Wooden Greek-Catholic Church of the Protection of the Most Holy Mother of God in Hunkovce You will find it in the middle of the village on a hill in the cemetery, surrounded by trees.
According to previous research, the wooden church in Hunkovce dates back to the end of the 18th century. The temple is traditionally divided into three parts. The narthex, popularly known as the granary, is located under the main tower. Initially, it was a place reserved for catechumens, i.e. those preparing for baptism, or for penitents. Another part of the church, the nave, is connected to the narthex. It is where the faithful participating in the rites are concentrated. Symbolically, it represents the wandering Church, that is, Christians living on earth. The third and most important part of the temple is the sanctuary. Symbolically, it represents the kingdom of heaven, that is, the glorified Church. The sanctuary is separated from the nave by a high pictorial wall called the iconostasis. However, the iconostasis is absent in this temple. Traditionally, it depicts icons of Christ, the Mother of God and the saints, who, by their example, are to help the faithful in the nave of the temple to pass into the joy of eternal life, which is represented by the sanctuary. The temple is three-part, three-space and three-towered. It is built on a low stone base. The building is of log construction. The entire body of the temple is vertically lined with boards and slats. The tower, which rises from the hipped roof of the narthex and tapers upwards, is of columnar construction. It is widened at the top, suggesting a so-called room. The bells are no longer hanging in the tower. There is a low, pyramidal roof on the tower. Above it is a poppy, a blinded lantern, a canopy and a smaller onion. On the top is a two-armed decorative cross with a lunette. The nave has two windows above the parapet on the south side. The roof of the nave is tented and is divided into two parts. The roof of the sanctuary is pyramidal. The top above the nave and sanctuary roofs is identical to the main tower. The whole church is covered with split shingles. The functional core of the temple - the iconostasis, the throne and other original decoration are no longer present in the temple. After repairs in 1922, the temple was to be sold in 1935 and transported to Ústí nad Orlicí, with the proceeds from the sale used to finance the construction of a new temple. It was badly damaged during the front fighting in the autumn of 1944 and repaired in 1947. In 1957, the wooden church in Hunkovy still contained several icons from the mid-18th century (St. Michael the Archangel, the Blessing Christ, the Cover - Protection of the Most Holy Mother of God), the fate of which, however, is no longer known. The icon - Spas nerukotvornyj, the work of Jakub Zesi from 1671, is in the collections of the Šariš Museum in Bardejov.
In 2010, the shingle roof and the entire cladding were replaced on the temple as part of the project Rescue of wooden temples on the International Wooden Way.
Source : www.drevenchramy.sk
Photos by Henryk Bielamowicz
