Historical outline

The village was founded in 1431 and was granted town rights under Stefan Batory. The first owners of the village were the Milatyńskis. Then the Ożgowie and Łączyński families. In 1738 Teresa Kraśnicka founded a hermitage for Camaldolese monks from the vicinity of Kraków. Six years later they left Milatyń Nowy and were replaced by Carmelites. With their efforts and Kraśnicka's support, a small church and temporary monastery facilities were erected. In 1747 an image of the Crucified Christ, considered miraculous, was brought to the site. It began to attract pilgrims, which influenced the decision to build a full-fledged building in a modern style for the time. The construction of the late Baroque temple designed by Franciszek Ksawery Kulczycki took twenty years. Along the way, it was not without its troubles. Apparently, there was a conflict between the architect and the investors around 1778. Kulczycki therefore stopped supervising the construction and had to manage without his involvement. After the first partition of Poland in 1788, the Austrian invader liquidated the monastery. However, he could not stop the pilgrimages, which still came to Milatyna Nova in large numbers. The consecration of the church took place even before it was completed, in 1790. When the thought of independence began to be alive again, and the partitioning authorities began to slowly let go of their grip on power, the missionary priests took over the care of the sanctuary. In 1944, Milatyn Nowy, inhabited mostly by Poles, was attacked by Ukrainian nationalists from the OUN-UPA.

The bandits tried to set fire to the church, but this act of barbarism was quickly thwarted. After the Second World War, the Soviets closed the church, but the miraculous image was saved. It is now housed in the Church of the Missionaries of St Vincent de Paulo in Krakow. When Ukraine regained its independence in the early 1990s, the building was given to the Orthodox and converted into an Orthodox church.

Architecture

The building is situated on a picturesque hill. The late Baroque church was built on a cruciform plan. The body consists of a nave layout in the basilica type. However, it is noteworthy for its layout, in which the wider nave is accompanied by two side aisles (housing additional altars). The nave is clad in a gabled roof. The side aisles are single-pitched. Above the whole is a huge dome with a so-called lantern, i.e. window openings allowing natural light to enter. The façade of the building is based on three storeys. It is divided not only by columns and cornices, but also by additional pilasters. The lower part is built on five axes. The main entrance is encompassed by pairs of columns that carry the beam. The middle storey, in turn, has three axes and its focal point is an ornate window in a rich Baroque setting. The side fields contain niches with statues of St. Simon and St. John of Nepomuk. The upper storey is crowned by a triangular pediment. The walls in the centre of the church are decorated with pilasters. The upstairs is dominated by a barrel vault with lunettes.

Other important elements related to the decoration, furnishings and surroundings of the church include:

- Late Baroque main altar (second half of the 18th century) transferred from the Carmelite church in Lviv,

- A fragment of the Late Baroque pulpit (1740) transferred from the Carmelite church in Lviv,

- Classicist tomb monument to Antonina Raciborowska (1808) by Hartman Witwer,

- Sculptures of St Catherine of Siemieńska and unspecified saints located in the finial of the main altar,

- Sculpture of Our Lady Immaculate located in the finial of the main altar,

- Sculpture of the Pieta,

- A screen belfry, incorporated into the wall connecting with a gate.