Bolyuk O. Artistic wood products in Western Ukrainian churches of the 16th – early 21st centuries: structure, decor, and inspirations.

The dissertation is devoted to the research of artistic wood products in the churches of the western regions of Ukraine. It introduces a newly discovered and analytically processed array of expeditionary findings, most of which date back to the second half of the 18th – 20th centuries, into scholarly discourse. The time span of the declared theme, which starts with the 16th century and finishes with the beginning of the 21st century, constitute the conditional framework of evolutionary periodization. The paper provides the author’s understanding of decorative and ritual systems, which are subordinated to the arch-system of church art (ACA). It has been found that artistic wood products in the Christian church belong to a somewhat separate development branch in relation to, for example, church art metal, liturgical fabrics, etc., but they are related in the iconographic repertoire, symbolism, and hierotopy.