Church of St. Anthony of the Caves in Kurashevo

The Church of St. Anthony of the Caves in Kuraszewo is an Orthodox parish church belonging to the Hajnówka Deanery of the Warsaw-Bielsk Diocese of the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church. It was designed by master builders Sylwester Wasiluk and Łukasz Prokopiuk, and its construction began in 1868. Following the establishment of an independent parish, the church was expanded in 1898, and after 1941, a bell tower was added. The building is situated on a local Orthodox cemetery and between 1925 and 1932 belonged to the Neo-Uniate Church, but by court order, it was returned to the Orthodox parish. Architecturally, the church is wooden, built using log construction and oriented. It features a covered porch at the front, and the narthex is preceded by an entrance vestibule. The nave has an octagonal plan, while the chancel is rectangular with two side sacristies. The two-story bell tower, with a square base and a taller octagonal section, is topped with a pyramidal spire and a small dome. The church is covered with a sheet metal roof; the nave has eight slopes with a turret, and the chancel features a single-ridge roof with a cross. In 1998, the church and cemetery were entered into the register of monuments under number A-104, highlighting their historical and cultural value. An interesting fact is that the church stands in an area with a rich religious history, where Orthodoxy and other religious traditions have coexisted for centuries, influencing local culture and rituals.