GORGANS. RAFAYLAVA. Orthodox church [1938].

Hand-described photographs: Photo by T. Dohnalik, M.D.. 1938 Original photograph.

Rafaylova [now Bystrytsia] is a Hutsul village located today in Ukraine. Before World War II, it was part of the Second Republic, Stanislavl Province, Nadwórnia District. It is located in the Gorgan Mountains in the Eastern Carpathians. The village's inhabitants were mainly Ruthenians, Poles, Jews and Austrians, often polonized. Originally it was a typical settlement associated with logging in the Carpathian forests and floating timber.

The wooden St. George 's Church was built in 1923-1924 on the site of an older church from 1898, destroyed by fire in 1915. The church is of Hutsul type, cruciform in plan, with a single central dome resting on a log octagonal drum.