The first Roman Catholic wooden church, together with the Dominican monastery in Bohorodczany, was built in 1691 with the foundation of Konstancja Potocka. Half a century later, in 1741, the Lviv Archbishop Ignacy Vizhitsky gave permission to Jozef Potocki to build a new church. The construction financing itself was taken over by Stanisław Kostka Kossakowski. In 1742, construction began on the brick Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which took almost 20 years to build. It was consecrated in 1775. The church is a brick three-nave basilica with a presbytery and a protruding square apse niche. Adjoining the chancel are two square-shaped rooms: the sacristy and the vestry, or room for liturgical clothes. The main façade is flanked by two towers. In plan, the whole building has a symmetrical structure with a double axis of symmetry. The internal space is divided by six columns forming three naves. The top of the building is vaulted. In the basement there are masonry crypts built of red brick, bonded with lime mortar and topped with a vault. In one of them was the entrance to the underground. A two-storey monastery of Dominican fathers was built next to the church. It was in the shape of a quadrangle with an inner courtyard. The monastery buildings were surrounded by a high brick wall. In the church garden, the monks planted an orchard and made an orangery. The miraculous image of the Bohorodchai Mother of God was moved from the old wooden church. The Mother of God in the Bohradčany image healed the sick, led sinners to conversion and inspired faith in the hearts of non-believers. This peculiar object of veneration was officially considered miraculous.

The church was given its modern shape by the 1904 renovation and restoration of the building after the First World War, during which it was severely damaged. During the war, Russian troops were stationed in the town and used the church's high towers as observation points. The church was shelled by Austrian artillery - one of the shells hit the right tower, among others, and ruined it. Only individual walls of the building remained intact. During the war period, the church lost all its bells. The two largest (800 and 450 kg) were taken by the Austrians in 1915, while the third (250 kg) was confiscated by the Russians the following year. Of the entire valuable inventory, it was only possible to salvage fragments of the altar, including the painting of the Holy Mother, the pulpit, and portraits of the Crown Treasurer Dominik Potocki and the church founder Stanisław Kossakowski. In 1928-1933, thanks to help from the diocese and local parishioners, the church was renovated, restoring it to its original appearance. The work was managed by a master builder from Stary Bohorodchanskys, and the roofs of the church and monastery were repaired by [Ivan] Jan Kolotko and [Vasily] Basil Katrinets. The Old Bohorodchans were famous throughout the area as excellent builders. After restoration, the towers became lower and the interior more modest. On the façade of the building, the volutes of the upper storey of the church in its central part and the position of the balcony were changed to a much higher one. After the end of the Second World War, the then administrator of the church, Fr Kajetan Kosiaty OP, left with his brothers for Poland, taking with him part of the church property, including the miraculous image of Our Lady, which in the 1970s was placed in the main altar of the Dominican church in Korbielów near Zywiec. In 1946, the church was handed over to an Orthodox parish and was returned to the Roman Catholic community in 2020.

The main objective of the project in 2024 is to draw up a design and cost estimate documentation for the restoration of the Bohorodczan church roof. Initial inspection of the church at the beginning of this decade revealed the poor condition of the roofing, requiring urgent repairs, and the relatively good condition of the rafter framing over the nave, with structural elements underneath areas with leaking roofing damaged. During the site visit, it became apparent that standing water in the basement of the church was another major problem, so it is also planned to carry out a hydrogeological survey there and analyse the existing rainwater drainage system. The documentation prepared is to serve as the basis for selecting a contractor, pricing the work and carrying out the renovation in the following years.

The programme of works to be carried out within the framework of this task consists of the following: ad hoc repairs to the roof covering in order to protect the monument until the actual repair works are carried out; removal of pigeon droppings from the attic, its disinfection and securing window openings in such a way as to prevent pigeons from nesting again; an inventory of the roofs and trusses of the church; microbiological tests of wood from the trusses in order to determine the occurrence of wood parasites; tests of dampness and salinity of masonry elements, i.e. walls of towers, knee walls, and the walls of the knees. moisture and salinity of masonry elements, i.e. the walls of the towers, knee walls and gables; expert opinion on the technical condition of the roof covering and the wooden roof structure. Parallel to the activities carried out at the site, an archive search will be carried out on the church building. The reconnaissance of the building and the knowledge of its condition gathered on the basis of the above-mentioned studies will make it possible to draw up design documentation for the repair of the roofs. The final element concerning the roof renovation will be investor's cost estimates and bills of quantities necessary to evaluate the works and select a contractor for the renovation.

Funding : Programme of the Minister "Protection of Cultural Heritage Abroad".

More about the project at .

• Fundacja Alternata, realizacja w roku 2024