Religious Architecture /
Church in Lutowiska
Church in Lutowiska – in the summer of 1890 the fire completely destroyed the century-old Greek-Catholic church, which served well the Poles and Ruthenians, living together in peace in Lutowiska.
Newly build Orthodox church was elevated to the rank of the parish church. Poles, however, wished to have their own temple. For that reason, the Roman-Catholic chapel was built in 1898.
In 1905, the vicar of Birchar, Michał Huciński becomes a chaplain, later a parish priest, then rector, then dean, and finally the papal chamberlain. Thanks to his initiative and support from many people, the church was built. World War I brings new destruction. After the reconstruction in 1923, the church is blessed. World War II in Lutowiska effectively lasts 12 years: the local population is annihilated. The Jews are shot, Poles and Ruthenians deported. Lutowiska becomes Szewczenko. After devastation and theft, the church has a new role – of a stable.
After border adjustments and new regulations in 1951 Lutowiska along with a part of Bieszczady mountains were returned to Poland. But the church was still in process of decaying, and the holy masses were held in the Orthodox church. The congregation gets his church back in 1960. It is blessed once again in 1963. In May 1986, after the renovation, the church is consecrated under the name of Saint Stanisław The Bishop and Martyr. The renovation works, thanks to the efforts of the parishioners, are being continuously done ever since.
The Lutowiska parish church has been registered as a cultural asset as “the only example of the ecclesiastical Gothic Revival architecture in the Polish Carpathians.”