Historical outline

The village lies on the Seret River, 5 kilometres west of the much larger Trembowla. Ostrovchik was first mentioned in the 15th century. In the following century, the village was recorded as a town. The owners of the estate include the Bekierskis (18th century), the Lanckoronskis, the Baworowskis (19th century), and from the end of the 19th century until the partitions of Poland, the estate was owned by the Sommerstein family.

Initially, Ostrovchik was subordinate to the parish in Trembowla. Masses were held in the friendly Greek-Catholic church, which was located in neighbouring Zaścianocze.

In 1891, construction began on a chapel in the village, which was to become a church in the future. The land for the building was donated by the estate owner Feiwel Sommerstein. The temple was consecrated in the same year. The consecration took place two years later. Over the following decades, the building was retrofitted and improved. In 1911, an exposition was established in the village and at the same time a brick parsonage was built next to the church. In 1914, the rectory was burned to the ground by the Russians. The parishioners rebuilt the rectory, which was again destroyed during the Polish-Ukrainian War (1918-1919). The community rebuilt the back of the temple again.

Between 1923 and 1925, restorations and modernisations took place that prepared the church to enter full pastoral independence. Among other things, the roof of the temple was shingled and two side altars were made. In 1925, bells requisitioned by the Russians were purchased. In the following years, the building was retrofitted and improved. In 1925, the rectory was elevated to parish status. In 1931 and 1932, severe storms tore off the rectory roof. Each time it was repaired thanks to the efforts of the parishioners.

In 1944, the vicarage was used as a field hospital. A military airfield was located nearby. After it was bombed by the Germans, wounded Soviet pilots were treated in the vicarage.

When terror on the part of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) began to assume truly dangerous dimensions, Father Roman Sztajer, after prolonged pressure, left the parish, taking some of the church equipment with him. Shortly after this event, the Ukrainians broke into the building, looting almost everything that remained. The Polish population that left Ostrowczyk emigrated to various places in Poland, but mainly to the recovered territories.

During the domination of the USSR, the Soviets turned the church into a grain warehouse. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, consideration was given to handing over the building to the local Greek Catholic parish, but the community initially refused to take over the building due to lack of funds for renovation.

For many years the church stood abandoned. Eventually, it was taken over by the Greek Catholic community. Extensive repair work was carried out between 2010 and 2015. Among other things, the roof slopes were replaced, the signature tower was restored, and the vertical articulation elements of the exterior façade, façade and cornice were renovated and repainted. The raw, original stone form of the walls was retained. The church now bears the invocation of St. Dmitri.

Architecture

The building is located on the road from Darachiv to Trembowla, in the western part of the village. The church was built of local sandstone with a very carefully laid weft, resembling brick from a distance. The interior and the articulation elements on the exterior facades were plastered and painted white. The building was built on the plan of a Latin cross. Its longitudinal arm is formed by a two-bay nave and a single-bay, triangular closed presbytery, which faces north-east. The transverse arm is formed by a transept with single-span arms. Between the altar area and the left arm of the transept is a square sacristy.

The articulation of the outer walls was carried out with pilasters in the form of sections of profiled cornice, which support the corners and separate the fields of the façade. The pilasters are supported by a beam that wraps around the entire building.

The façade is single-storey, tri-axial and closed with a triangular gable. In its central field is the entrance opening, above which is an abutment with a bas-relief depicting the Eye of Providence in radial glory and a window. The side fields have niches with pointed arches. The gable is framed by pedestals and topped with a cross. In its field there is a niche with a sculpture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The nave is covered by a gable roof. Above the presbytery it is identical, except that it changes to a multi-pitch roof at the close. Above the transept arms it is similar, with added slopes on the sides. All the roofs were covered with sheet metal and the contemporary renovation also used this solution, opting for a slightly different texture. At the point where the nave and transept intersect, there is a turret for an apex, which is covered with sheet metal. It was built on an octagonal ground plan. It used to have an openwork gloriette (now covered over). It is crowned with a knob with a forged iron cross, signed "Atanazy Kaczorowski year 1891".

The articulation of the interior walls was designed very similarly to the exterior elevations, except that the pilasters are not visually separated by plaster. In other words, the interior walls are plastered entirely in white. The wooden pseudo-vaults also attract attention. The nave is enclosed by a pseudo-columnar vault with lunettes, in the cross bay there is a pseudo-cross vault, in the arms of the transept there is a cradle vault, in the chancel it is the same, but above the closure it becomes half of a monastery vault.

The windows in the building are mainly rectangular, closed with a semicircle, in deep bifolds on the interior side. There is a circular window in the altar area and a rectangular window in the sacristy. The music choir is made of brick, but with a wooden floor and balustrade.

Among the most important elements related to the furnishings and surroundings of the church are or were:

• The main altarpiece by Wladyslaw Mielniczek, dated 1914 and described as "Romanesque-Gothic". In its main field was a sculpture depicting the image of the Immaculate Mother of God;
• Side altars by Pawel Galanski, dated to the first half of the 1920s;
• A brick belfry of trembling sandstone, three-arched, topped with a triangular pediment;
• Bells from the Felczynski factory located in Kalusz, dating to the early 20th century;
• Stone sculptures in front of the church façade by S. Rusinek, dated to the second half of the 1930s, depicting the images of Christ the King and the Virgin Mary Immaculate;
• A votive stone cross, on a high pedestal, in front of which is a bas-relief of St Joseph and an inscription: "For intencye from all | accidents Built | JOZEF SIKORSKI | 1922".

Kinga Blaschke, in her study of the building, characterises the church as a modest building with no clear style features. Historically, however, it has been described as 'Romanesque', 'Vistula' or 'Renaissance'. It is worth noting, however, that its architecture is dominated by rather sparing forms with modern associations. Today, the building functions as a Greek-Catholic church and is in a good condition after the renovation that took place in 2010-2015. Apart from the repair of the roof, the refreshment of the façade and the closing of the bell tower (now no longer openwork), among other things, the windows were also replaced.

Name: Parish Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Ostrowork

Name in use today: Greek Catholic Church of St. Dmitri. St. Dmitri

Division: architecture

Location: Ukraine, District: Ternopil, Village: Ostrovchyk

Author: Unknown

Date of construction: 1893 r.

Technical data: Stone masonry object