The Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius on Terespolska Street is the main Orthodox temple of Biała Podlaska. It belongs to the Lublin-Chełm Diocese of the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church. The building is new, from the late 1980s, but stands next to an old cemetery where burials have been recorded since the early 19th century, and inside are icons collected from churches that no longer exist.
New Church on an Old Site
The temple was built between 1985 and 1989 and was consecrated on 24 September 1989. Two-thirds of the expenses were covered by parishioner Nykifor Kuzmytskyi, the rest by donations from the faithful. The new church replaced the old wooden one that stood in the adjacent cemetery—the place where it stood is still marked. In 2013–2014, the building underwent major repairs, and on 21 September 2014 it was reconsecrated by Archbishop Abel of Lublin and Chełm.
Two Churches in One
The temple has two levels. The upper church is dedicated to Cyril and Methodius, the lower to Saint Athanasius of Brest, a 17th-century hegumen who is venerated as a martyr for Orthodoxy. The lower church houses an icon containing a relic of his relics. The modern iconostasis is complemented by icons from non-existent churches of Southern Podlasie—a memory of communities that disappeared after the 1940s deportations. The painting was done by Yevhen Synvarchuk from Kovel, and the patrons of the temple are depicted on the façade. Nearby stand the parish house and a separate bell tower.
Cemetery
The church is surrounded by a small active cemetery. It was founded in 1810 as a Uniate cemetery, and since the 1870s it has been Orthodox. Here, 19th-century tombstones have been preserved alongside newer ones—a peaceful place where you can see how inscriptions and cross shapes have changed over two centuries. The city also has another Orthodox temple—the Church of Saint Mark.
How to Get There
The church is located at 19 Terespolska Street, not far from the center of Biała Podlaska. You can reach the city by train from Warsaw (line to Terespol) or by bus from Lublin; for Ukrainians, this is Poland, so a foreign passport is required. It is open during services and by arrangement with the parish. Nearby on the same street is the Church of Blessed Honorat, and in the center—the former Basilian Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos and the Church of Saint Anne. Read about the Orthodox temples of the outskirts in the article about the church in Nosiv.
