Historical outline

The village is located 7 kilometres north of the much larger Trembowla. In the past, the area where Losniv is located was full of muds and ponds. In the 19th century it was drained and turned into fields and meadows. The oldest mention of this estate dates back to the 15th century. Initially, Łoszniów was a royal estate. Interestingly, the tenants of this estate took the surname 'Łoszniowski' or 'Łośniowski' (temporarily or permanently). At the end of the 16th century, Łoszniów was recorded as a town, but most likely lost this status shortly afterwards.

Later leaseholders of the estate (from the 17th century) include: Piotr Firlej, Jan Tarła, Gabriel Silnicki (coat of arms Jelita), Adam Komorowski, Szymon Baworowski. From the 18th century, the village became the property of the Dulskis of Ostoja coat of arms. There is still a castle built by this family in the village. In the 19th century the estate belonged to the Baworowskis.

Originally, Łoszniów was subordinate to the parish in Trembowla, but already at the end of the 18th century there were plans to create an independent parish church on the site. However, this did not come to fruition until almost a century later. Initially, a chaplaincy was formed in Łoszniów, which was raised to the status of an independent parish in the 1880s. At that time, a church was also established in the village. Its consecration took place in 1890.

As Jan K. Ostrowski writes in his study of the site, there were also chapels within the village. In 1816, a brick private chapel was recorded within Łoszniów, but most likely it was destroyed. In the early years of the chapel's existence, services were held in the local Orthodox church. There was also a chapel in nearby Suszyn, the construction of which began in 1886 and was completed in 1913. It was a Romanesque-Gothic building.

The parish church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, consecrated in 1890, gained a brick bell tower nine years later. Unfortunately, in 1917, the retreating Russian army stole the bells, which were, however, recovered in 1923.

The last parish priest, Father Władysław Michałkiewicz, left the parish in October 1945. The keys to the building were given to the chairman of the village council. The expatriated inhabitants settled in the Strzelin district of Silesia. Some of the furnishings managed to be saved. It went to the new churches in the places of settlement.

Today, the building functions under the name of St. John Cantius and is served by priests from Trembowla.

Architecture

The building is situated on a hillside, in the eastern part of the village, south-west of the church. The church is set on an artificially levelled terrace, which is supported by a wall with steps to the north-west.

The brick and stone building was built on a Latin cross plan. Its longitudinal arm is formed by a four-bay nave and a slightly narrower, single-bay, south-east-facing chancel enclosed by a straight wall. The transverse arm is formed by the single-span arms of the transept. To the right of the altar section is a two-storey annex with a vestry on the ground floor and a vault on the ground floor.

The elevations are set on a plinth and framed by single-bay buttresses. They mark the division of the nave into bays. The façade is tri-axial, single-storey and closed with a triangular gable with slopes, which is decorated with a stepped decoration in plaster. In the ground floor is the main entrance framed by a wide doorway. It is topped off with a triangular gable with a cross. Above this is a window. On the sides there are rectangular arched panels with sculptures of Christ and Our Lady of Sorrows. The top of the façade is crowned with a pedestal with a stone cross. Between the buttresses framing the corners of the façade are half-lisons with pseudo-capitals in the form of sections of profiled cornice. The remaining façades are framed by a profiled cornice.

There is a gable roof over the nave section. Above the remainder it is triple-pitched, except for the annex. This part is covered with a pent roof. The signature turret, which was kept for a long time at the vicarage in Trembowla, has been restored nowadays. It is characterised by a high, pyramidal roof with a knop and cross. This most likely happened when the roof was renovated after 2009. All roof slopes have been covered with sheet metal.

Inside, the corners of the cross bay attract attention. They are framed by lisens, which support pointed arcades. They separate the bay from the other modules of the interior.

The nave, altar parts and the transept were covered with barrel vaults with lunettes with pointed arches. The annex is covered with a ceiling. The windows in the building are rectangular, ogival and ogival on the inside. There is a rectangular window in the annex. The door of the main entrance is rectangular and closed with a pointed arch. Rectangular doors are used in the other parts.

The music choir is of brick and supported by two pillars on a square plan and flat wall pillars, between which a pointed-arch arcade with moulded archvolts is spanned. The latter part was protected by a solid parapet decorated with panels. Access to it is via a wooden staircase.

Among the most important elements related to the furnishings, surrounds and decoration of the building are or were:

• A folded main altar dating from the early 20th century, with a sculpture of Christ Crucified and a painting of the Vision of St Stanislaus Kostka (a copy signed with the name Rokicka, dating from the interwar period). In the side fields were sculptures depicting the images of Our Lady of Sorrows and St John the Evangelist;
• Interior painting decoration, dated to the end of the 19th century, composed of illusionistic architectural and floral motifs and hierograms (in the chancel and the arms of the transept);
• Side altars, dating to the 1920s/30s, including sculptures of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Our Lady Immaculate and paintings of St. John Nepomucen, St. Joseph with Child (both signed "H. Rokicka");
• Organ dating from the late 19th century, completed in 1936;
• Paintings, including, among others: Stations of the Cross , St. Francis of Assisi, St. Teresa of the Child Jesus, Mother of God with Child;
• Sculptures, including, among others: Christ Crucified (processional cross), Christ Crucified (folk), Dead Christ (terracotta sculpture which is a fragment of an Easter tomb), Saint Anthony of Padua, Saint Francis of Assisi;
• Terrace on which the building rises;
• The bell tower with an annex known as the vault, dated 1899 in the form of a section of wall.

According to Jan K. Ostrowski in his study of the building, the church has been preserved to the present day in relatively good condition, although the paintings in the interior are "heavily damaged", as are many other elements. Much of the furnishings have been dispersed; a certain batch was saved and transported to Poland.

Jan K. Ostrowski draws attention to the grandeur of the building, manifested in its scale, the class of the stone material and the carefully designed surroundings. Unfortunately, there is no information about the author of the project, although there is circumstantial evidence to attribute it to the engineer Jan Zakrzewski from Ternopil, who lived between 1829 and 1909.

Name: Parish Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Łoszniowie

Name functioning today: Parish church of St. John Cantius in Loszniowie

Division: architecture

Location: Ukraine, district: Ternopil, locality: Loshniiv

Author: Unknown

Date of construction: 1873 / Consecration: 1890.

Technical data: Brick and stone object, plastered