The Greek-Catholic wooden church in the village of Kožany was built in 1760. It is dedicated to the Feast of the Encounter of Our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ. However, this church was originally dedicated to the feast of the Most Holy Mother of God, the Protectress. The Encounter of Our Lord commemorates the meeting of the Child of God and Mother of God with the righteous old man Simeon and the prophetess Anna in the Temple of Jerusalem. This temple is one of the oldest preserved monuments in eastern Slovakia. Mainly because of the rare interior decoration and interesting iconostasis, it is one of the most valuable sacral objects.
The wooden church in Kožany was built in the log style. The temple consists of a sanctuary, a nave and an anteroom. Each part of the building has a tower with a cross. The temple is built on a stone foundation. The temple towers as well as the temple roof are covered with wooden split shingles. Three bells hang in the main tower. One of them dates back to 1406. It is therefore a rarity among the bells in wooden churches in Slovakia.
The icons in the sanctuary and nave date from the 18th century and enhance the splendour of this wooden temple. In the nave of the temple, the Fathers of the Church, the four Evangelists and a host of angels look down on us. The internal restoration of the church was carried out between 1965 and 1970. The external restoration of the temple was carried out between 2000 and 2003.
Source : www.drevenchramy.sk
Photo: Henryk Bielamowicz
