevo. The church was built in the second half of the 17th Century making it a real treasure for folks to see and worship in today. The style of the church is called Bojkov. We hope to attend services there one Sunday this year.

The pictures are really beautiful! Double click on the first one and then look at all of them in the larger view. You will especially enjoy the lovely religious icons.

Note: On a beautiful winter Sunday, January 16th, 2011, we attended the worship service. The service is long, at least two hours and as it is Orthodox we all either stood or knelt in prayer during the entire service. The only worshipers seated were a very pregnant young woman, a very elderly man, and two young women with small children. The priest was very young.

It was rather awe inspiring to think of the believers who have worshiped in the church for almost 400 years.

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Photos

Looking toward the altar.
It was very dark. The flash brought into view items not visible otherwise.

Candles for worship and prayer
Rosita- We lit a candle for you.

Comments

[linda goehring]

picture
thank you for the beautiful pictures. all my love to you and nancy. linda

[MEG]

ENTRIES
The entries and pictures are delightful. Thank you for sharing so much of yourselves and your adventures with us. May God richly bless you as you do me. MEG