Parish Church in Górzanka
The Parish of the Ascension of the Lord Jesus in Górzanka - the first more complete mentions regarding Górzanka are found, among others, in Adam Fastnacht's "Historical and Geographical Dictionary of the Lands of Poland in the Middle Ages". Here we learn that Górzanka, located in the Sanok Land, in the valley of the Wołkowyjka stream, was founded under Volhynian law by the Bal family from Hoczwi and existed as early as 1480 (until 1523 it was called Volkovyka Parva, Volkovyka, Wylkowyka, Wilkowylka).
In the Archives of the Crown Treasury, there is a mention that in 1552, there were 15 peasants, a priest, and a mayor in Górzanka. The presence of a clergyman could have been related to the existence of the first temple.
In 1480, after the death of Jan Bał - the Sanok steward - Matiasz, Father Piotr, and Mikołaj divided their father's estate. As a result of the division of goods, the then Wilkowyja Mała was divided equally between Father Piotr and Matiasz.
In Górzanka, like throughout the Carpathians, in the 18th and 19th centuries, faithful of the Eastern Rite - Greek Catholics (Uniates) and Latin Rite Catholics lived. The Rusyns were generally Greek Catholics, while the Poles were Catholics. They lived together harmoniously, often with mixed families, jointly celebrating holidays according to both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Uniates willingly participated in services during Christmas in the Catholic Church, while Poles, for example, celebrated the Feast of the Jordan (the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord) in the Church.
According to local tradition, some temple existed before 1718 in Górzanka at the foot of the mountain "Biłat" ("under Biłat") and is said to have burned down in a village fire.
The second temple, probably built around 1718, standing in its current location may have been a Latin mansion chapel and served subsequent owners of the village, the Bal family, the Karsznickis, the Giebułtowskis, etc., as well as the faithful of both rites until around 1835.
The harmonious life of the Rusyns, Poles, and Jews was disrupted by the partitioners. The Austrians were more favorable to the Rusyns and applied the principle of "divide et impera," which also influenced the fate of the temple.
Due to the lack of Catholic patrons, the Austrians often handed over the temple to the Uniates. They promised the Rusyns the establishment of a separate national state, antagonizing the local community, and many Rusyns succumbed to this policy and increasingly identified with the pro-Ukrainian option.
Perhaps at that time the Górzanka temple was expanded, consecrated on August 10, 1835, as a church under the invocation of St. Paraskeva and transferred by the Austrian authorities to the faithful of the Greek Catholic rite. The Roman Catholic faithful from Górzanka and the surrounding area attended church in nearby Wołkowyja.
During World War II, the German authorities continued the Austrian policy. At that time, the national ambitions of the Ukrainians grew, who introduced Ukrainian language instruction in the local school, and since 1942, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army began to develop.
In 1946, most of the nationalized Rusyns left for the territory of the Ukrainian Soviet Republic. In 1947, as part of Operation "Wisła," the remaining Rusyns were displaced to the Recovered Territories, and Polish families, for safety from the UPA, were relocated in the winter of 1947/48 to the vicinity of Lesko (Nowosiółki, Zahoczewie). The church in Górzanka remained abandoned and unsecured for about 20 years.
Much credit for saving the church goes to Father Franciszek Stopa, the parish priest of the Roman Catholic Parish in Polańczyk, who secured the temple and organized a modest liturgy from time to time, e.g. blessing food for Easter, funerals, etc.
Saving liturgical items from decaying nearby churches was undertaken by some residents of Górzanka, bringing here (to the abandoned church) icons, banners, vessels, etc.
From the end of the war until the late 1960s, the PRL authorities conducted systematic destruction of the remnants of the Greek Catholics. Many churches were burned or dismantled. The temple in Górzanka was to share their fate. Ultimately, mainly due to the lack of proper access, this plan was abandoned with the intention of organizing an agricultural cooperative store in the temple.
In the 1960s, the pre-war project for the construction of a hydropower station on the nearby San River was revisited. The people’s authorities took advantage of this, among other things, to destroy the church and the temple in Wołkowyja. The church was submerged by the waters of the Solina Reservoir in October 1967. Before that, all furnishings were moved to Górzanka and placed in a makeshift shed near the church.
The authorities, not wanting to further irritate the residents, yielding to the demands of Archbishop Ignacy Tokarczuk, agreed in 1969 to establish the Roman Catholic Parish of the Ascension of the Lord Jesus in Górzanka.
Slowly, parish life began to organize, the temple was temporarily renovated, and a rectory and catechetical hall were built. The temple was repeatedly robbed. Much valuable furnishings were lost. What survived, including elements from the church in Wołkowyja, constitutes its current equipment.
The parish in Górzanka, until 1975, officially also included the faithful from Wołkowyja, who, however, gathered in various ways for prayer at their own (in the cemetery or in a chapel under Górzanka), for which they paid high penalties, until a new church and Parish under the patronage of St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe was finally established there.
The architecture of the temple in Górzanka fits into the canon of "typicality" of Carpathian churches, which include, among others: a prominently located place in the middle of the village, proximity to the stream, the presbytery facing east, old trees and a cemetery around, graves of founders and clergy behind the presbytery, log construction, cladding, and shingles, as well as a bell tower nearby, including proximity to the manor and tavern.
The church in Górzanka is an oriented, three-part (presbytery, nave, vestibule) structure with log construction. The walls are clad and reinforced with horizontal logs. The presbytery, built on a square plan, has a sacristy adjoining it from the north. The nave is wider than the presbytery and the vestibule.
Initially, the presbytery and nave were covered with shingles, and currently, they have a ridge roof made of sheet metal. Above the nave, there is a bell tower with a bulbous dome.
The vestibule, added later, has a log construction and is covered with a gable roof, crowned with a square bell tower topped with a tent-like roof.
The temple is surrounded by a wreath of linden-oak old growth, the most magnificent oak may remember the times of the Jagiellonians.
There are several old gravestones around the temple. On one of them, located behind the presbytery, there is an inscription in Old Church Slavonic: "I am dust, Lord have mercy." The sandstone gravestone does not provide a name or date. Perhaps this is the burial place of a founder or some clergyman.
Next to the temple stands a stone, three-arch bell tower from the second half of the 19th century. The oldest bell dates back to 1744.
In 2011, on the two-hundredth anniversary of the birth of Father Adam Bielecki, a commemorative plaque was embedded in the side wall of the bell tower, dedicated by Bishop Adam Szal, the suffragan of Przemyśl.
Father Adam Bielecki, of the Janina coat of arms (born December 19, 1811, in Górzanka near Wołkowyja, died April 18, 1859, in Prague) - a Catholic priest, independence activist in the 19th century. He received ordination in 1834 in the Roman Catholic Church in Przemyśl. He was a pastor in Przeworsk, Stobierna, Bork Stary, and Chłopice.
He worked as a study prefect, lecturer in canon law and history of the Church at the Theological Seminary in Przemyśl. He was an advocate for reconciliation between Poles and Rusyns. He was involved in political life in Galicia and, as a conspiratorial activist, fought for Poland’s independence. Sentenced to death and then interned in Biecz, he was pardoned. He was a deputy to the Sejm in Vienna and Kromieryż and the Slavic Congress in Prague in 1848.
He served as a parish priest in Haczów and Rymanów. He died in Prague on April 18, 1859. He was buried in the parish cemetery in Rymanów.
The temple in Górzanka, along with the bell tower, was entered into the register of monuments in 1975.
A green tourist trail of PTTK runs through the village, along with four local walking paths around Górzanka with viewpoints (including to the observation tower on Korban 894 m above sea level and access to the "Dolina Łopienki" trail), three destination paths (to the church in Łopienka, to the "Holy Water" spring above Radziejowa, and to the "Czartów Młyn" waterfall - a "zakapiorska" route) and a cycling trail - Green Bike. Above the village, the Baligród Forest District manages a forest farm, and nearby there is a nature trail Baligród - Wierchy.
The village has a tourist shelter, a PTSM with a children's playground and a sports field, a fire station, and a grocery store. Hosts offer numerous accommodation options in agritourism farms, camping houses, and guest rooms. In Górzanka, there is also an opportunity for horseback riding.
A detailed map of tourist trails is available on the board at the church.
Photo and text author - Magdalena Święcka
More information on the Parish website - http://parafia-gorzanka.pl/broszurka.html
