Saint Nicholas chapel, Shmankivtsi

Saint Nicholas Chapel (Каплиця святого Миколая) orthodox (PCU) chapel, a newly discovered architectural monument in the village of Shmankivtsi, Zavodske settlement hromada, Chortkiv Raion, Ternopil Oblast of Ukraine. Located on the eastern outskirts of the village.

History
In 1869, a chapel of St. Nicholas was built in the eastern suburbs in honor of the abolition of serfdom. Mykola Karpinsky was the founder of the construction.

In 1926, after returning from working in Canada, the villagers Martyn and Anna Vavrynevych restored the chapel and donated a figure of St. Nicholas.

During the Bolshevik regime, the shrine was destroyed. The late Yosyp Syvak and Mykhailo Vavrynevych built a cover for the figure with their own hands and moved it to the courtyard of the Church of Saints Cosmas and Damian. The abandoned chapel was later damaged again.

The idea of restoring the shrine in 1989 was proposed by women who worked in the fields. Repairs were started, floors were covered and plastered. Volodymyr Ziatyk (roofing), Petro Zakharchuk (doors), Orest Vavrynevych (framing and throne for the image of St. Nicholas) and many other people who contributed to the fundraiser also contributed to the work. The two most active fellow villagers, Anna Matskiv and Melaniia Vavrynevych, planned to buy the image of St. Nicholas. To do this, they went to the town of Sokal in the Lviv Oblast to Zinovii Tymoshyk, who was one of the church's painters. He painted an image and sacrificed it.

On May 26, 2019, a festive prayer was held on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Chapel of St. Nicholas.

Modernity
The chapel is cared for by the Halyna Ushii. Every year on December 18–19 fellow villagers come to light a candle for a good year, the harvest. The chapel protects the village from natural disasters and calamities.