Mary, Mother of the Church Parish (Horshchyk)

Horshchyk existed by at least 1650, when it appeared on Daniel Zwicker’s map of the Polissia marshes. In 1906, it had more than five hundred residents; today, its population is 2,400.

Local Latin-rite Catholics formerly belonged to the parish in Ushomyr but had no church of their own. From 1990, Fr Amvrozii Mitskevych travelled from Berdychiv to celebrate services in the Mostovych family’s home. On 22 February 1992, a parish was registered in Horshchyk, and Fr Amvrozii became its first pastor.

Some time later, a house opposite Omelianivka railway station was purchased and converted into a chapel. On 8 June 1992, Jan Purwiński, Bishop of Zhytomyr, blessed it under the title of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church. A new carved altar was made in 2013. In 2019, a bell tower was built and the church’s roof replaced. The parish is served by diocesan priests.