Statue of Saint Wendel

“There are two iconostasis in the village. One, the Saint Vendel iconostasis, or as they say here, the Vendel chapel, stands along the Sósár road, below Dorcsány. It is a small rectangular building. Its lower part is made of unplastered red brick. Above it is the statue with a gray triangular gable, an open gable roof, and a cross on top. In the window-framed niche, there was originally a statue of Saint Vendel carved from wood, but it was stolen. In 1997, the iconostasis was repaired, and the new wooden statue was made by Martin Barnabás in Kézsmárk. We read in the local publication that the iconostasis was erected around 1860 (Resko S. - Mlinárik J., 2002:12), but the foundation letter kept in the parish archives reads: “Respected Mr. Endre Sóoky. The supervising founder laid the by him in Dorcsán 100 crowns for the maintenance of the statue of St. Vendel erected by him in Dorcsán.” (Danczi L., 1975:88) We can also read in the parish records about a procession that once led here, and which has now been revived by the locals. This was written a few decades ago by the parish priest Lajos Danczi: “The residents of Zsély did not forget their past, and every year they marched in a procession from the church to Dorcsány, where the statue of St. Vendel now stands next to the highway, and they gave thanks that God had preserved the village from final destruction during the Turkish times.”