Floraine2009.10.08 [21:44]
That's true that the Orthodox church was much stronger in Poland before the war. It was even the majority religion in the eastern regions of the country. However, it all changed after the Second World War when the borders of the country were significantly changed (with the East of Poland annexed to Soviet Union) and the stalinist government started the repressions against all the religious organisations. The Wisła Action, which's aim was mainly to neutralise the Ukrainian minority in Poland by chasing it away from its native land, also contributed to the weakening of the Orthodox church in Poland which lost many of the faithful - the Orthodox Ukrainians were forced to live in the areas where Orthodoxy had been virtually absent, and only after 1956 some parishes could have been established.
As for destroying the churches - both interwar and after war period were tragic for them. Just before the Second World War the Polish government launched an action of demolishing Orthodox churches in order to make Orthodox people convert to catholicism. After the war once again many churches were closed and left to be destroyed with time.
There is a site that collects information about the pre-war action of destroying Orthodox churches in Poland. Unfortunately it's available in Polish and Ukrainian only. However, I give here a link to the gallery of pictures of demolished churches (click on the name of the place where the church stood on the list on the left to see the photos): http://www.cerkiew1938.pl/wprowadzenie.html
mihaela2009.10.07 [21:25]
Hello, Floraine, thank you very much for the comments and for the photo! I read little about this part of Poland's history and it is very impressive, indeed. Does this story have to do with Wisla Action? A friend told me that before this Poland had about 7 millions orthodox people. And also that more hundreds of beautiful great orthodox churches were demolished in that period in Poland. I also saw about this in the photo exhibition "Orthodoxy in Poland" that was in Romania 3 years ago.
Floraine2009.10.07 [20:35]
This is northern-central Poland.
As for the believers - most of the emigres were arrested and deported after the stalinist government was installed in Poland, because they didn't hide their anticommunist political opinions in the interwar period. Some of them preferred to escape abroad to avoid this fate. People who come to this church today are either those who survived (and their children and families) or Orthodox students of local university.
rosmarinus2009.10.07 [10:01]
Nice colours.
In what part of Poland is this church, where are all theese believers now?
