Former Parish Church of St John the Baptist, Sokal (Ukraine), photo Agata Dworzak, 2019
License: CC BY-SA 4.0, Source: Instytut Polonika, License terms and conditions
Photo showing The former parish church of St Michael the Archangel in Sokal
Former Parish Church of St John the Baptist, Sokal (Ukraine), photo Agata Dworzak, 2019
License: CC BY-SA 4.0, Source: Instytut Polonika, License terms and conditions
Photo showing The former parish church of St Michael the Archangel in Sokal
Parish church (pobrygidkowski), monastery wing, Sokal (Ukraine), photo Agata Dworzak, 2019
License: CC BY-SA 4.0, Source: Instytut Polonika, License terms and conditions
Photo showing The former parish church of St Michael the Archangel in Sokal
Parish church (pobrygidkowski), monastery wing, Sokal (Ukraine), photo Agata Dworzak, 2019
License: CC BY-SA 4.0, Source: Instytut Polonika, License terms and conditions
Photo showing The former parish church of St Michael the Archangel in Sokal
Parish church (pobrygidkowski), monastery wing, Sokal (Ukraine), photo Agata Dworzak, 2019
License: CC BY-SA 4.0, Source: Instytut Polonika, License terms and conditions
Photo showing The former parish church of St Michael the Archangel in Sokal
Former Parish Church of St John the Baptist, Sokal (Ukraine), photo przed 1939
License: all rights reserved, Source: T. Zaucha, „Dawny kościół parafialny pw. św. Michała Archanioła w Sokalu”, [w:] „Kościoły i klasztory rzymskokatolickie na terenie dawnego województwa bełskiego”, t. 1, red. A. Betlej, A. Dworzak, Kraków 2021, License terms and conditions
Photo showing The former parish church of St Michael the Archangel in Sokal
Pobrygidovskogo Church, Sokal (Ukraine)
Photo showing The former parish church of St Michael the Archangel in Sokal
Presbytery of the Pobrygidov church, Sokal (Ukraine), photo przed 1939
License: public domain, Source: POLONA, License terms and conditions
Photo showing The former parish church of St Michael the Archangel in Sokal
Pabrigida church, monastery wing, Sokal (Ukraine), photo przed 1939, all rights reserved
Source: T. Zaucha, „Dawny kościół parafialny pw. św. Michała Archanioła w Sokalu”, [w:] „Kościoły i klasztory rzymskokatolickie na terenie dawnego województwa bełskiego”, t. 1, red. A. Betlej, A. Dworzak, Kraków 2021
Photo showing The former parish church of St Michael the Archangel in Sokal
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ID: POL-002501-P/189499

The former parish church of St Michael the Archangel in Sokal

ID: POL-002501-P/189499

The former parish church of St Michael the Archangel in Sokal

Former Church of St Michael the Archangel in Sokal - a former Roman Catholic parish church located in Sokal. Currently used as a residential block and sanitary inspectorate station.

History
The parish in Sokal was part of the Chelm diocese from the beginning of its existence. After the first partition of the Republic of Poland by Austrian decree it was incorporated into the Przemyśl diocese, and in 1787 into the Lviv archdiocese, where it remained until 1951.

The origins of the Sokal parish date back to the 15th century, the rector of the church was recorded in the sources as early as 1409, although the oldest surviving evidence of the functioning of the parish comes only from 1517.

Nothing is known about the first, oldest church in Sokal. It is not clear whether it stood on the left side of the Bug, where Sokal was originally located, or on the other side. Certainly, the temple bore the invocation of the Virgin Mary. In 1477, the city councillors funded a silver monstrance for it, made in Lviv by the goldsmith Augustine, and according to tradition, an image of the Sokal Mother of God was venerated in this temple, which was moved to the local Bernardine church in 1519 after a fire.

At the beginning of the 17th century (1603), the wooden parish church stood on the right bank of the River Bug, where the new town was founded, and was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the apostles Peter, Paul and John. In 1633, it was extended by the Holy Trinity Chapel founded by Tomasz Zagrobski, the owner of the villages of Konotopa and Vasyl. The temple was plundered and profaned by Cossacks and Ruthenians from the surrounding villages during the Khmelnytsky uprising. Most probably, the construction of a new church began after this event, as sources from 1672 describe it as a brick building. In September 1678, a fire broke out in the church, destroying the roof and rafter framing, but the furnishings did not suffer and the damage was repaired by 1680. Sources from 1714 describe the church in Sokal as being dedicated to St John the Baptist. There were as many as eight altars in the interior, and two more were set up in the chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary. The temple was richly furnished with liturgical equipment and vestments.

Unfortunately, the parish church burned down in 1772 and services were moved to the former Brigidine Church (cancelled by imperial decree on 24 June 1782). Damage from the fire began to be removed the following year. Shortly after the Sokal church and monastery of the Brigidines were cancelled, the buildings were given to the local parish. The church was then extended and re-consecrated in 1783, with the former parish church becoming the Chapel of St John the Baptist.

In 1870, as a result of a great fire at the Bernardine monastery in Sokal, the fire spread to the other side of the River Bug and consumed the parish church and the post-Brigidine monastery, which housed the vicarage. All the furnishings burned, except for the statue of the Crucified Christ from the side altar. The church also suffered significantly during the First World War, when the town was occupied by the Russians. The bells were requisitioned and the repair of the church was estimated at 3,000 crowns. A further 3,000 crowns were to be spent on repairing the Chapel of St John the Baptist. However, there were no funds to carry out major works. It was not until 1932-1935 that a decision was made to carry out major renovation work, including the extension of the church into the nave of the southern cloisters of the monastery. This idea dated back to 1898, but at the time there were no funds to carry it out.

The construction of the new parish church of St Michael the Archangel continued throughout the interwar period, initially in neo-Gothic style and eventually in modernist forms.

After the correction of the borders in 1951, Poles were expelled from Sokal by the authorities of Soviet Ukraine, and the parish church and the chapel of St. John the Baptist were closed. The pobrygidek church was eventually demolished and the wing of the former monastery was converted into a residential block. The St John the Baptist chapel was converted into a fertiliser depot, and since 1972 it has housed the district sanitary-epidemiological station and flats.

Architecture
The old parish church (later chapel) of St. John the Baptist is located in the northern part of the town, near the Old Market Square in Sokal. It was a brick building, rectangular in plan, with a single nave and a presbytery closed with a trilateral side. The façade was triangularly topped with corners accentuated with obelisks. The roof had a turret for a bell. It is now drastically altered.

The former Brigidine Church was located in the south-western part of the town, on the bank of the river embankment. The wide area of the church and monastery complex was surrounded by a brick fortification wall with circular towers. The church was oriented (with the chancel facing east), built of brick with a single-nave body and a lower chancel closed with a semicircle. The façade was two-storey, framed in the higher part by volute finials and topped by a triangular abutment. To the south-west it was connected to the monastery wing. The church was demolished after 1951 under unknown circumstances and does not exist today.

Bibliography:

  • T. Zaucha, „Dawny kościół parafialny pw. św. Michała Archanioła w Sokalu”, [w:] „Kościoły i klasztory rzymskokatolickie na terenie dawnego województwa bełskiego”, red. A. Betlej, A. Dworzak, Kraków 2021, t. 1, s. 517-562

Publication:

16.02.2025

Last updated:

16.07.2025

Author:

dr Agata Dworzak
see more Text translated automatically
Former St. Michael the Archangel Church in Sokal, now a residential building with a sanitary inspection station. The building is surrounded by trees and grass. Photo showing The former parish church of St Michael the Archangel in Sokal Gallery of the object +8
Former Parish Church of St John the Baptist, Sokal (Ukraine), photo Agata Dworzak, 2019
A two-story building with a gray roof, formerly the Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Sokal, now used as residential and sanitary inspection offices. Surrounded by trees and greenery. Photo showing The former parish church of St Michael the Archangel in Sokal Gallery of the object +8
Former Parish Church of St John the Baptist, Sokal (Ukraine), photo Agata Dworzak, 2019
Former St. Michael the Archangel Church in Sokal, now a residential building. The structure shows signs of wear with peeling plaster and a corrugated roof. Several chimneys are visible on the roof. Photo showing The former parish church of St Michael the Archangel in Sokal Gallery of the object +8
Parish church (pobrygidkowski), monastery wing, Sokal (Ukraine), photo Agata Dworzak, 2019
Former church of St. Michael the Archangel in Sokal, now a residential building. The structure has a sloped roof with visible chimneys and a weathered facade. Vegetation and parked cars are in the foreground. Photo showing The former parish church of St Michael the Archangel in Sokal Gallery of the object +8
Parish church (pobrygidkowski), monastery wing, Sokal (Ukraine), photo Agata Dworzak, 2019
The former St. Michael Archangel Church in Sokal, now a residential building. The facade shows signs of wear with peeling plaster and visible brickwork. A small garden with wildflowers is in the foreground. Photo showing The former parish church of St Michael the Archangel in Sokal Gallery of the object +8
Parish church (pobrygidkowski), monastery wing, Sokal (Ukraine), photo Agata Dworzak, 2019
Historic photo of the former parish church of St. Michael the Archangel in Sokal, showing a rectangular building with a triangular roof and a small tower with a cross, before 1939. Photo showing The former parish church of St Michael the Archangel in Sokal Gallery of the object +8
Former Parish Church of St John the Baptist, Sokal (Ukraine), photo przed 1939
Historic photo of the former St. Michael the Archangel Church in Sokal, showing a brick building with a triangular gable, small tower, and surrounding trees. Photo showing The former parish church of St Michael the Archangel in Sokal Gallery of the object +8
Pobrygidovskogo Church, Sokal (Ukraine)
Historical photograph of the former parish church of St. Michael the Archangel in Sokal, showing a large building with a triangular roof and a small tower. A person stands near a wooden fence and gate. Photo showing The former parish church of St Michael the Archangel in Sokal Gallery of the object +8
Presbytery of the Pobrygidov church, Sokal (Ukraine), photo przed 1939
Historic photograph of the former St. Michael the Archangel parish church in Sokal, showing a rectangular, single-nave brick building with a triangular gable and obelisks at the corners. Photo showing The former parish church of St Michael the Archangel in Sokal Gallery of the object +8
Pabrigida church, monastery wing, Sokal (Ukraine), photo przed 1939, all rights reserved

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