TRADITION AND MODERNITY OF CHURCH BUILDING IN RIVNE REGION: ARCHITECTURE OF ST. GEORGE’S CHURCH IN KOLODENKA

Abstract

The article examines the evolution of sacral architecture through the architectural complex of St. George’s church in the village of Kolodenka, Rivne region, which unites two religious buildings from different historical periods – a wooden church dating to 1788 and a newly constructed masonry church completed in 2023, both located within the same area. Such spatial and temporal coexistence creates unique conditions for a direct comparative analysis of the transformation of architectural principles in sacral construction. The study briefly outlines the historical development of the village of Kolodenka and the preconditions for the emergence of the first church, reflecting broader tendencies in the development of sacral architecture in Volyn at the end of the eighteenth century. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the planning characteristics and volumetric and spatial composition of the wooden church and the free-standing bell tower, which is a characteristic feature of the folk tradition of Volyn wooden church architecture and indicates the established spatial organization of the sacred complex. Considerable attention is devoted to investigating the preconditions, conceptual foundations, and design process of the new masonry church, based on primary accounts, including testimonies of the parish rector. The study identifies the ideological prototype underlying the design, in which the traditions of Ukrainian Cossack Baroque. The church interpreted and rethought within a contemporary architectural context. The authors analyze the planning structure and volumetric-spatial composition of the new building with particular focus on its scale, silhouette and compositional role within the established sacral environment. The results of the research reveal both continuity and transformation in the architectural principles of church construction, manifested in the synthesis of traditional form-making approaches with contemporary interpretations. The examined complex considered a unique example of the direct juxtaposition of temples from different historical periods within a single spatial environment, enabling the tracing of the development of Ukrainian sacral architecture over a period of more than two centuries and the identification of its principal evolutionary tendencies.