Church of St. Nicholas, Dratów

The Church of St. Nicholas is an Orthodox parish church in Dratów, belonging to the Lublin Deanery of the Diocese of Lublin and Chełm of the Polish Orthodox Church.

The first church in Dratów was built before 1490 and became the seat of an independent parish in the following century. It was part of the Uniate Eparchy of Chełm–Belz. During its affiliation with the Uniate Church, two new churches were constructed in Dratów – in the 18th century and in 1870 – each time due to the deteriorating condition of the previous building. The church became the property of the Orthodox Church following the Conversion of Chełm Eparchy in 1875.

The present-day church in Dratów was built between 1888 and 1889, based on a design by Viktor Sychegov. It represents the Russian Revival style, which was standard in Russian sacred architecture in the second half of the 19th century. The church remained in operation from its dedication in 1889 until the evacuation of the Orthodox population in 1915. It resumed functioning as a parish seat in 1923, but its activity ceased following the murder of its parson, Father Stefan Malesza, by the Gestapo on 15 August 1942.

In 1947, after the deportation of the Ukrainian Orthodox population, the church was closed. The abandoned building was reopened for liturgical purposes in 1959. It underwent thorough renovations in the 1960s and again between 2007 and 2008.