Historical outline

A year before the famous Žalgiris Battle, King Vladislovas Jogaila gave Vyšné Groves to Stanislav Korytka. He also added Poczajowice to the grant. Over the following centuries the village belonged to the Humieckis, and at the end of the 19th century to the Bielskis from Rychcice. And it was more or less until this period that Gaje Vyšné did not have its own separate parish. Although there was a modest chapel on the Obliach parcel (1875), its condition was terrible. Therefore, efforts were made which resulted in the establishment of an independent exposition in 1927. At the request of the inhabitants, Bolechowice and Neudorf were added to it in the mid-1930s. In the latter village, a separate branch church was established in 1936.

From the beginning of the 1920s preparations were made for the construction of a new church in Gajy Wyżne. However, financial problems led to the old wooden church of Rychcice being temporarily demolished and transported to the village. In the early 1930s, however, the decision was made to return to the idea of building a brick structure. It was not without problems. The design of the Drohobych architect Władysław Klisiecki was criticised by, among others, the engineer Kazimierz Osiński, so modifications were made and the building was erected with the help of local people. In 1934, the consecration of St Mary's Church took place. In 1934, the consecration of the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel took place. The sources do not provide any detailed information on the decoration and surroundings of the church. All that is known is that three bells were brought in 1938.

In 1942, the parish was temporarily supported by the Capuchins from Drohobych. Later, when the first murders of Poles took place, the parish administrator Father Stefan Weis commuted to services from Drohobych.

In 1945, the parish was liquidated. The Poles left for the west and some church equipment was transported to Łańcut. For the next fifteen years the church stood empty. Around 1960, the Soviets arranged a grain warehouse in it. When Ukraine regained its independence, the church was handed over to the Greek Catholic Church and underwent extensive renovation.

Architecture

The building is located on an irregular square in the western part of Vyšné Groves (Potok settlement), near the road leading from Drohobych to Stryi. The presbytery faces north and narrows in relation to the three-bay nave. It is surrounded by a horseshoe-shaped annex, which houses the sacristy and the treasury. The attention is drawn to the square tower attached to the main body from the south-west.

The articulation of the internal facades is carried out by means of lisens, which pass through a barrel vault. The remaining rooms are covered with ceilings. The sides of the nave have three large semi-circular window openings on each side. A tripartite portico is added to the façade, forming the base of the balcony accessible from the staircase in the tower.

According to Rafał Quirini-Popławski, the structure of the church is preserved in good condition. During the last renovation carried out in 1998 - editor's note], in addition to plastering the walls, new tin roofs and a small, openwork bell turret with an onion-shaped cupola were made. The fate of the church furnishings, some of which were taken to Łańcut after the war and the rest probably destroyed on site when the church was converted into a grain storehouse, is not known.

From an artistic point of view, the building in Gajy Vyšné is a building rather devoid of individual expression. The overall mass is rather austere and simple. At some level, the loggia and the tower bring life to it.

The building is currently being converted into an Orthodox church. After modernisation, it thus acquired the characteristics of Eastern churches.