The Basilica of the Holy Trinity is the main church of Janów Podlaski and one of the largest Baroque shrines in Southern Podlachia. The two-towered façade is visible from afar above Partisans Square. For over half a century, it was a cathedral; here is buried Bishop and poet Adam Naruszewicz, and in 2018 the church was granted the title of a minor basilica.
Collegiate Church and Cathedral
The first wooden church of the Holy Trinity in Janów is mentioned in the first half of the 15th century, when the town belonged to the Lutsk bishops. The masonry church together with the bell tower was built between 1714 and 1735, construction started by Bishop Oleksandr Vyhovskyi. In 1741, the church was elevated to the dignity of a collegiate church. From 1818–1867 and 1918–1924 it was the cathedral of the Janów, i.e. Podlachian, diocese; after its abolition by the tsarist authorities in 1867, Janów was left without a bishop, and when the diocese was restored, the seat was soon moved to Siedlce. The Janów collegiate chapter still operates at the church. On June 7, 2018, the Congregation for Divine Worship granted the church the title of a minor basilica.
Architecture and Decoration
The church is three-naved, with a two-towered façade. The interior draws attention with twelve octagonal canvases from the school of Franciszek Smuglewicz, Baroque altars including the altar of Saint Victor, and the organs. A separate masonry bell tower from 1745 stands nearby, which has hardly changed its original appearance. Next to it are the buildings of the former seminary, which operated from 1685 to 1939; in the interwar period, there was also a section for training priests of the Byzantine-Slavic rite. Now the seminary buildings house a school.
Naruszewicz
Adam Naruszewicz — historian, poet, and bishop of Lutsk — spent the last years of his life in Janów and died here in 1796. He was buried in the church crypt. In 1861, a monument to him was made of white marble in Rome for the church; the author was Teofil Oskar Sosnowski. On the wall there is also a plaque honoring Polish soldiers who fought near Janów in 1920.
How to Get There
The basilica stands at 7 Partisans Square, in the center of Janów Podlaski — about 22 km from Biała Podlaska along road 698, buses run there. For Ukrainians, this is Poland and a passport is required. The church is open during services. Nearby are the bishop’s castle with Naruszewicz’s grotto, the former Dominican church, and the horse stud farm in Wyhoda. More about the region in the article Polish Polissia.
