The wooden Church of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker in Staryi Pavliv is a small temple on the way out of Janów Podlaski towards Konstantynów. It was built in 1929–1930 for a neo-uniate parish and is one of the few surviving monuments of the non-union — an interwar attempt to revive the union with Rome in Podlasie. Today it is a Roman Catholic chapel where a service in the ancient rite is held once a year.
What is non-union
In 1875, the Tsarist authorities liquidated the Chełm Greek Catholic Eparchy, and the local Uniates were forcibly joined to the Russian Orthodox Church. After World War I, when Poland was reborn, the Siedlce bishop Henryk Przeździecki began to restore the union among the Orthodox parishes of Podlasie. The new community was called neo-uniate: it preserved the Byzantine-Slavic rite in the form to which the faithful were accustomed, with Church Slavonic language, but was subordinated to the Catholic Church. In the 1920s, parts of ten Orthodox parishes of Podlasie joined the non-union, and by 1939 there were 47 such parishes throughout the eastern lands of Poland. Priests for them were trained, among others, at the seminary in Janów Podlaski.
Bubel-Pavliv Parish
The church in Staryi Pavliv was built in 1929–1930 through the efforts of priest Kasprowicz for the neo-uniate Bubel-Pavliv parish. The village is old, founded in the 15th century; until 1942 there was a separate gmina Pavliv here. After World War II, most neo-uniate parishes disappeared. Since 1946 the church belongs to the Roman Catholic parish of the Holy Trinity in Janów Podlaski as a filial chapel. The building is wooden, with a small dome, and is listed as a heritage monument.
Patronal Feast
Since 2006, every year on the first Saturday of December a pilgrimage of Saint Nicholas takes place here with a solemn liturgy in the Byzantine-Slavic rite. It is served by priests from Kostomłoty, where the only neo-uniate parish in Poland operates at the Church of Saint Nikita. This is a rare opportunity to see a service that has almost disappeared in Podlasie.
How to get there
Staryi Pavliv adjoins Janów Podlaski from the north, on the road to Konstantynów; about 22 km from Biała Podlaska. For Ukrainians, this is Poland, a passport is required. The church is usually closed but is clearly visible from the road; it is opened for the feast. Nearby are the Basilica of the Holy Trinity and the bishop’s castle in Janów, and to the north — the church in Hnojno on the Bug.
