Church of Saint Casimir is a garrison parish church in the western part of Chełm, on Kosharova Street, near Liubelska Street and military barracks. This modest brick building was erected in 1856 as an Orthodox garrison church of the Holy Trinity for the Russian troops stationed in the city. Today, civilians and military personnel with their families pray here together.
Garrison Church
In the 19th century, Chełm, which was part of the Kingdom of Poland under the Russian Empire, was a garrison town: troops were stationed here, and many officers, soldiers, and their families lived in the city. In 1856, a brick church of the Holy Trinity was built for them. After 1915, the Russians left Chełm, and the garrison churches lost their parishioners. In interwar Poland, the church was for some time a Roman Catholic garrison church, and it also housed the "Strzelec" cinema, which belonged to the 7th Infantry Regiment of the Legions, stationed in Chełm.
From Storage to Parish
After World War II, the communist authorities repurposed the building as a warehouse. Only in 1982 was it returned to the faithful: on August 22, the church was consecrated by Bolesław Pylak, bishop of Lublin, and on September 21 of the same year, a parish was established, separated from the territory of the Church of the Apostles’ Sending parish. The church’s patron, Saint Casimir, was a prince of the Jagiellonian dynasty, one of the patrons of Poland and Lithuania.
Since June 2001, by agreement between the field bishop of the Polish Army and the archbishop of Lublin, the parish has had a civilian-military status: it belongs simultaneously to the Archdiocese of Lublin and to the Military Ordinariate. Military chaplains serve as pastors here, and among the parishioners are servicemen from nearby units, including the 19th Nadbużańska Territorial Defence Brigade.
The Building
The church is brick, without lavish decoration; a careful eye will notice details on the facades that recall its original purpose. Nearby stands a separate bell tower of the former church. The interior furnishings are modern, created after the building was returned to the faithful. The church is an example of how, in Chełm, one building over a century and a half changed confession, purpose, and even became a cinema hall.
How to Get There
The church stands on Kosharova Street, near Liubelska Street, about 2 km west of the center of Chełm; nearby is the Chełm Aquapark. Chełm lies on route No. 12 Lublin – Dorohusk: about 70 km from Lublin, about 25 km from the Dorohusk–Yahodyn border crossing with Volyn. In the city center, it is worth seeing the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Vysoka Hirka with the foundations of Danylo Halytskyi’s residence, and the Church of the Apostles’ Sending. The church is open during services. Ukrainian citizens need a foreign passport.
