Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist, Kosiv

In Kosiv stands the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist, built in 1912. It was created in the characteristic Hutsul architectural style of that time and is today the oldest church in the city.

The temple is located on the territory of ancient burials, where unique remains of crypts and tombstones have survived to this day. Until the early 18th century, there was a monastery and the Church of St. Nicholas on the site of the church. It is mentioned in the donation deed of Prince Svidrigailo dated 1424. Typically, a church existed at the monastery, and in the Kosiv monastery, it was the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.

Documents indicate that the St. Nicholas Monastery functioned for several hundred years, as evidenced by the “Revision of the Abbots of 1724.” However, in 1744, according to the decision of the chapter in Dubno “On the concentration of small monasteries,” it was closed and annexed to the Krylos Holy Dormition Cathedral Monastery. Since the churches here were built of wood, they had to be reconstructed or new ones built after a certain time. Thus, in 1912, the old St. Nicholas Church was dismantled, and a new one was built in its place.

The four-domed church in Kosiv is built in one tier from natural wood in the traditional Hutsul style. Several additional rooms, made in the same style as the church, adjoin the central part of the building. Neat sidewalk paths spread in different directions on the territory adjacent to the church, with benches for resting. The wooden church has a cross-shaped layout, indicating its belonging to the Hutsul folk architecture school.

This cross-shaped structure is topped with three domes and five finials, two domes are closed, while the central one is open to a blind lantern. The dimensions of the church and the fact that it was originally covered with tin indicate the wealth of the Kosiv community at that time. The temple was built by a master from the village of Babyn – Ivan Harasymyuk. The wall paintings are the work of Volodymyr Hudz. The church is adorned with the works of famous Kosiv carvers: Ivan Balagurak, Ivan Pavlyk, Mykola Matiychak, Mykola Havrysh, Vasyl Baranyuk, and others (chandeliers, icon cases, crosses).

The resort town of Kosiv has always attracted famous people for treatment and relaxation, who drew strength from the Carpathian region, and often life brought those who cared about the history of Ukraine to the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist. Among them was the world-renowned professor Ivan Ohiyenko, former Minister of Education and Religion of the Ukrainian National Republic, later Metropolitan of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Canada – Illarion. The future Patriarch Mstyslav (Skrypnyk) also visited here.

On April 28, 1988, Father Vasyl Romaniuk – a well-known public, religious, and political figure, a member of the Helsinki Group, a long-term prisoner of Stalin's concentration camps, later Patriarch of Kyiv and all Rus-Ukraine Volodymyr (1925-1995), head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate, took monastic vows here.

Near the Church of St. John the Baptist is the oldest cemetery in the city of Kosiv. Many tomb crosses and monuments from the 19th-20th centuries have been preserved here. The sunken stone gravestones evidently have a much older origin. Several memorial crosses and a cross in honor of the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Ukraine-Rus are installed on the territory of the Temple.

An important aspect of the church's life in the city of Kosiv is the feast day on July 7. Many pilgrims come on foot from nearby villages and districts. For them, it was a breath of faith and confidence in life. Every year, the pilgrimage gathered thousands of people who, for objective reasons, could not visit their churches for fear of being fired from work.

The Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist is a local architectural monument. Currently, the church operates for its intended purpose and is open for free visits.