History

The church was built in the years 1930-1932, based on the design produced by the architect Stefan Cybichowski.

Description

The edifice is located in the northern part of the village of Jeleńcz. The architecture of the church bears the hallmarks of modernised Neoclassicism. The church is oriented towards the east; it was designed on a floor plan the shape of which is similar to that of a Greek cross. The sacristy annex, designed on an L-shaped floor plan, is positioned between the northern and the eastern arms of the cruciform structure and the recessed portico on the western side. The church is a masonry structure, its walls covered with plaster. The two-storey building is compact in shape, with particular design emphasis being placed on its western section which features a recessed portico. The dominant feature of the silhouette of the church is the monumental dome surmounted by a roof lantern. The sacristy is a single-storey structure. The façades of the church are symmetrical, topped with a profiled crowning cornice and featuring a pronounced wall base, its surface covered with plaster much like the rest of the walls. The middle sections of the northern, eastern and southern façades are all topped with triangular gables. Tripartite windows can be seen both on the northern and southern sides of the church. The base of the dome is pierced with symmetrically arranged oculi. At the top of the dome rises the lantern supported by eight small columns and crowned with a small cupola surmounted by a sphere and a cross. The front façade is a monumental, grand design. It is divided into three distinct zones which correspond to the number of storeys within. At the very top of the façade there is an assembly of three overlapping cubiform structures, the middle one being visibly taller than the rest. A recessed portico with a pair of column flanking the entrance portal is positioned in the centre of the façade. The giant order columns feature decorative capitals of a simple, modernised design. Between the columns there is a portal topped with a split pediment. Above the said pediment one can see an oculus framed with a plasterwork surround with four ornamental keystones, its design reminiscent of the shape of a Greek cross. The tall, central cubiform structure forming part of the gable above incorporates a semi-circular, tripartite louvred window. A sphere surmounted by a cross is positioned directly above. The interior of the church is an example of the Neoclassical style. It is a single, open space topped with a dome resting on pendentives. The western porch is flanked by annexes which open towards the interior through arched apertures framed with decorative surrounds with keystones. A staircase leading up into the organ gallery and belfry is found in the northern annex. The organ gallery is positioned directly above the porch. It is supported by a pair of pillars with Ionic capitals. The gallery features a solid, brick parapet. All of the walls inside the church are accentuated with pilasters which also feature capitals whose shape is clearly reminiscent of the Ionic tradition. Above them runs a cornice adorned with a dentilled frieze. The vaulted ceilings above the chancel and the transverse arms are adorned with plasterwork coffers.

Property of the parish. The church can be viewed from the outside.

compiled by Kamila Witkowska, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Toruń, 04-11-2014.