The icons and symbols of Boyko include:
"An interesting way to bring to life non-existent places is a plaque placed on the church in Habkowce, where, using a simple method with the use of glass, a tourist can see where the building stood. Boykos (but also Jews), who in themselves are an absent, and therefore mythological, mysterious people (...). In the light of the documentation, it can be concluded that although the Boyko region ceased to exist on the Polish side of the border, a significant amount of material mementoes have survived. What is more, a lot of places that materialize the fact of their absence (ruins, cemeteries, the Solina Lagoon) have survived. This peculiar phenomenon provides space for creating new narratives.
Among the material souvenirs, churches, icons and liturgical paraments constitute the symbolic sphere most identified with Boyko. Orthodox buildings located in situ provide strong impressions, and above all those that have retained their original features inside. The intangible souvenirs are primarily music and verbal folklore recreated by contemporary artists. The archival documentation of Oskar Kolberg, Roman Reinfuss and Falkowski is a valuable memento of the former inhabitants of the Bieszczady Mountains.
The preserved material mementoes, which are evidence of Boyko's presence in Poland, could complement each other and constitute a certain coherent image of the former ethnic reality were it not for the fact that they were highly dispersed. What constitutes the uniqueness of this ethnographic area is the contemporary sense of the "primordiality" of the place and the fact of being aware of the strong symbiosis between man and wild nature. (...)
(...) The object of a living, contemporary cult, directly related to Łopienka is (...) the icon of Our Lady of Beautiful Love from Łopienka. This painting was worshiped in the 18th century, and the sanctuary itself (next to the sanctuaries in Kalwaria Pacławska and Stara Wieś) was the most important pilgrimage destination in the Przemyśl diocese until the 20th century. The indulgences held there attracted pilgrims of Eastern and Western Christianity from remote areas of Poland and even from neighboring countries. After the inhabitants of Łopienka were displaced in 1946 and 1947 and the church was abandoned, the miraculous icon (on the initiative of priest Franciszek Stopa) was moved to the Sanctuary in Polańczyk, thanks to which it avoided destruction. The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Beautiful Love in Polańczyk serves as "Mother's House", and the image itself is still worshiped by Christians (...). This is evidenced by the numerous votive offerings gathered around it, as well as the popularity of the image recreated by local icon painters. Łopienka, together with the holy image, is one of the few examples of maintaining a certain continuity of the traditions of the former Boyko inhabitants. A direct reference to the multi-ethnic past with the unambiguous preservation of the narrative about the changes that took place in the Bieszczady after the war. This interesting example reflects the history of the region in a microscale, symbolically condensed into one object in an icon. "
The text comes from the study "INVENTORY OF CULTURAL RESOURCES OF THE BORDERLAND - THE ETHNOCARPATHIA PROJECT" realized by the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University for the District Museum in Rzeszów.
Author: Mrs. Helena Urbanczyk.
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