St. Simeon Stylites Church in Dołhobyczów

The Church of St. Simeon Stylites in Dołhobyczów is an Orthodox temple belonging to the Parish of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos in Hrubieszów, within the Lublin-Chełm Diocese of the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church. The first church in Dołhobyczów was built before 1472, but it was destroyed. The currently standing structure, designed in the Neo-Byzantine style, was erected at the beginning of the 20th century on the site of an older wooden church that had been lost to fire. The architect of the new church was Vladimir Pokrovsky. The architecture of the building, constructed on a Greek cross plan, is distinguished by an octagonal drum and dome dominating the central section, while the side arms are covered by a roof with a barrel vault line. The interior of the church is adorned with a single-row iconostasis, which was restored during the most recent renovation. The history of the church reflects changes in the parish's status, primarily resulting from political events such as the liquidation of the Chełm Uniate Diocese in 1875 and the population resettlements in the 1940s, which led to the abandonment of the temple. After the war, the church was used by the "Samopomoc Chłopska" cooperative and later became state property. In the 1960s, the Orthodox Church made attempts to reclaim the church, which only succeeded in the 1980s. However, due to the poor technical condition of the building, regular services could not be resumed. In 2007, a renovation began and was completed in 2010, with financial support from the Norwegian Fund and the Polish Ministry of Culture. Although the church has been restored, there is no regular Orthodox community in Dołhobyczów. Interestingly, the architecture of the Dołhobyczów church is unique among other Orthodox temples in the Russian Partition, as only three other churches designed by Pokrovsky were built in this style. The building was entered into the register of monuments in 1988.