The Church of Saint Volodymyr in Brzeźno is a small brick temple of the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church in a village 10 km east of Chełm, located on road No. 12 towards Dorohusk. It was consecrated in 2004 and is the first Orthodox church built in Chełm Land after the Polish authorities demolished dozens of Orthodox churches here in 1938. The church is a filial one, belonging to the parish of Saint John the Theologian in Chełm.
The Church That Disappeared
Brzeźno is an ancient village: archaeologists have found traces of the Neolithic and Lusatian culture settlements on its lands. In 1914, the Tsarist authorities built here, in the village center, the Church of Saint Michael the Archangel. After World War I, it was registered as active. In 1935, the village had 457 inhabitants, about 90% of whom were Orthodox; that same year, an Orthodox section with a wooden chapel was arranged in the cemetery, and in 1937 the community repaired the church at their own expense.
Despite this, in 1938, during the so-called revindication campaign, the church was declared "superfluous" and demolished under police and military escort. A local resident, Władysław Dżaman, erected a memorial chapel on its site, but it was later destroyed by order of the NKVD.
The Temple Built by the Community
By the end of the 20th century, the old cemetery chapel from 1935 was barely standing. In 2001, architects Wojciech Filip and Maciej Maciejewski prepared a project for a new church, and on July 8 of the same year, the cornerstone was laid. The parishioners of Brzeźno built it themselves, with help from the Chełm parish. On August 8, 2004, the temple was consecrated by Archbishop Abel of Lublin and Chełm, who also gifted the cross for the dome.
The church is built on the plan of a Greek cross and has one onion-shaped dome. Inside there are nine icons donated by the faithful and an iconostasis made in Kovel in Volhynia. The church feast day is Saint Volodymyr’s Day, July 28.
Peat Bogs Around the Village
Brzeźno is surrounded by wet meadows and carbonate peat bogs of the Chełm Landscape Park. In 1973, the Brzeźno reserve was established here, covering about 165 hectares — the largest stands of swamp sword-grass in Poland, where the marsh warbler nests, one of the rarest birds in Europe. The village hosts the educational and museum center of the Chełm Landscape Parks, and there is an observation tower on the reserve trail.
How to Get There
Brzeźno lies on road No. 12 Chełm — Dorohusk, about 10 km from Chełm; this same route leads to the Dorohusk — Yahodyn border crossing. Services at the church are not held every Sunday, so the doors are mainly open on holidays. A few kilometers to the west is the Bagno Serebryskie Reserve, to the south — the church in Pławanycze. More about the region can be found in the article “Polish Polissia: What to See Beyond the Bug”. This is Poland: Ukrainian citizens need a foreign passport.
