The Parish of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Nowe Łupkowo

The Parish of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Nowe Łupkowo is a Roman Catholic community located in the Archdiocese of Przemyśl, within the Rzepedź deanery. The history of the region dates back to 1526, when the village of Łupków was founded. In the 19th century, the development of the area was linked to the establishment of a railway settlement and a timber transshipment base. On January 1, 2011, the village gained the status of Nowe Łupkowo. The parish was established on June 30, 1979, by Bishop Ignacy Tokarczuk, and its first parish priest was Fr. Zdzisław Pokrywka. Between 1982 and 1983, a wooden chapel was built, and in 1983 the parish seat was moved to Nowe Łupkowo. In the following years, a brick church was constructed and consecrated in 1991. The parish is home to approximately 552 faithful, the majority of whom reside in Nowe Łupkowo. It is worth noting that in 1991, the wooden church from Nowe Łupkowo was relocated to Wola Michowa, where a new temple was consecrated in 2010. The parish also has two subsidiary churches: one in Smolnik and one in Wola Michowa. In Smolnik, where a church was built in 1806, the role of the temple has changed multiple times—from a Greek Catholic church, to a parish church, and finally to a subsidiary of the parish in Nowe Łupkowo. In Wola Michowa, after the displacement of Greek Catholics, the former church was dismantled, and a new church was built in 2007 according to a design by architect Bogdan Jezierski. An interesting aspect is the significant local cultural and historical heritage related to the region's religious diversity, as well as the fact that the newly built churches draw on the architectural traditions of the past. Several priests have served the parish over the years, and the current pastor is Fr. Piotr Bielówka, who took over the parish in 2023.