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59-556: Antoni Mironowicz associates the beginnings of the sanctuary with the cult of the miraculous icon of Christ the Savior, which was particularly venerated already in the 13th century in the church in nearby Mielnik . According to local tradition, during the Tatar invasions , the monks taking care of the icon were supposed to hide with the holy image in the surrounding forests, and eventually found their way to Góra Grabarka. The same monks were to initiate

118-525: A Greek Catholic sanctuary. In his opinion, information about the existence of a temple with roots dating back to the Middle Ages, in the light of documents, can be considered as having more in common with legends than with historical truth. According to preserved accounts, in July 1710 a cholera epidemic broke out in nearby Siemiatycze. It caused panic among the city's inhabitants, who began to leave en masse, hiding in

177-578: A decree was issued by Tsar Nicholas I of Russia liquidating the Uniate Church in the Russian Empire . For the first few years after this event, the church was used to hold services for the Uniate population, even though it was already served by Orthodox clergy. This could have been a cause of disputes between denominations and had a negative impact on the condition of the temple. In 1866, Kwiercetus described

236-676: A key role in the process was ordained as a vicar bishop of the merged diocese. Following the 1905 revolution in the Imperial Russia, Tsar issued the manifest "On strengthening the principles of religious tolerance" which gave start to revival of Catholicism. Several parishes en masse were switching back to the Uniate Church. With start of the World War I , in 1915 the Russian Church in Poland

295-720: A mission in Ceará and a monastery in João Pessoa . In 2003, following the decision of the Holy Sobor of Bishops of the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church, the New Martyrs of Chelm and Podlasie suffering persecution during the 1940s were canonized. The Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church was established in 1924. Traditionally the primate of the church has the title Metropolitan of Warsaw and All Poland. The church

354-563: A new chapel was built in place of the previous one. According to the description of the Uniate priest Antoni Duchnowski was larger than the previous one, it had a main altar with a painting of the Holy Trinity and the Transfiguration of the Lord, a ciborium for communicants and the host, two side altars, 7 windows, a separate choir, a presbytery and a porch. It was also mentioned that the chapel had

413-519: A new period of worship of the miraculous icon, which was expressed in giving special importance to the celebrations associated with the feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus on August 19. It was recorded that already in the 14th century, in the areas adjacent to the Mielnicka Forest, special importance was attached to this holiday. The feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord is commonly called by

472-510: A nobleman named Mikołaj Rychlik, who resided in a manor house at Osłowo. On October 23 of the same year, the Union of Mielnik was signed by Alexander I and Lithuanian nobles. Four days later, Alexander changed Mielnik's town charter into Magdeburg rights . King Sigismund I the Old visited Mielnik twice, in 1506 (while awaiting Polish crown), and 1513, when he stayed here for a month, ordering construction of

531-763: A post of the vicar bishop of Warsaw of the Volhynian eparchy. Establishment of the post was partially due to the 1830–31 Polish uprising (so called November Uprising ). The idea to create the post of the vicar bishop of Warsaw belonged to the Namiestnik of Poland and Serence Prince of Warsaw Ivan Paskevich . By 1834 in Vistula Land existed at least 6 parochial Orthodox temples and the Saint Onuphrius Monastery in Jabłeczna . The first bishop became Antoni (Rafalski) who

590-521: A second Catholic church. In the 16th century, Mielnik established its position as one of the most important towns of the province of Podlasie . In 1520 it became seat of a powiat , and in 1545, three Russian boyars , Fiedor Owczyna, Jendriej Palecki and Michalko Obolenski were imprisoned in the Mielnik Castle. The castle itself was expanded and remodeled in the 1540s and early 1550s by starosta Nikodem Janowicz Swiejko of Ciechanowiec . Since 1551, it

649-610: A spacious brick pilgrim's house was built in the monastery complex, a fence was built around the Holy Mountain, a new dome was built over the well and asphalt was laid on the road to the monastery gate. In the years 2010–2016, a thorough renovation of the auxiliary church of the Icon of Our Lady of All Sorrowful Joy was carried out (the stairs, woodwork, bell tower, floor, internal walls and choir were renovated); these works were made possible thanks to foreign financial resources obtained as part of

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708-615: A spacious refectory church dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God. The refectory church was consecrated on July 3, 1981, by the then bishop of Lublin (later archbishop of Łódź and Poznań), Szymon (Romańczuk). In the 1980s, there was a revival of the tradition of mass Orthodox pilgrimages to August celebrations on the occasion of the Transfiguration of the Lord. In 1986, the first walking pilgrimage from Białystok began and continues to this day. In addition, Orthodox Christians make pilgrimages to

767-572: The Imperial Russia , the administration of Eastern Orthodox communities was carried out by the vicar bishop of Pereyaslav and Boryspil of the Kyiv Eparchy with residence in Slutsk . The Eastern Orthodox population on territory of modern Poland was very scarce at that time. In 1825 the administration was switched to the bishop of Minsk and in 1827 – the bishop of Volhynia. In 1834 there was established

826-714: The Polish Orthodox Church , or Orthodox Church of Poland , is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches in full communion. The church was established in 1924, to accommodate Orthodox Christians of Polish descent in the eastern part of the country, when Poland regained its independence after the First World War . In total, it has approximately 500,000 adherents (2016). In the Polish census of 2011 , 156,000 citizens declared themselves as members. Following partitions of Poland and annexation of Polish territory by

885-649: The Polish–Soviet War and the Treaty of Riga of 1921, Poland secured control of a sizeable portion of its former eastern territories previously lost in the late-18th-century Partitions of Poland to the Russian Empire . Eastern Orthodoxy was widespread in the eastern provinces of interwar Poland. The loss of an ecclesiastical link, due to the persecution of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Soviet Union , left

944-616: The Reichskommissariat Ukraine , there was established separate "Orthodox Autocephalous Church on liberated territory of Ukraine" under auspices of the Polish Orthodox Church led by Polycarp (Sikorsky) , a vicar bishop of Lutsk. Along with Alexander (Inozemtsev) , Polycarp (Sikorsky) started to develop what later would be known as the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church . Another member of

1003-511: The Russian Imperial Census of 1897 : Polish Orthodox Church Autocephaly recognized by some autocephalous Churches de jure : Autocephaly and canonicity recognized by Constantinople and 3 other autocephalous Churches: Spiritual independence recognized by Georgian Orthodox Church: Semi-Autonomous: The Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church ( Polish : Polski Autokefaliczny Kościół Prawosławny ), commonly known as

1062-511: The autocephalous status of the Polish Orthodox Church. Although most of the congregation is historically centered in the Eastern borderland regions with considerable Belarusian and Ukrainian minorities, there are now many parishes across the country, as a result of Operation Vistula and other diaspora movements. There are also some adherents in Brazil , resulting from the 1989 canonical union between

1121-634: The interwar period , however, the Polish authorities imposed severe restrictions on the church and its clergy. In the most famous example, the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Warsaw was destroyed in the mid-1920s. In Volhynia a total of 190 Eastern Orthodox churches were destroyed and a further 150 converted to Catholicism . Several court hearings against the Pochaiv Lavra also took place. Following

1180-550: The 1839 Synod of Polotsk which liquidated Uniate Church on territory of the Imperial Russia. In 1840, the former Warsaw vicariate was transformed into a separate eparchy of Warsaw covering the whole Congress of Poland . Following the 1875 conversion of Chełm Eparchy ( Eparchy of Chełm–Belz ) of the Ruthenian Uniate Church , the Eparchy of Warsaw was renamed as Eparchy of Warsaw and Chełm, while Marcel Popiel who played

1239-465: The August celebrations from, among others, Sokółka , Czarna Białostocka , Hajnówka , Bielsk Podlaski , Drohiczyn , Mielnik , Siemiatycze , Grodzisk, Jabłeczna and Warsaw . The importance of the Holy Mountain of Grabarka as a pilgrimage center increased in the 1980s to such an extent that at the end of the decade several tens of thousands of people participated in the celebration of the Transfiguration of

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1298-679: The Church's superiors took part in the celebration of the Transfiguration of the Lord: in 2012 - the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill I of Moscow and All Russia, in 2016 - Patriarch John X of Antioch, and in 2018 – the head of the Orthodox Church in America, Metropolitan Tikhon of All America and Canada and Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria. In the first years of the 21st century,

1357-540: The Kingdom of Poland and Union of Lublin (1569), Mielnik passed to the Kingdom of Poland . Its population was c. 1,500, and the town remained an important urban center of Podlasie. Swedish invasion of Poland was a disaster for Mielnik, and the town has never recovered from the destruction. In late May 1657, it was burned to the ground by Swedes of Gustav Otto Steinbock and Transilvanians of George II Rakoczi , who also destroyed

1416-570: The Lord. In 1980, the first annual May gathering of Orthodox youth took place, which gave rise to the Orthodox Youth Brotherhood. After the death of Barbara's mother, Ihumenia Ludmiła (Polakowska) became the superior in 1986. On the night of July 12–13, 1990, the main monastery church of the Transfiguration of the Lord was set on fire. The fire completely consumed the entire temple. Only the Gospel book and two icons survived - St. Nicholas and

1475-851: The Metropolitan of Berlin Seraphim (Lade) of the ROCOR , who also was assisted by Vasily (Pavlovsky). At the end of 1940, Metropolitan Dionisius signed a loyalty declaration for the General Governor of Poland Hans Frank and was released from his arrest. On 30 September 1940 the Bishop Council of the Polish Orthodox Church led by Metropolitan Dionisius reformed the Church considering the new realities and constituted new dioceses which were 3: Diocese of Warschau and Radom, Diocese of Cholm and Podlachia, Diocese of Krakau and Lemkos. On territories that became part of

1534-618: The Orthodox chapel of Alexander Nevsky was built. Mielnik returned to Poland in 1919, losing its town charter in 1934. Following the joint German-Soviet invasion of Poland , which started World War II in September 1939, Mielnik was first occupied by the Soviet Union until 1941, and then by Germany until 1944. There is a local museum in Mielnik. The most spoken languages in Mielnik according to

1593-502: The Orthodox population in the Białystok region the feast of Spas, which is considered a derivative of the earlier cult of the icon of Spas (Savior) existing in the vicinity of Grabarka (or in Grabarka itself). Historian Józef Maroszek has a different opinion about the beginnings of Grabarka, according to whom the first cult center in Grabarka was founded at the beginning of the 18th century as

1652-527: The PAOC's parishes and congregation, which were united with the recently re-instated Moscow Patriarchate . The remaining parishes that were now on the territory of the Polish People's Republic were kept by the PAOC, including most of the mixed easternmost territories such as around Chełm and Białystok . In 1948, after the Soviet Union established political control over Poland, the Russian Orthodox Church recognised

1711-621: The Polish Orthodox Church clergy, Archbishop Alexiy (Hromadsky) in Pochaiv Lavra created in August 1941 an opposition organization, loyal to the Moscow Patriarchate , known as Ukrainian Autonomous Orthodox Church . After the Second World War , the pre-war eastern territories of Poland were annexed by the Soviet Union and included within the Lithuanian , Byelorussian and Ukrainian SSRs. The annexed territories contained up to 80% of

1770-427: The Savior. After the fire, the temple was immediately rebuilt in its previous shape. The rebuilt church was consecrated on May 17, 1998, by Metropolitan Sawa . The walls and ceiling of the new church were covered with polychrome by Jarosław Wiszenko. It referred to patterns known from the destroyed temple. The icons in the iconostasis and on the walls of the church were made by Michał and Barbara Pieczonka. The corners of

1829-623: The Wise , for his help in getting rid of Miecław . Since Mielnik was located near the settlement of the Yotvingians , its area was subject to frequent raids. In 1323–1324, Mielnik and nearby Drohiczyn were captured by Lithuanian Duke Gediminas , and remained part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania until 1569, part of the Polish–Lithuanian union since 1385, except for the period of 1391–1408, when it

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1888-598: The authority of Moscow Patriarchate, he was assassinated by a Russian monk. Nonetheless, his successor, Dionizy (Waledyński) , continued to work for the autocephaly of the Polish Orthodox church, which was finally granted by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople in his Tomos of 13 November 1924. Most of the parishioners were Ukrainians and Belarusians living in the eastern areas of the newly independent Polish Second Republic . The Patriarch of Constantinople has

1947-538: The border with Belarus . It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Mielnik . It lies approximately 17 kilometres (11 mi) south-east of Siemiatycze and 88 km (55 mi) south of the regional capital Białystok . There is an open pit chalk mine in Mielnik. Mielnik has a long and rich history. The area of the town was in c. 1018 captured by warriors of Bolesław Chrobry , and remained in Polish hands until c. 1050, when Kazimierz Odnowiciel handed it to Grand Prince of Kiev , Yaroslav

2006-491: The changes in borders in 1945, the status of the Polish Orthodox Church also changed - in the post-war era of Poland there was not a single Orthodox nunnery that could have become a place of residence for several Orthodox nuns who managed to survive the war in the country. In 1947, the Orthodox Bishop of Białystok, Timothy , proposed locating a new monastery on Święta Góra near the village of Grabarka. On November 25, 1947,

2065-498: The church in Grabarka was kept in good condition, and because there was a cemetery next to it and funeral services were held there, it was not closed during the revindication of Eastern Orthodox churches in the Second Polish Republic . Throughout the interwar period, services were also held in the church several times a year for the numerous believers. The church in Grabarka did not suffer any damage during World War II. With

2124-546: The eparchy of Warsaw who was Seraphim (Chichagov) . Seraphim (Chichagov) was never able to actually arrive to his appointed diocese due to unstable situation. To fix that in September 1921, the Archbishop of Minsk George (Yaroshevsky) was appointed as Patriarchal Exarch in Poland. The church was established in 1924 after Poland regained independence, as the Second Polish Republic , following World War I in 1918. After

2183-511: The existence of a "new chapel" in Grabarka. Transfiguration of the Lord. The chapel was described as a structure with a timber roof and two windows[4]. The cult of the Transfiguration of the Lord developed significantly. On June 26, 1763, Bishop Felicjan Filip Wołodkowicz , and on May 20, 1789, due to the efforts of the Bishop of Włodzimierz and Brzesko, Simeon Młocki, Pope Pius VI granted a 15-year indulgence for pilgrims visiting Grabarka. Before 1798,

2242-535: The hierarchy headed by Metropolitan Gabriel of Lisbon , formerly under the Church of the Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece , and the Polish Orthodox Church. The European bishops, however, have left the jurisdiction in 2000, which eventually resulted in senior Bishop Chrysostom being raised to archepiscopal dignity. There are now parishes in the states of Rio de Janeiro , Pernambuco and Paraíba , plus

2301-465: The main monastery church of the Transfiguration of the Lord. The interior of the chapel received a new - referring to the traditional - design by Adam Stalony-Dobrzański and Jerzy Nowosielski, professors of the Krakow Academy of Fine Arts . In 1967, there were 20 nuns in the monastery, the largest number in the history of the monastery. In the years 1977–1981, a new brick monastic house was built, with

2360-437: The monastery was officially established. The first superior of the congregation was Schimniszka Maria (Komstadius), with whom two more sisters arrived in Grabarka at the end of 1947. In 1948, eight nuns served, and in August of the same year, the congregation celebrated the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord for the first time. The first years of the monastery's existence were accompanied by great financial difficulties, and

2419-715: The only canonical basis to grant the Tomos to new autocephalous churches. Moscow Patriarchate interpretes this otherwise though and considers itself being a successor of the Kyiv Metropolia, the former territory of Kyivan Rus' which Constantinople continued to see as its canonical territory (having agreed to allow Moscow to be its caretaker in 1686). The Russian Orthodox Church at the time did not recognise Constantinople's granting of Polish autocephaly. See History of Christianity in Ukraine § Territories gained by Pereyaslav Rada . During

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2478-463: The parish had 560 believers. In 1956, work was completed on the construction of a winter church dedicated to the Icon of Our Lady "Joy of All Afflicted" with a two-story residential building adjacent to it from the west. This church is located approximately one hundred meters south of the main monastery temple. In the years 1961–1963, when Ihumenia Barbara (Grosser) was the superior of the monastery, restoration and iconographic works were carried out in

2537-711: The privileges of indulgences from the Holy See, which means that even then Grabarka was an important pilgrimage center, and the water from the stream flowing through it was considered miraculous. The partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth placed the Siemiatycze County initially in the Prussian Partition , and then, under the Treaties of Tilsit , these areas were annexed to Russia in 1807. In 1839,

2596-434: The project "Eastern Slavic Cultural Heritage - conservation, renovation, digitization of historic Orthodox churches". After completing the renovation, the church was solemnly consecrated on May 21, 2017, by Metropolitan Sava , assisted by hierarchs and numerous clergy from Poland and Ukraine. In 2013, the Monastery of Saints Martha and Mary was the winner of the "Podlaskie Brand of the Year" competition. Holy Mountain Grabarka

2655-478: The regional clergy in a crisis, and in 1924 the Ecumenical Patriarchate took over, establishing several autonomous churches on territories of the new states that were formerly wholly or partially part of the Russian Empire: Finland , the Baltic states , and Poland. In 1922 a conflict ensued due intervention of the Russian Orthodox Church that approved appointment of bishops in Poland without agreement from Metropolitan of Warsaw George (Yaroshevsky) . The conflict

2714-402: The royal castle and the parish church. As a result, Mielnik lost 70% of population. Following the Partitions of Poland , Mielnik was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia (1795), and in 1807, it was transferred to the Russian Empire , where it remained until World War I . In 1829, Russians destroyed the local Catholic church, and in 1863, to commemorate the suppression of the January Uprising ,

2773-472: The sisters' existence was made especially difficult by the lack of living quarters. At that time, on Góra Grabarka there was only a wooden church of the Transfiguration and a small guardhouse, uninhabitable. Initially, the nuns spent the night in the bell tower of the old Orthodox church. In 1948, an Orthodox parish was established at the monastery, which included the villages of Grabarka, Szumiłówka, Oksiutycze, Pawłowicz, Homoty, Szerzenie and Hałasówka. In 1950,

2832-428: The start of the World War II on 1 September 1939 and the Soviet invasion of Poland on 17 September 1939, Poland was divided between the Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union . For support of resistance against the Nazi Germany, the Metropolitan Dionisius was arrested, while the Church territories (dioceses) were mostly taken over by the Moscow Patriarchate and the rest were transferred under temporary administration by

2891-421: The surrounding forests until the epidemic ended in winter. This event should be associated with the establishment of a chapel and a cult center in Grabarka, initiated by the Uniate metropolitan of Kiev and abbot of Supraśl, Lev Kiszka . This is confirmed by a document from July 1, 1717, in which the bishop agreed to conduct services in the chapel on Święta Góra. Documents of the pastoral visitation from 1726 mention

2950-402: The terrible condition of the forest chapel, which had no roof or floor. Despite this, large numbers of pilgrims still arrived on August 6. In 1884, priest Józef Gereminowicz began the renovation of the chapel in Grabarka, which lasted 11 years. New walls, ceiling, floor, foundations, roof and iconostasis were built in the church, while the interior of the temple was expanded. After World War I ,

3009-425: The walls, window and door frames were covered with bas-reliefs depicting various images of the cross (author Wiaczesław Szum). Since 1995, the superior of the monastery has been Sister Hermione (Rat) (in 1998, raised to the dignity of ihumen). In 2000, during the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord , the central Orthodox celebration of the two thousand years of Christianity took place in Grabarka. The monastery

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3068-407: Was a Renaissance complex, used for royal visits. In 1554, a bridge over the Bug river was destroyed, and a new one was built in Turna . As a result, merchants with their goods bypassed Mielnik, which contributed to the town's slow decline. In 1566, the Mielnik Land , a territorial unit within the Podlaskie Voivodeship , was established. Following the act of restoration of the Podlasie region to

3127-400: Was an archimandrite of the Pochaiv Lavra . The new vicar bishop was not only subordinated to the Volhynian eparchy, but also directly to the ober-procurator of the Holy Synod . Starting since 1783, on territories that were annexed in 1793, there were established Minsk Eparchy, Bratslav Eparchy, and Izyaslav Eparchy. In 1839 there was established the eparchy of Wilno and Lithuania following

3186-409: Was evacuated along with the Russian administration. On territory of what it was "Warsaw Eparchy" remained about 10 priests. The last archbishop of Warsaw Nicholas (Ziorov) died soon after evacuation and during the remaining time of World War I , the diocese was vacant. Following the 1917–18 Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church , Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow finally appointed a new bishop to

3245-496: Was governed by Mazovian Duke Janusz I of Warsaw of the Piast dynasty , and 1430–1444, when it was ruled by Duke Bolesław IV of Warsaw . In 1420, Duke Vytautas founded here a Roman Catholic church, which was located in the complex of the Mielnik Castle. On September 22, 1440, Mielnik received Chełmno town charter from Duke Bolesław IV. Four years later, the town was purchased by King Casimir IV Jagiellon . On 1 October 1501, Alexander I Jagiellon named first vogt of Mielnik,

3304-400: Was led by the Bishop of Wilno and Lida Eleftherios. Several diocesan bishops along with Eleftherios of Wilno including Panteleimon (Rozhnovsky), Vladimir (Tikhonitsky) and others took stance against seeking autocephalous status for the Orthodox Church in Poland. Most of them were expelled from Poland. Bishops Eleftherios and Vladimir were also against ordination of Alexander (Inozemtsev) who

3363-410: Was ordained as a vicar bishop of Lublin by George (Yaroshevsky) and Dionizy (Waledyński) on 4 June 1922. Earlier, in January 1922, the Polish government had issued an order recognizing the Orthodox church and placing it under the authority of the state. At that time a Ukrainian, George (Yaroshevsky) , was appointed Metropolitan and exarch by the patriarch of Moscow. When Yaroshevsky began to reject

3422-649: Was then gifted with a copy of the Iwierska Icon of the Theotokos , made on Mount Athos, which was placed in the main monastery temple in a special kyote as one of the main sanctities of the monastery. In addition, Grabarka is a permanent point of visits for the heads of individual canonical Orthodox Churches. The place was visited in particular by Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople (October 1998), Patriarch Teoctist Arăpașu (November 2000), Patriarch Peter VII (August 2001), Patriarch Pavle (October 2001), Bishop Anastasios (May 2003), Archbishop Chrystodulos (August 2003), Archbishop Leo (October 2006). On August 18–19,

3481-477: Was visited (on the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord) by the incumbent presidents of Poland - Bronisław Komorowski (2011, 2014) and Andrzej Duda (2015). In 2022, there were 15 sisters in the monastery, including 9 nuns. [REDACTED] Media related to Monastery of Saints Martha and Mary in Grabarka at Wikimedia Commons Mielnik Mielnik [ˈmʲɛlɲik] is a village in Siemiatycze County , Podlaskie Voivodeship , in eastern Poland , close to

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