It is accompanied by a wooden belfry from the same period and a brick fence with gates from the early 19th century.

History

The parish is first mentioned in historical records in 1328. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Wojciechów was the centre of a vibrant Calvinist movement. In 1560, when the estate was owned by Stanisław Spinek, the church was converted into a Calvinist church and then demolished. In 1627, a new church was built as a filial church of the Parish in Bełżyce. The present-day church was built in 1725. Funds for its construction were provided by Teodor Orzechowski, the owner of the estate of the Podstoli (Deputy Pantler) of Lublin. The church was consecrated in 1766. An independent parish re-established in 1920. The church is accompanied by a wooden bell tower from the first half of the 19th century, a fence from 1802 and a morgue from the turn of the 18th and the 19th centuries. The church has been renovated several times. The repairs and renovations include those carried out at the end of the 19th century (external formwork), in 1924 (addition of the church porch and demolition of the southern entrance, replacement of shingles with sheet metal cladding) and between 1983 and 1990 (installation of new formwork inside and outside, replacement of roofing, restoration of the furnishings).

Description

The church complex is situated on a small hill at the village centre. Church. Oriented. The church belongs to the so-called “Kraśnik group” of wooden temples. Their main characteristic feature is a towerless façade. The church was erected on a floor plan comprising a rectangular, wide nave, and a slightly narrower, rectangular chancel. The chancel is equal in height to the nave and extends towards the sacristy and the vestibule. From the west, it is adjoined by a lower church porch. The church is built from larch timber and has a corner-notched log structure reinforced by vertical supports. It is strengthened with formwork on both sides and is set on a brick (initially stone) foundation. The interior is covered with flat ceilings with rounded corners. In the central part of the nave, the ceiling is covered with false cassettes, supported by two pairs of four-sided poles which imitate pillars. Between the nave and the chancel, there is a simple rood beam resting on wall pillars. The choir gallery is supported by chamfered beams and two poles. The nave is covered with a gable roof. Over the chancel, there is a slightly lower three-span roof. On the roof ridge of the nave, there is a ridge turret in a Baroque style, covered with an onion-shaped cupola. The roof truss is reinforced with beams and cleats. The elevations are strengthened with vertically positioned planks. They are divided by vertical supports and topped with an under-eaves cornice. In the northern elevation, the entrance to the sacristy is preceded by a contemporary porch on posts.

The window openings are rectangular and divided into multiple sections. Most of the furnishings come from the 1st quarter of the 18th century and represent the Regency style (altars, pulpit). The main altar and the side altar are adorned with unique Kurdyban antepedia and paintings, including paintings of St. Theodore and St. Cajetan from the middle of the 18th century. Bell tower. Erected on a square-shaped floor plan, two-storey. Wooden, post-and-frame structure, vertical formwork with a corner-notched out; covered with a shingled pavilion roof. In the upper storey, there is a number of arcaded bell openings, subsequently covered with shutters.

A Baroque fence with gates (a modern gate from the south), wickets and shrines incorporated in the wall. In the corner of the fence, there is a brick octagonal morgue covered with a pavilion roof with a vertical wooden ornament on top. On the fence, there is the tombstone of S. Spink. At the church cemetery, there is also the tombstone of F. Grodzicka from 1852.

The site is open to visitors.

compiled by Bożena Stanek-Lebioda, National Institute of Cultural Heritage, Branch Office in Lublin, 8 March 2016

Bibliography

• Górak J., Typy i formy drewnianej architektury sakralnej Lubelszczyzny, “Kwartalnik Architektury i Urbanistyki” 1987, no. 3-4, p. 240.
• Katalog Zabytków Sztuki w Polsce, vol. VIII: Województwo lubelskie, issue 1: Powiat bełżycki, Warsaw 1960, pp. 11-12.
• Mirosław U., Kościół w Wojciechowie, [in:] Wojciechów – wieś przy wieży: ocalić od zapomnienia, Jośko Z. (et al) ed., Wojciechów 2004, pp. 17-20.
• Mirosław U. (et al.), Szlakiem kultury sakralnej Ziemi Nałęczowskiej (b.m.r.w.), p. 13.
• Skarby archidiecezji lubelskiej, editing team Kawałko P. et al, Lublin 2005, pp. 294-297.