st. Cosmo and Damian temple Church

Welcome to the picturesque village of Cigeľka in Prešov region. Right now, you are standing in front of the Greek Catholic temple of Saint Cosmos and Damian, and you have put your headphones on to get to know the story of this special place. Let me welcome you and bring you closer to the atmosphere that breathes upon you from this temple. Take a step closer and look around you. You can see in front of you a sacral structure that at first glance takes its silhouette and solid walls. Feel the peaceful atmosphere of this region, where history is linked to the deep faith of the locals. Let us move on to how this temple actually originated and what its historical context is. Although the exact chronology of the construction and the names of the builders or significant historical figures surrounding this place remain secret and are not further documented in historical sources, the very essence and genius loci of this temple speak for everything. For generations local people have protected their spiritual heritage, and faith has been the main engine that has driven the creation and maintenance of this sanctuary. Now pay attention to the architecture itself and the details ahead. As with other historical monuments of this kind, take note here of the overall expression of exterior, line purity, and the greatness of perimeter walls that resist the tooth of time. Look at the facade, look at every detail of the masonry and let the monumentality with which this chrome has been incorporated into the surrounding environment of Ciegelka. And now that you know the basic framework, let's go to the most fascinating story associated with this temple. Although we do not have a list of famous nobles or rulers who would visit the site, the very building story of the temple of St. Cosmos and Damian is the greatest rarity you can imagine. Imagine the whole situation. The construction of this new temple took place in an entirely unusual, even fascinating way. Local builders and believers faced a huge challenge to build new and larger chromium without having to interrupt the worship and spiritual life of the community. So they came up with a brilliant plan. First they built completely new perimeter walls of a new temple right around the original old wooden church. The old shrine thus remained hidden, as if in the hoop of a new, bigger masonry. When the perimeter walls were finished, a new roof was placed that protected everything under it - including an old wooden church still standing inside. And it wasn't until the new building was protected from above and from outside that it came to the final stage. It was only then that the wooden structure of the original church was carefully dismantled from the inside and brought out piece by piece. This incredible construction process brings with it one more wonderful attraction. During the entire construction process, when a new one was born around the old temple, services could be held without interruption in the original temple. Thus, the faith of the parishioners did not rest for a single day, and life in the temple continued in the middle of the construction site until the old retreated to the new one. The whole work was completed, and the finished temple was solemnly ordained, thus closing this wonderful chapter of building art. Finally, I want to invite you to another review. Walk slowly around the entire object, bypass the walls that bear such an unusual history, and let thoughts come to light on the people who with such ingenuity and love built this tabernacle. Thank you for listening to this story, I wish you a wonderful experience of visiting the village of Zigelka and goodbye to other discoveries.