Church of Nativity of The Most Holy Theotokos, year 1615. Patrimony number 235. Monument of national value. It is situated in Vorokhta town, Dovbush Street, no.1.
The church is like a hallmark of Vorokhta locality and one of the oldest places of worship in the land of the Hutsuls. It was built in 1615 in Yablunitsa and moved to its current location in 1780. It represents a wooden construction, in five beams, cruciform plan, with one level. The iconostasis has not been preserved. Inscriptions from the 19th century can be read on the beams of the altar. In 1967 the monument was repaired.
Despite its small size, the interior space of this place of worship impresses with its solemnity, obtained exclusively by artistic means, especially due to the proportions between the construction elements and the semi-darkness of the tower’s zenith, which creates the illusion of high space. Inscriptions from the 19th century are preserved inside the church.
According to tradition, in ancient times, the Church of Nativity of The Holy Mother of God was surrounded by a cemetery, whose entrance was guarded by two massive stones. It is believed that these are the so-called “menhirs” – ritual stones with which the holy places were marked in the distant past.
The original composition of the shrine has been preserved in its entirety, even after the restoration works of 1975. There is an original wooden bell tower in the vicinity of the church, also built according to the Hutsul tradition. A small museum was arranged inside the bell tower.
