Ukrainian Catholic Archediocese of Warsaw-Przemyśl.
Diocese of Lublin, of the above Archdiocese
Ukrainian Diocese of Wrocław-Gdańsk. Its Bishop Wolodymyr has visited St. Michael's
The region of Podlesie is East of Warsaw and North of Lublin, near the border with Belarus.
A most interesting Strona pośwęcona Unitam męczennikom podlascym («Page dedicated to the Greek Catolic Martyrs of Podliessie» ― in Polish) with links to the Diocese of Kostomłoty and to the Diocese of the Immaculate Conception of Our Most Holy Lady at Drelów.
An informative look on the Greek Catolic dioceses of Kostomłoty, Drelów, Sumierz (of note is the great number of photos on this site).
Website: http://www.parafia-drelow-nmp.siedlce.opoka.org.pl.
Website: http://www.kostomloty-parafia-unicka.siedlce.opoka.org.pl which can also be reached at the shorter address of http://www.kostomloty.prv.pl.
Situated in Kostomłoty two hundred meters due west from the River Bug which forms the border between Poland and Belarus, St. Nikita's was founded in 1631 and has been in continuous operation since then.
The present church building dates to 1922. One of the parishes which "became" Orthodox during the Czar's Russification program in 1874-75, St. Nikita's returned to communion with the Holy See in 1927.
The Sanktuarium Unitów Podlaskich at St. Nikita's commemorates, inter alia, the recently beatified thirteen Byzantine Catholic martyrs of Pratulin who were killed while defending their church from forcible seizure by the authorities during the Russification program of 1874–75.
The only Byzantine-Slavonic parish now remaining in Poland, St. Nikita's has become a center for ecumenical dialogue, cooperating with the Marian shrine of Our Lady of Koden and the Orthodox monastery at Jableczna, and has been both a symbol and a beacon of hope for the Belarussian Byzantine Catholics across the border.
To view the images of two icons of the Holy Martyrs and a picture of Father Roman Pietka elevated to the rank of Archimandrite, visit this second Kostomloty page.
In Polish:
Further information on the martyrdom of the Greek Catholics of the Podlaski region.
Ryszard Jarocki's article Unici — Siła tradycji («Greek Catholics: Tradition Lives On»).
Jan Bocian, SVD on Greek Catholics: Czy unici sią katolikami? («Are Uniates Catholic»)
The article of the Polish Popularna Encyklopedia Powszechna on the Greek Catholics in Poland.
Further information on the history of Greek Catholics in the Podlaski region of Poland and on how their witness and presence was honored by His Holiness Pope John Paul II during his pilgrimage to Poland by Mr. Peter Siwicki of Lublin.
