It has to be pointed out however, that when we first visited Borzyszkowy in the fall of 1998, we had no idea that we would be allowed inside the church to take a few pictures. Our camera equipment was not suitable to take pictures inside a fairly large but relatively dark room. So the quality of the pictures we took are not that great. Subsequently, we tried again to obtain permission to take a few pictures with better equipment. The request was denied.

So the pictures we present to you here in this story are maybe not the best, but it is all we have to offer. The church, which was immediately rebuilt after it was destroyed by fire in 1721, is not that small. It offers a warm and secure feeling to it's parishioners. The walls are made of large square timbers, which create the impression that this church will stand up against the elements to eternity. The pulpit is to the left of the front, and is decorated with different Saints. Above the pulpit is a canopy, which is richly decorated, in gold colors. There are five different family crest attached to the canopy, representing five of the old noble families from around the Borzyszkowy area. Some of these families have a history, dating back some 500 years.

As far as assigning the five " Coat Of Arms " / Family Crest to the different families, we believe that starting from the left on the canopy these "Crest" belong to the following families.

1. Franciscus Borzyszkowski
2. Cuminskiego
3. Wnuk Lipinsky
4. Aubrachtow / Aubrach
5. M. Kiedrowski

The Kiedrowski Coat of Arms shows only two letters = M.K. It can only be assumed that after the fire in 1721 the Kiedrowski coat of arms was not restored because the original description was missing.

Left of the pulpit is another colorful display of a few different religious icons, and on the left and right side along the walls, there are of course the 12 stations of the cross. There are also a number of other beautiful religious pictures throughout the church. What a shame, that not more people could visit this jewel of a church, which has so much history within it's walls.  

A couple of letters had been written after our return home, to see if somebody would produce a small series of 3 to 6 high quality post cards with pictures of the church, both inside and outside. All proceeds from the sale of these post cards would go to the church to help pay for minor repairs and general upkeep. Nothing ever came out of this idea, but maybe somebody will pick up on this. A gift set of such a set of postcards would truly be something to have for anybody with roots in this area. Just think of how many sets could be sold in the U.S.A. and Canada alone.

Just before we left Borzyszkowy, I spend a few minutes in one of the church pews. I thought about my ancestors who had worshipped in this very same church a couple of hundred and more years ago. I sat there quietly with my thoughts and I could feel a gentle breeze blowing through the church. I got the feeling that the spirits of my ancestors were also in church. Maybe just to check out the stranger from a far away land. Of course it was just a feeling I had, because after all these years, I finally had come home to the place of worship of my ancestors. I guess the moment in time got the best of me. Would I go back for another visit? Yes, I would pack my bags tonight.

Oh, I forgot to mention that when I came out of the church, It was a nice warm day, with no wind, not even the slightest breeze.

New Material Update - Fall of 2008

 By: Peter von Pazatka Lipinsky

Finally, after searching for many years, without much success, documents containing  new  information about the Pazatka Lipinski family Coat of Arms were recently discovered at the Diocesan Archive in Pelplin, Poland .

The newly discovered notes, written by ks. Johannes Godefrid Bork  in 1751, priest at the parish in Borzyszkowy, reveal that my ancestor, Stanislaus Pazatka Lipinski  from the village of Lipnica (Liepnitz) donated one of the side altars in the year 1738 at a cost of 90 zloty to the parish in Borzyszkowy.  A few years later, the son of Stanislaus Pazatka Lipinski paid 16 zloty for improvements to the same side altar. On the very top of the donated side altar is the family Coat of Arms of the Pazatka Lipinski clan. Description:  A golden cross with two golden stars, one star on each side of the cross, as well as a golden half moon on the foot of the cross with a blue background . (Please see picture of the side altar with the described Coat of Arms on  of  “The Inside Story, Part 2 “  )

The Coat of Arms as shown on the side altar in the church of Borzyszkowy differs considerably from the Pazatka Lipinski Coat of Arms as described by Emilan Zernicki - Szeliga in the early 1900’s and also by the German Heraldic archive in Marburg, Germany, in a letter to Mr. Peter von Pazatka Lipinsky, dated 21. April 1954.  Since the Pazatka - Lipinski  Coat of Arms on the in 1732 donated side altar precedes the description of the Pazatka Lipinski Coat of Arms from 1900 and 1954 by over 200 years, one has to come to the conclusion, that the description of the Coat of Arms from 1732 is the true and correct description.

This is truly a very important discovery of old documents and it shows again, that perseverance in genealogy will  eventually bring results . ( not in all instances, but in some cases  )

Special thanks for this discovery of these old hand written notes  from the year 1751 by ks. Johannes Godefrid Bork must go  to my friend  Mr. Jarek Lukaszewski.

First page of the book of notes written in 1751 by ks. Joannes Godfrid Bork , parish priest in the village of Borzyszkowy.