Greek Catholic wooden church of St. Luke in Brežany dates from the year 1727. V 1950s, when the local believers leaned towards to the Roman Catholic rite, the temple began to be used for their worship, although continued to remain the property of the Greek Catholic Church.
From the architectural point of view it is three-part, three-space, single-tower building s by two crosses. Ship and sanctuary are built log cabin technique, while the tower has a columnar structure. The gaps between the beams are filled in and whitened, which gives the building a typical rustic look. Pyramid roof is covered shingles and in towers are suspended two bells. At its top stands out decorative three-armed cross, which belongs among the most beautiful in the whole eparchy.
The temple passed partial renovation in 1999 and 2001. Its internal equipment comes from the first half of the 18th century. The dominant feature is iconostasis of four rows of icons of the year 1733, which is exceptional in that lacks the traditional depiction of the Crucifixion or the Cross at the top, which is unusual in the iconography of temples.
Main altar dates from the year 1782 and it is Baroque. Located on the brick canteen and adorned with image of the Coronation of the Virgin Mary From Francis Ferdinand (1782), set in columnar altar architecture. Royal and Deacon Doors have been in the past moved behind the main altar.
The most valuable parts of the decoration include Icon of St. Luke the Evangelist, depicting the author of the Gospel in full creative activity in writing down the sacred texts. At the bottom of the frame are depicted kneeling funders of the temple, who are praying to the crucified Christ.
The temple is part of the historical cemetery, where one can find graves and crosses older than one hundred years. Especially metal crosses are extremely interesting. One part of the cemetery is reserved for the graves of newborn babies - six small graves, shorter than one metre, is marked tiny wooden crosses, high only around 20 centimetres. This view is touching and chilling at the same time and reminds the transience of human life.
You can also find other wooden churches in the region. Worth a visit, for example: Wooden Church of St. Michael the Archangel UNESCO in Ladomírovo, Wooden Church of the Protection of the Most Holy Mother of God in Hunkovce, Wooden Church of St. Nicholas in Bodružal, Wooden Church of St. Paraskeva in Svidník, The wooden church of St. Dimitrios the Grand Martyr of Thessaloniki in Medvedi or Wooden Greek-Catholic Church of the Meeting of the Lord with Simeon in Kožany, etc. The list of wooden churches can be found on the subpage of the Poloniny region.
