New and Old
Original Greek Catholic Church (Building now at the Museum of Folk Architecture,
Bardejovske Kupele (Skanzen).
Original Icon screen at Saris' Museum at Bardejov,
other icons at St. Michael's in Zboj )
Icon Screen (partial) at Skanzen
Prophets, Feast Days
Last Supper
Items at Saris Museum
Three Hierarchs Icon(2)
Interior at Bardejov
Pews for the Infirm
Exterior at Bardejov
1 2 3 4 5
Circa 1966 Photo of
Original Church at Zboj (1)
Architectural Description
The new church building contains four early icons 1 2 3 4 said to be from the original Church. They look as if they were part of another icon screen. The icons are in poor shape and in serious need of restoration or at least preservation. Three other original icons form the centerpieces for side altars. The original icons date from the 1766.
We were sadly informed that due to prior vandalism, the bottom row of icons, containing Christ, Virgin Mary, St. Nicholas, the Three Hierarchs and the Royal Door were removed to the Saris' Museum in Bardejov for their protection. A plain altar table was all that remained along with the structural components. This provided for a shockingly incomplete portrayal of the church in it's original form. A photograph of the complete original icon screen(2) in the church can be found in the book "Ikony, Icons of the Saris Museum at Bardejov" (credit 2).
New Orthodox Church
Icon Screen
A new Orthodox Church(3) (Church of the Holy Ghost) was constructed in 1966, one year before the original church was removed. The new building was sited about 100 feet behind the original structure. The perimeter of the original church has been encased in an iron fence. Since approximately 1950, the Orthodox church has occupied this parish
The church plot contains a) the site of the original wooden Greek Catholic Church, b) the present Orthodox Church, the cemeteries for both Greek Catholic and Orthodox parishioners. There is no longer a Greek Catholic Parish in Zboj. The closest Greek Catholic Church is in Ulic'.
Credits: (1) “Kulturerbe der Slowakei Architektonische Denkmaler / Slovakia’s Cultural Heritage architectural monuments”, ARS Monument 1996, ISBN 80-901174-6-5; (2) “IKONY Sarisskeho Muzea V Bardejove / Icons of the Saris Museum at Bardejov”, Vladislav Greslik, 1994, ISBN 80 901 174-4-9, 1994, ARS Monument; (3) Mick Sura, Koisce
Note: (1) Source: Saris Museum, Bardejov indicates the churches name was "Church of Three Hierarchs." and mistakenly cites 1706 as its date of construction.. (2) A conflicting source (Pus'kárová, Blanka. ; Pus'kár, Imrich. DEREVąIANI TSERKVY SKHIDNOHO OBRIADU NA SLOVACHCHYNI, Bratislava 1971, NO ISBN) indicates the church name is "Church of St. Nicholas" built 1766/1775. (3)The Ukrainian Cultural Museum in Svidnik, Slovakia indicates the church was built in 1766 and is named "St. Nicholas"). Excerpts from the Svidnik description. My speculation is that the church may have had multiple names throughout time.
