Historical outline

Monasterzyska is a village located on the road from Buczacz to Stanislaviv. Its name may be misunderstood as coming from the word "monaster" or "monastery", i.e., using a certain abbreviation, the term for a monastery in the Eastern churches. Meanwhile, it derives from the surname of the Monasterski family (of Abdank coat of arms), who were the first owners of the village. Later, Monasterzyska came under the ownership of the Sienieński family, then the Potocki family, Karol Bako de Hette, and finally the Mołodecki family. The parish in the village was established before 1600, but the exact date could not be determined. In the 18th century it was one of the most extensive in the Lviv archdiocese. At one point it included some nineteen villages. After the Partitions of Poland, the parish was transferred to the Stanislavsky decanate and later to the Buczackiego decanate.

The origins of the church as a physical structure in Monasterzyska are also unknown. According to some references, the building already existed at the end of the 16th century. However, historical perturbations led it to ruin. It is said that in 1721, a wooden church stood there, but (according to the records) "magnificent". The structure that survives today was built around 1751.

The idea to start the construction of a completely new church was connected with the growing cult of the image of Our Lady of Sorrows in the area, which originated in the late 1730s and early 1740s and was associated with a miraculous image. The founder of the church was the castellan of Lvov, Józef Potocki.

The church was built in a relatively short period of time, but finishing the interior and gathering the furnishings took much longer. For this reason, the consecration dates from 1751, but this fact does not mean that the complete building was consecrated at that time. For example, in 1754, the main altar and pulpit had not yet been painted or gilded, and the side altars did not exist at all. It was not until the early 1760s that sculptors were paid. Among them Jan Pinslow and probably Antoni Osinski. Although the involvement of the latter in the works is denied by, for example, Professor Ostrowski.

The storms of history more or less spared the building. Of course, it was not without various incidents. When Poland came under partition, the Austrian authorities confiscated the silver gown from the miraculous image. The parishioners therefore organised a replacement copper gown. It is worth noting that the legendary image has not disappeared. It is now located in Bogdanowice (Opolskie Voivodeship).

After the Second World War, the Soviets closed the building and used its space as a warehouse. When Ukraine regained its independence, the Catholics did not manage to recover the church. Today it functions as an Orthodox church.

Architecture

The building is located in the centre of the town. Visually, it immediately draws attention with its very characteristic façade consisting of two storeys, the last of which is topped by two symmetrical towers with hipped roofs. The temple also draws attention to the distinctive brick-red colour in which it has been painted. The palette is complemented by white and grey colours. The chancel faces north and is lower and narrower than the nave. The body consists of three naves and three bays.

The spatial layout of the church is inspired by the architecture of Francesco Borromini, but compared to the Italian's greatest works, the design of the church at the level of detail is subdued and modest. The interior is dominated by the Baroque.

The music choir is located on the upper storey. A circular staircase leads up to it. On the sides of the chancel are rectangular rooms constituting the east and west sacristies. From the west sacristy one enters the pulpit. The interior of the nave and chancel is framed by pairs of Tuscan-style pilasters. The vaults in even the main nave and chancel are of the barrel vault type with lunettes. The side aisles and chapels have cross vaults and the sacristies have cross-column vaults.

Although the overall state of preservation of the building is satisfactory, almost nothing of the former furnishings remains. Some of the objects have been dispersed and others are in the possession of the Lviv Picture Gallery (e.g. the statue of St Anne). In Bogdanowice (Opolskie Voivodeship), one can find not only a valuable painting of Our Lady of Sorrows, but also paintings depicting images of Saints Peter and Paul and Archangel Michael.