Joy of All Who Sorrow Church, Koterka

Joy of All Who Sorrow Church
Cerkiew Ikony Matki Bożej "Wszystkich Strapionych Radość"
52°21′29.0″N 23°14′02.8″E / 52.358056°N 23.234111°E / 52.358056; 23.234111
Location	Koterka
Country	Poland
Denomination	Eastern Orthodoxy
Religious institute	Polish Orthodox Church
History
Status	active
Dedication	Joy of All Who Sorrow
Dedicated	July 29, 1912
Architecture
Years built	1909–1912
Specifications
Number of domes	3
Number of towers	1
Materials	wood
Administration
Diocese	Orthodox Diocese of Warsaw–Bielsko

The Joy of All Who Sorrow Church is an Orthodox church in Koterka (a parish in Tokary), in the Siemiatycze deanery of the Orthodox Diocese of Warsaw–Bielsko of the Polish Orthodox Church.

The Orthodox parish in Tokary was established no later than the 16th century; from the 17th century until 1839, it was a Uniate building. In the mentioned year, it was incorporated into the Russian Orthodox Church under the provisions of the Synod of Polotsk. The church in Koterka was built between 1909 and 1912 as a filial temple of this parish, on the site where a Mary apparition was supposed to have occurred in 1852. It was not recognized by the Russian Orthodox Church, yet pilgrims visited the site, and miraculous healings were said to have occurred. In 1906, Bishop Michał of Grodno approved the construction of a church at this location, which was financed by the believers' donations. In 1948, due to the division of the village of Tokary following the delineation of the Polish-Soviet border, the church became the parish church. Despite the depopulation of the surrounding villages, it remains an important pilgrimage destination.

The church is located in a forest, near the settlement of Koterka, in the area of the same name, also called by the faithful the Holy Place.^[1]