The Church of St. Barbara in the village of Ostrivya in Shatsk region is a wooden temple considered the oldest in the former Shatsk district. The church stands on a small elevation above the lake and completes the perspective of the village’s central street — one of the most photogenic sacred landscapes near the Shatsk Lakes.
History
The Orthodox church in Ostrivya is mentioned in 1510, and in 1619 it was converted to the Uniate Church. At that time, it was a filial church of the parish in the neighboring Pishcha and belonged to the Chełm deanery. The current church is not the first temple on this site, but the date of its construction is not preserved in documents. Scholars date it to the early 18th century, while some consider it even older. There is a legend about the construction of the church in the village, known in several versions.
On August 8, 1963, the church was deregistered allegedly due to the absence of a priest. The authorities planned to establish a school museum here, but for 26 years the church was almost unused. At the end of the 1980s, the church was returned to the faithful; now a Sunday school operates at the church.
Architecture
The church is an example of Baroque modifications in wooden house-type temples: higher log structures and more vertical proportions, more complex decoration, a decorative cupola on the roof ridge, and a faceted apse. Such transformations were described by a researcher of Volyn wooden architecture.
How to get there
Ostrivya is in the Shatsk community, near Shatsk and Pishcha. More in the article Kovel district.
