Detailed description of St Michael’s Church in Kraynykovo village
The three-domed St Michael’s Church was built in 1666-1668 from oak logs. It is narrower than other churches in the neighbouring villages. It was the church that craftsmen from neighbouring villages were guided by when building new churches. The church is 25 metres high and 14 metres long. There are oaks around it – the same age as the shrine. A wooden cross was attached to one oak tree back in 1884. The porch of the church is decorated with various ornaments, and in the centre is a symbolic image of the sun.
The last time the church was restored was in 1971. The eastern wall is covered with paintings of the XVII-XVIII centuries. They are very rare, as they are made on canvas glued to the walls of the log house. The figures of the apostles and Pantocrator can be seen on them, and under the monochrome image of St Nicholas on the south wall there is a ctitorial inscription with the date “1771”. Various iconostases have been fragmentarily preserved, some of the icons of which date back to the seventeenth century. It is more difficult to see the paintings in the sacristy, as they are almost invisible because they have faded over time.
The church was given to the Greek Catholic community of the village at the beginning of the 21st century. The community is small and lacks money to restore the roof. The lightning rod is weak. Nearby, the remains of a young oak tree wounded by lightning are a warning. When this part of Transcarpathia belonged to Czechoslovakia, they wanted to take the church to Prague, and they would have done so if not for the war. After the war, a village museum was set up here.
The wooden bell tower of St Michael’s Church (1668) was moved to the new Orthodox church and covered with tin. Probably, to avoid the appearance of the old wooden covering, which needed restoration.
