St. Nicholas Church, Putyla

Bukovyna's Hutsul region, centered in the town of Putyla, is special in its own way. No other place in Ukraine has such a large number of sheep under the care of Putyla residents. In the spring, sheep, like a wide white river, "flow" to the pasture, to the meadows. They are accompanied by shepherds and huge dogs, as white and fluffy as the beloved sheep and the main producers of meat, wool and milk for the locals.

That is why the main secular holiday in Putyla is the May send-off of the shepherds with their beautiful women to the mountains. And the main church holidays that the entire Soviet government could not knock out of the villagers' minds are Christmas, Easter, and Trinity or Green Sunday. Most likely, that is why Putyla's only church is painted in a pleasant emerald color, a symbol of Green Sunday, a shade of lush grass and pine needles of fir and spruce trees that cover the surrounding mountains.

This area is rich in wooden churches. The St. Nicholas Church in Putyla is considered one of the best examples of wooden architecture in the Bukovinian Carpathians. The emerald Putyliv church is dedicated to St. Nicholas, the most beloved Christian saint in the Carpathians. It is one of the typical examples of Hutsul sacred architecture of the XIX century. St. Nicholas Church is built of wood, but stands on a massive stone foundation. It is three-domed and is the dominant building in the historic center of the village.

The land for the construction of the church was allocated by Yurii Fedkovych, one of the most interesting Bukovynian writers, a Polish nobleman, Austro-Hungarian soldier, and Putyliv's voit. But it was built by the local community for funds raised "by the whole world." It was in 1886, during the period of massive construction of sacred buildings in Bukovyna, so the church has a number of features characteristic of that time. For example, the church consists of 3 equally wide log cabins built along the west-east axis. Each log house is crowned with its own octagonal dome with a small onion with a cross. The central dome is slightly larger than its eastern and western counterparts.

The wooden church was built on a stone foundation. It is a typical example of the churches of the Bukovyna Carpathians. Initially, the church was covered with shingles, but they were recently removed. The roof of the building suffered a similar fate - it was replaced from wood to tin, which significantly changed the appearance of the church.

The narthex of the church is elongated in the longitudinal direction, and the side chapels, together with the nave, form a single space well lit by natural light. Under Austria-Hungary, Romania, and the Soviet Union, the walls of the church were covered with shingles, but recently they were removed. As a result, the church lost its forest, wild appearance and gained a lot in aesthetic terms. Many fans of authentic wooden Ukrainian churches do not like the new roof of St. Nicholas Church, which is made of tin.

St. Nicholas Church is not a super-original building. It is a typical wooden church of the Carpathians, and it is also active and very respected by its parishioners. When you come to the Carpathians, you can attend a Sunday service, breathe in the smell of a two-hundred-year-old tree and admire the sunlight coming through the windows above the Babynets. In addition to getting acquainted with an ordinary Hutsul church, choosing a vacation in Putyla, you can visit the Fedkovych Museum, try to unravel the secrets of the "cursed rocks", taste the entire palette of local sheep cheeses and meditate while admiring the views of the Bukovinian Carpathians with the Putyla River Valley and Cheremosh.

The first clergyman was Fedkovych's uncle Orest, who served for 50 years and was buried on the church grounds. The architectural ensemble is complemented by a wooden two-tiered bell tower, as well as a chapel and a well. The bell tower was built in 1920. The three bells that call the faithful to the church were brought from Austria.

The church belongs to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. Services are held on major church holidays, during Lent and on Sundays. The church day is May 22, when the faithful celebrate St. Nicholas Day.

The Church of St. Nicholas is located in the center of the town and is its main building. The Putyla district is the most remote from Chernivtsi and the transport connection with it is not the best. The district center can be reached by bus from Chernivtsi. The best mode of transportation is your own car. You need to go to Vyzhnytsia, from where you can take the T-2601 highway to the village of Putyla.

Openinghours: The church is open only for worship, so we recommend that you visit it in the morning on Sunday.