Historical Feast in Turkowice Monastery
Polish Orthodox Church
This year’s feast of the Turkowicka Icon of the Theothokos was very special, as for the first time for more than 50 years it was celebrated in an acting, Orthodox monastery.
In 2009 many pilgrims observed major changes that happened in a monastery. A redecorated building, where a monastery church is organized under the name of the Protection of Mother of God, newly painted icons with a beautiful, wooden iconostasis, a new building, where in future nuns will live. Everyone felt an atmosphere of dynamic changes and restoration of the church life.
The most important of 2009 feast where walking pilgrimages, which came here for the first time in more than 60 years from the nearby towns Tomaszow and Hrubieszow.
Feast started with a vigil celebrated by archbishop Abel, the head of the diocese, whose main success is restoration of the Orthodoxy on these lands. After the celebration all the pilgrims and guests were invited for a meal prepared by the nuns.
According to the monastic tradition, services were held for the whole night. People sang akathyst in front of the Turkowicka Icon of the Theothokos, as well as to the martyrs of these lands. At midnight faithful prayed for their dead.
The main Liturgy was celebrated by the archbishop, with other priests and lots of faithful. At the end there was a procession and again a common meal for all gathered people.
In this year’s feast in Turkowice took part more than 500 people. There were also guests from the Ukraine – former inhabitants of this lands, who where deported in XX century to the Ukraine.
The Orthodox monastery in Turkowice existed for many years. First documents says about a monastery in the middle of XVIII century. The tradition was broken by I world war. After 1918 the tradition was partly reborn, but after deportation of the people in 1940s the monastic life in Turkowice was stopped. The monastery was restored by archbishop Abel in 2008.
