Święta Góra Grabarka

The Holy Mountain of Grabarka

Summary: The Holy Mountain of Grabarka lies at an altitude of 170 m above sea level in the Voivodeship of Białystok (North-Eastern Poland), south of the North Podlasie Plain (Nizina Północnopodlaska) on the Drohiczyn Plateau (Wysoczyzna Drohicka), 2 km to the south-east of a village of the same name and between two historic towns, Mielnik and Drohiczyn. The Orthodox Christian shrine which is situated there belongs to the decanal jurisdiction of Siemiatycze in the Archdiocese of Warsaw and Biała Podlaska of the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church. The shrine consists of the Church of the Transfiguration, the Convent of St. Martha and St. Mary (1947), the Winter Church of Our Lady of Succour (1956), and a cemetery. For many centuries Grabarka has played an important role in the life of the Orthodox community as a holy place. It is the spiritual heart of Orthodoxy in Poland; for Poles who are members of the Orthodox Church it is what Częstochowa is for Polish Roman Catholics. The history of the Holy Mountain of Grabarka and its church is linked very profoundly with the Cross, which here has a very special meaning. Hence the alternative names "Mountain of Six Thousand Crosses" or "Penitents' Mountain" which are sometimes used to refer to Grabarka. It is the largest and most important centre in Poland for Orthodox worship and pilgrimage. After the Second World War, no doubt in consequence of the territorial shift of Poland's national borders in 1945, Grabarka's reputation grew to a scale which is nationwide (or even international in the very recent years). Grabarka receives its biggest influx of pilgrims on 19th August (according to the ordinary Gregorian calendar, viz. 6th August of the Julian calendar used in the Orthodox Church), the Feast of the Transfiguration. Two other times in the year when crowds of pilgrims visit Grabarka are for 6th November (24th October), the Feast of Our Lady of Succour, and 19th January (6th January), the Feast of the Blessing of the Water (the Feast of the Jordan, to commemorate Christs' Baptism). Grabarka is also a traditional venue for Orthodox youth meetings. Annually Grabarka is visited by about 60 thousand pilgrims. Its pre-eminence is thus quite distinct when this figure is compared with the total numbers for Orthodox Christian pilgrims in Poland,which are in excess of 100 thousand. For the best part of the last two decades there has been a marked tendency for revival in the Orthodox tradition for pilgrimage, which has been particularly clear at Grabarka, where from year to year there has been an increasing volumein numbers both of pilgrims and of pilgrimage groups. More and more young people are coming to Grabarka. The youth meetings held in May are being attended by young Roman Catholics and Protestants as well. Perhpas the ecumenical character of these events will one day make the Holy Mountain of Grabarka into a place that brings together not only the Orthodox, but also the Christian community composed of many denominations.

Peregrinus Cracoviensis, 1996, z.4, s. 179-192.

Instytut Geografii i Gospodarki Przestrzennej UJ

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