The Martyrdom in Pratulin is a place on the Bug River where, on January 24, 1874, tsarist troops shot thirteen Greek Catholic peasants who were defending their parish church. Here stands an 18th-century wooden Church of the Holy Trinity, relocated from Stanin, which houses a museum and a documentation center of the Podlasie martyrs. It is part of the Sanctuary of the Blessed Podlasie Martyrs along with the parish Church of Saints Peter and Paul.
What happened in 1874
In the 1870s, the authorities of the Russian Empire were preparing to liquidate the Chełm Greek Catholic Eparchy and to incorporate the Greek Catholics into the Russian Orthodox Church. Priests who disagreed were removed from their parishes, exiled, or imprisoned. In Pratulin, after the parish priest was taken away, the parishioners refused to hand over the church to the Orthodox priest. The governor sent troops, including Cossacks. People gathered in front of the church and prayed; the soldiers opened fire. Thirteen people died—from 19-year-old Anicet Hrytsiuk to 50-year-old Ihnatiy Franchuk; some died later at home from their wounds. A similar tragedy had occurred a week earlier in Drelevo.
The deceased were buried without their relatives’ participation, and the grave was leveled with the ground. The church near which this happened was dismantled by the authorities in 1886. In spring 1875, the Chełm Eparchy was finally liquidated; locals could return to Catholicism only in the Latin rite, and only after the 1905 decree on religious tolerance.
The Church from Stanin
On the site of the destroyed church, by decision of the Siedlce bishop Zbigniew Kiernikowski, a wooden 18th-century church was erected in 2009–2012, relocated from the village of Stanin; the work was carried out by Jarosław Stankiewicz from Biała Podlaska. The church is log-built, with a narrower presbytery, covered with a shingle roof topped by a signature under a tower helmet with a lantern. Inside is a flat beam ceiling supported by four pillars and a choir with a balustrade. Open fragments of the foundations of the old Greek Catholic church have also been preserved.
Memory
On October 6, 1996, John Paul II beatified Wincenty Lewoniuk and 12 companions. Their relics were transferred to the parish church as early as 1990. Near the martyrdom stands a chapel dedicated to Danylo Karmash—the head of the brotherhood who stepped forward before the people with a cross. The main celebrations take place annually at the end of January.
How to get there
Pratulin lies in the Rokytne commune, in a bend of the Bug River opposite the Belarusian Chyzhevichy, about 35 km northeast of Biała Podlaska and 17 km east of Janów Podlaski. Buses are rare, so it’s more convenient to go by car or bicycle: the Nadbużanski bike trail passes through the village. For Ukrainians, this is Poland, so a passport is required; border guards may check documents near the Bug. Nearby are the Church of Saints Peter and Paul with the relics of martyrs and the palace in Cieleśnica.
