Finding of the oldest dated wooden church in Ukraine

The article presents the circumstances of finding the oldest wooden tserkva in Ukraine, in the village Stara Skvaryava near Zhovkva. The finding was made on the occasion of creating documentation of the renovation of that disused church. The oldest references to the village Skvaryava come from 1515, and to the church itself – from 1578. The subsequent broader information regarding the church appeared in the 18th century protocols of parish visitation. The protocols contain also information about moving the church from Glinsk to Stara Skvaryava in 1715. That building is identified as a wooden single domed eastern type church from the 16th century on the basis of an analysis of sources. Along with the church, an iconostasis with icons from various periods was moved to Stara Skvaryava. Its oldest part was probably made by the masters from Przemyśl in the 16th century, and the other parts in the 17th and 19th century. The protocol of a Dean’s visitation of 1792 informs that the church was restored at the end of the 18th century. From 1947 to 1989 the church was closed. Opened in the early 1990s, it was used until completion of construction of a new brick church in 1995. The monument, abandoned since then, needed an urgent renovation. According to some sources, the currently existing wooden church was built in 1820. However, the earlier origin of the church can be confirmed by the window openings typical of the beginning of the 18th century. The discovery in 2008 of the inscriptions on the wall of the nave: „АФИ” and „ѿ АѰ Сей цркви С лѣтъ без осми”, allows unambiguously to date the church at 1508 and confirms the information of its moving from Glińsk. The celebrations of the quincentenary of the church on Michaelmas in 2008 became a true feast for all inhabitants and unified them in the pursuit of preservation and restoration of the original look of the church. In spring 2009 renovation works began and were continued in the next years when financial resources were available. Taking into consideration a unique character of the church and its original equipment, as well as the fact that this is the oldest Ukrainian wooden eastern type church with a known date of construction, it is necessary to aim at listing it in the National Register of Cultural Heritage of Ukraine