Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, Stryi

TheChurch of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a religious building, an active church of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine in the city of Stryi, Lviv region. Since September 8, 1995, it has been the Sanctuary of the Mother of God, the Patroness of Human Hopes. The elegant Gothic church with a sharp spire is the hallmark of the city of Stryi, located 70 km from Lviv. The tall chapel tower turns pink in the rays of the morning sun, making the church even more beautiful. It is worth spending at least half a day to visit this church and be sure to listen to the organ.

The emergence of the Roman Catholic parish in Stryi is connected with the Polish conquest of Galicia in the middle of the XIV century. Information about the Roman Catholic parish in Stryi dates back to 1396, and King Casimir III (1310-1370) is considered its founder. The parish church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built in 1425 and has gone through many difficult and painful waves. One of them was undoubtedly the fires. The first one, which destroyed the church and half the town, broke out in 1604.

According to parish chronicles, thanks to rich donations from the townspeople, the church was rebuilt in 1640. It was significantly enlarged, and a tower of the same width as the church was built in the gable. In November 1827, a second fire broke out, which engulfed a large part of the city, including the church and the plebaneum, with extraordinary speed. The roof of the tower and the church caught fire, the bells melted, and the largest one fell off and broke. The middle of the church survived thanks to its strong roof. The church was restored by the efforts of the parish priest, Fr.

But in fact, the largest and most tragic fire in the history of the building occurred on April 17, 1886. The church tower collapsed from the heat and fire, the entire interior was destroyed, and the fact that the figure of the Crucified Christ, located in the side altar, survived can be considered a real miracle. The image of the Nativity of the Mother of God also perished in the flames.

The restoration and completion of the church, which was carried out under the pastor Fr. Ludwik Ollender, was completed in 1891. A new vestibule was added, the nave was significantly expanded, and a new tower was built, on which 3 new bells and a clock were installed.

A new alabaster altar was built on the site of the old wooden altar, which contains an image of the Most Holy Mother on a throne surrounded by holy patrons, painted in 1888 by the Krakow artist Florian Cink. A new alabaster baptismal font was made. Four side altars were also built, one of which contains a sculpture of the Crucified Christ that survived the fire. In 1894, the church was consecrated by Lviv Auxiliary Bishop John Puzyna. A large fire in the city on April 17, 1886, completely destroyed the church's decoration, and the organ burned down. The community immediately began to rebuild and restore the church's decoration, which was completed in 1891. A stained-glass window was made at the expense of the neighborhood residents, and the parishioners bought an organ and bells together (1907 entry in the 1935 inventory).

The parish of Stryi was a part of the Diocese of Przemysl (from 1396 it was part of the Archdiocese of Galicia for two years). In 1594, Stryi became part of the Sambir Deanery, and only in 1787 did it finally come under the jurisdiction of the Lviv Archbishops as part of the Galician Deanery. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Stryi became the center of the deanery, and in 1885 the Stryi parish had almost 4,000 faithful from the city and two and a half dozen villages.

The church in Stryi is one of those churches that did not remain closed after 1939 in the war against faith and religion, in which the Virgin Mary was honored by her faithful children without ceasing.

On September 8, 1995, the church was proclaimed the Sanctuary of the Mother of God, the Patroness of Human Hope. On 26.06.01, the Holy Father John Paul II, while on an Apostolic visit to Ukraine, consecrated the crown of Our Lady of Stryi in Lviv, and on September 9, 2001, Lviv Metropolitan Cardinal Marian Yavorsky crowned this image. Today the parish includes Skole, in addition to Stryi.

Probably at the turn of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, an organ appeared in the church. The first documentary mention of it dates back to 1620, but soon the shrine was again severely damaged by the Tatars: the roofs, two altars, and the organ were burned.

The inventory of the church for 1743 notes: "The choirs are made of wood on four wooden pillars painted black; the organ is good, but very dirty, painted red, for eight voices; the bellows are old, two are glued."

After the last major fire, a Gebruder Rieger organ, op. 426, was installed. The organ's avenue is wooden, carved, with gilded profiles and ornamental elements. The organ fits perfectly, both in height and width, into the dimensions of the pews in the choirs and consists of two three-axis segments with a wide opening to the window on the west wall of the church, which has a stained-glass window.

The organ has two manuals with 54 keys each and a 27-key pedal. The 16 registers of the organ have 864 pipes. The registers, manuals, and pedals are all mechanical. Two 16-foot registers, seven 8-foot registers, five 4-foot registers, and two labial pipe mixtures create a thick sound typical of church organs. The instrument is out of tune and the sound is more like a large harmonium.

In 1967, the Soviet three-part feature film "Major Vortex" was filmed in this church.

Today, the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Sanctuary of the Mother of God, Patroness of Human Hopes) in Stryi is a functioning Roman Catholic church and is an architectural monument of local significance. After visiting the church, also check out the interesting palatial villas on Nezalezhnist Street, and after walking a little to the south, you will come to the ruins of the old Stryi Synagogue.