Historical outline

The village is situated in the midst of steppes and marshes, 15 kilometres south-west of the much larger Trembowla. Envy was founded in the early 18th century and its name comes from... storks. These birds were more eager to nest on some farms and less eager to nest on others. Peasants whose farmyards were bypassed envied those lucky enough to host visitors and... this is how the legend was born.

A curiosity was the huge boulders of unknown origin, many of which were found in and around the village. Mysterious, geometrically worked stones with strange markings were also dug up on the site. However, on this subject, in all available historical sources, the trace is lost.

According to some sources, the village was founded by Franciszek Saleze Potocki, to whom the village belonged in the 18th century. Subsequent owners include the Rzewuskis, Baworowskis, Gołuchowskis, Dunin-Borkowskis and Dyszkowskis.

Initially, Zazdrość was subordinate to the parish church in nearby Strusowo, but in 1936 an independent pastoral unit was established here, which also included the neighbouring villages of Nowy Tyczyn and Połapy. The church, which was originally built as a chapel, had already stood here since at least 1911, when the consecration took place. At the same time as the parish was established in Zazdrości, a vicarage was built and in 1938 a bell tower.

The Second World War, especially in its declining phase, brought tragic events. Between 1943 and 1944, Ukrainian nationalists murdered 72 parishioners in Zazdrości. In 1945, Father Lechman left the village, taking almost all the church equipment with him. The surviving Poles also left for the west. After these events, the Soviets closed the building and in 1949 turned it into a kolkhoz grain warehouse.

In 2006, the church was rebuilt as a Greek Catholic church, while obliterating its original shape.

Architecture

The building is located in the north-western part of the village. It consists of a three-bay nave and a narrower and lower altar part, closed with a straight wall, which faces west. A vestry was attached to the chancel.

The facades were set on a plinth of carefully worked stone and capped with a profiled cornice above. Low buttresses were added to the corners of the nave. The façade was three-paneled, single-storey and closed with a triangular stepped gable.

A gable roof was placed over the nave and a triple-pitched roof over the altar area. All are covered with sheet metal. The signature turret was placed directly behind the gable of the façade and covered with a high pyramidal cupola with a knop and cross.

The articulation of the internal walls was carried out with pilasters. The interior was covered with wooden pseudo-vaults. In the nave it was a barrel vault and in the chancel a cross vault. The main and altar sections were separated by a pointed-arch rainbow arcade. Most of the windows in the building were rectangular, closed with pointed arches. The music choir was wooden, accessible by a staircase under which there was a storage room supported by two wooden pillars.

The most important elements related to the furnishings, surrounds and decoration of the building were:

• The main altar with a wooden mensa in Neo-Gothic style, and in it a painting depicting the image of Blessed Joseph Strep and plaster sculptures: Our Lady and Child, Saint Joseph and Saint Francis of Assisi. A door to the sacristy was incorporated into the structure of the altar;
• Paintings, including: Coronation of the Virgin (oil on wood), Saint Joseph (oil on canvas);
• Sculptures, including: Christ Crucified, Christ in the Tomb, Our Lady of Lourdes;
• Bell tower dated 1938, with bell decorated with St. Paul's plaque and inscription "TO GOD'S PRAISE OFFERED | PAUL AND ROZALIA JANKOWSCY | CZEĆ ICH PAMIĘCI R.P. 1938"

In his study of the building, Michał Kurzej draws attention to the fact that the church has been completely rebuilt, thus losing its original form. The objects transported to Poland could not be found.

Name: Parish Church in Zazdrości

Name functioning today: Greek Catholic Church of St. Joseph the Spouse. Current name: Greek Catholic Church of St. Joseph the Spouse

Division: architecture

Localization: Ukraine, region: Ternopil, locality: Zazdrość

Author: Unknown

Date of construction: 1910-1911 / Consecration - 1911.

Technical data: Brick object