The church with the accompanying buildings (belfry, fence, ancillary church buildings) is a unique temple of this kind in the region. 

History

The Greek Catholic Orthodox Church in Klesztów was erected at the turn of the sixties and seventies of the 18th century. Funds for its construction were provided by Łukasz Węgleński, Chełm standard bearer and the then owner of the estate. In 1772, the interior of the temple was covered with a polychrome by the painter Gabriel Sławiński (repainted in 1927, restored around 1958). The belfry-gate was erected in the same period as the church. At the end of the 18th century, a poorhouse and a deac's house (currently the organist's house) were built, as well as the fence. In 1919, a clergy house was built. In 1836, the clergy house and the roof of the Orthodox church were renovated after having been destroyed by a fire. In 1865, the Greek Catholic Church was converted into an Orthodox Church, which was renovated in 1867. During the First World War, the poorhouse and the deac's house were partly destroyed, then renovated several times. In 1920, the church was converted into a Roman Catholic parish church. In 1944, the church was became partly damaged. Renovations were carried out in 1927 and 1958. In 1955, the eastern sacristy was added. Before 1926, the gate in the belfry was bricked up.

Description

The church complex is situated in the centre of the village, at the intersection of village roads. It comprises a Greek Catholic Orthodox Church (currently a church), a belfry, a poorhouse and the organist's house connected by a fence wall. This late Baroque Orthodox church has a Latinised form, with a tripartite layout and no dome. The chancel faces north. It is built on a floor plan comprising a rectangular, one-nave, two-span main body, adjoined by a narrower, square chancel with two sacristies on the sides. On the southern side, there is a small, square church porch. The church is made of bricks and covered with plaster. The nave and the old sacristy (west) are topped with barrel vaults with lunettes, the chancel and the church – with barrel-cross vaults. Between the nave and the chancel, there is a chancel opening topped with a semi-circular arch. The choir gallery is located in a wide arcade supported by wall pillars. In the walls of the nave, there are wide recesses with splayed reveals, terminated sectionally. Above, there are corresponding window recesses. The nave, chancel and the church porch are covered with gable roofs. Over the sacristy, there are lean-to roofs with copper sheet cladding (previously with roof tiles). The elevations are smooth and topped with a simplified entablature. The gables of the nave and of the chancel are two-storey, with volutes, surmounted by pillars with pinnacles. The porch is topped with a triangular, corniced gable with a small window above; on the ground floor of the church porch, the entrance opening is terminated with a basket-handle arch.

The interior is entirely covered by a polychrome with scenes from the Old and New Testaments and with rich illusionist architectural embellishments. The main and side altars contain illusionist paintings, too.

The two-storey belfry (formerly the belfry-gate) was erected on a rectangular floor plan. It is made of bricks and covered with plaster. The belfry has a gable roof with copper sheet cladding. The elevations are paired analogically, with corners framed with pilasters and profiled cordon and crowning cornices. On the ground floor, the former gate openings are surmounted by a semi-circular archivolt supported by columns. The upper storey is intersected by semi-circular bell openings framed by pilasters. On the ground floor level, the gate was initially vaulted with a cradle with lunettes (now it is used as a storeroom). The former deac's house (now the organist's house) and the poorhouse – two similar one-storey buildings located in the north-eastern and the south-eastern corners of the Orthodox church cemetery – are incorporated in the fence wall. Erected on a rectangular floor plan and topped with gable roofs with sheet metal cladding. Made of bricks and covered with plaster, with buttressed external corners

The clergy house is to the west of the Orthodox church. It has one storey and follows a rectangular floor plan. The clergy house has a gable roof covered with sheet metal. It is made of bricks and covered with plastered, with a porch incorporated in the front elevation.

The heritage site is accessible upon prior arrangement by telephone.

compiled by Bożena Stanek-Lebioda, National Institute of Cultural Heritage, Branch Office in Lublin, 18 September 2017

Bibliography

• Katalog Zabytków Sztuki w Polsce, vol. VIII: Lubelskie Voivodeship, issue 5: Powiat chełmski, Warsaw 1968, pp. 32-34.
• Krasny P., Architektura cerkiewna na ziemiach ruskich Rzeczypospolitej 1596 – 1914, Krakow 2003, p. 166.
• Ludera M., Łukasz Węgleński z małżonką – fundatorzy dawnej cerkwi w Klesztowie. O stosunkach na pograniczu wyznaniowym Rzeczypospolitej w XVIII wieku, “Zeszyty Naukowe UJ. Prace Historyczne”, 2017, no. 144 (1), pp. 59-82.
• Wawryniuk A., Leksykon miejscowości powiatu chełmskiego, Chełm 2002, pp. 487-488.
• Zabytki architektury i budownictwa w Polsce, vol. 6: Województwo chełmskie, Warsaw 1999, p. 407.