CERKEV SV. AHACA V VASI KALIŠE
Legenda pripoveduje, da je bil feldmarsallajgnant Ahacij poveljnik deset tisoč vojakov, ki so vsi dali življenje za krščansko vero na armenski gori Araratu. Znano pa je, da je leta 1593 Andrej Turjaški s svojo junaško vojsko slavno zmagal pri Sisku v bitki s Turki, ki so hoteli uničiti kranjsko deželo. To je bilo 22. junija, na god svetega Ahacija. Andrej Turjaški je z vojaki vred klical na pomoč svetega Ahacija in so zmagali. Tega svetnika rešena dežela ni pozabila in si ga je izbrala za svojega patrona, ki ga je poslej častila kot svojega rednega pomočnika in zavetnika. Svetnik je tudi pomočnik zoper točo in varuh žitnega polja.
Sveti Ahacij je bil priljubljen in čaščen zavetnik kranjske dežele, o čemer pričajo cerkve, ki so mu bile posvečene že v srednjem veku. Med slednje spada tudi cerkev svetega Ahacija v Kališah, druga podružnica cerkve svete Ane v župniji Gozd, ki je bila zgrajena v drugi polovici 15. stoletja, v najbolj plodnem obdobju slovenske gotike. Natančna letnica nastanka ni znana, prvič pa se omenja v Seznamu cerkvenih dragocenosti iz leta 1526. Posvečena je bila leta 1704. Sedanja cerkev je iz leta 1753. Cerkev je skozi stoletja do danes spreminjala svojo podobo. Svoj pečat je v njej pustil leta 1772 slovenski baročni slikar Janez Potočnik, poslikal je oltarno steno in stranska oltarja. Veliki oltar ter oba stranska oltarja predstavljajo slikano arhitekturo stebrov in zidcev z baldahinom na vrhu. V ladji sta dva stranska oltarja, na levi evangeljski strani sta naslikana evangelista sv. Matevž in sv. Janez, v atiki pa sv. Florjan. Nad menzo visi slika, slikana na les, s podobo sv. Marije Magdalene, ki je obdana s slikanim rokoko okvirom (slika slikarja Matija Koželja). Na desni epistolski strani sta naslikani sv. Barbara in sv. Lucija, v atiki kronanje Marije, v sredini pa slika sv. Pavla.
V prezbiteriju je glavni oltar posvečen svetemu Ahaciju. Na velikem oltarju je v atiki naslikana sv. Družina, pod njo na levi sv. Peter in na desni strani sv. Jakob. Srednji del nad oltarno menzo zavzema plastično poslikana konzola in slikan rokoko okvir, preko katerega je položen venec umetnih rož, karakterističen izdelek teh krajev. Na konzoli stoji lesen kip sv. Ahacija v vojaški opravi. Kip je razmeroma dobro delo iz druge polovice 17. stoletja. Prvotni gotski oltar se ni ohranil. Ostanek enega od takratnih oltarjev je verjetno kamnit kip svetega Ahacija, razbit na dva kosa, brez glave, ki so ga našli na bližnji njivi.
Na severni steni ladje je lesena prižnica, katere prvotna poslikava je bila delo Janeza Potočnika. Leta 1881 pa je Albin Spruk prižnico obnovil, hkrati pa je bila tudi preslikana. Na stenah ladje visi Križev pot, epigonsko rokodelsko delo iz srede 19. stoletja, prinešen sem z Gozda, leta 1908. Misijonski križ pa je bil prinešen z Gozda 23. januarja leta 1901.
Zvonik je bil zgrajen leta 1760, na novo pa so ga prekrili leta 1912, ko je bil na Gozdu župnik Janez Dežman. Prvotno so bili v zvoniku trije bronasti zvonovi. Srednji iz leta 1750 z reliefi: sv. Ahacij, križ in grb ljubljanskega škofa Ernesta pl. Attemsa ter z napisom: ME FUDIT BENEDIETUSHUETTER LABACI 1750. Drugi z reliefi: sv. Mihael in sv. Barbara ter z napisom: ORATE PRO NOBIS LABACI 1756. Tretji z reliefi: Brezmadežna in sv. Ahacij ter z napisom: OPUS ANTONII SAMASSA LABACI 1846. Med I. svetovno vojno so bil vsi trije zvonovi odpeljani za potrebe vojske, ki ji je primanjkoval bron za vlivanje topovskih cevi. Po 1. svetovni vojni so bili leta 1924 pripeljani novi zvonovi (mali, srednji in veliki zvon) iz bronaste litine. Cerkev stoji na vzpetini, ki se dviga nad dolino Črne. Njena lega je izrazito domiriantna in strateška, saj je cerkev vidna daleč naokrog. Gotovo pa je to mesto zaradi preglednosti že kdaj v zgodovini služilo kot opazovalna točka, saj je po izročilu cerkev obdajal proti turški tabor, ki so ga leta 1760 podrli. V času turških vpadov so kmetje zgradili obzidje okoli cerkve. Tako so se Iahko pred turškim ropanjem, nasiljem in suženjstvom zatekali v tako imenovane »tabre« (tabore) in se tam branili pred njimi. V tej krvavi dobi so Turki leto za letom ropali, morili, požigali, ljudstvo pa vodili v suženjstvo. V bližini cerkve so imeli tudi kresišče, ki so ga zažgali ob preteči turški nevarnosti. Gorečo grmado so zapazili sosednji čuvaji kresišč, ki so prav tako zanetili svoje kresišče. Na tak način se je v dveh do treh urah vedelo, da so Turki na roparskem pohodu po deželi. Goreli so turški kresovi, zvonili zvonovi cerkva, kmetje so v naglici pobrali najnujnejše in hiteli v tabore.
Cerkev sv. Ahaca v vasi Kališe je podružnična cerkev župnijske cerkve sv. Ane na Gozdu.
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CHURCH OF ST. AHACIJ IN THE VILLAGE OF KALIŠE
Legend has it that Field Marshal Achatius was the commander of ten thousand soldiers, all of whom gave their lives for the Christian faith on Mount Ararat in Armenia. It is known that in 1593, Andrej Turjaški and his heroic army famously won the battle of Sisak against the Turks who wanted to destroy the land of Carniola. This was on 22 June, the feast of St. Ahacius. Andrej Turjaški and his soldiers called on St. Ahacius for help and they won. The saved land did not forget this saint and chose him as its patron saint, whom it henceforth venerated as its regular helper and patron saint. The saint is also a helper against hailstorms and a guardian of the cornfields.
Saint Ahacius was a popular and venerated patron saint of the Carniola region, as evidenced by the churches that were dedicated to him in the Middle Ages. Among the latter is the Church of St. Ahacij in Kališe, the second branch of the Church of St. Ana in the parish of Gozd, which was built in the second half of the 15th century, during the most fertile period of Slovenian Gothic. The exact year of its construction is unknown, but it was first mentioned in the List of Church Treasures in 1526. It was consecrated in 1704. The present church dates from 1753. The church has changed its appearance over the centuries until the present day. In 1772, the Slovenian Baroque painter Janez Potočnik left his mark on the church, painting the altar wall and the two side altars. The high altar and the two side altars present a painted architecture of columns and walls with a canopy on top. There are two side altars in the nave, with the Evangelists St. Matthias and St. John painted on the left side of the Gospel and St. Florian in the attic. Above the refectory hangs a painting on wood of St. Mary Magdalene, surrounded by a painted rococo frame (by Matija Koželj). On the right epistolary side are painted St. Barbara and St. Lucy, in the attic the Coronation of Mary, and in the centre the image of St. Paul.
In the presbytery, the main altar is dedicated to St. Ahacius. On the high altar, St. Peter is painted in the attic with St. James on the right and St. Peter below him on the left. The central part above the altar is occupied by a plastic painted console and a painted rococo frame, over which is laid a wreath of artificial flowers, a characteristic product of these places. On the console stands a wooden statue of St. Ahacius in military dress. The statue is a relatively good work dating from the second half of the 17th century. The original Gothic altar has not survived. The remains of one of the altars of that time are probably a stone statue of St. Ahacius, broken into two pieces, without the head, which was found in a nearby field.
On the north wall of the nave is a wooden pulpit, originally painted by Janez Potočnik. In 1881, however, the pulpit was restored by Albin Spruk, who also painted it. On the walls of the nave hangs the Stations of the Cross, a mid-19th-century epigone handicraft, brought here from the Forest in 1908. The Missionary Cross was brought from the Forest on 23 January 1901.
The bell tower was built in 1760 and re-covered in 1912, when Janez Dežman was the parish priest at Gozd. Originally, there were three bronze bells in the bell tower. The middle one dates from 1750 with reliefs of St. Ahacius, a cross and the coat of arms of Bishop Ernest pl. ME FUDIT BENEDIETUSHUETTER LABACI 1750. The second one with reliefs of St. Michael and St. Barbara and the inscription ORATE PRO NOBIS LABACI 1756. The third with reliefs of the Immaculate and St. Ahacius and the inscription OPUS ANTONII SAMASSA LABACI 1846. During World War I, all three bells were taken by the army, which lacked bronze for casting cannon barrels. After the First World War, new bells (small, medium and large bells) made of cast bronze were brought in 1924. The church stands on a hill rising above the valley of Črna. Its location is highly dominant and strategic, as the church can be seen for miles around. It must have served as a lookout point for the sake of visibility at some point in history, since tradition has it that the church was surrounded by an anti-Turkish camp, which was demolished in 1760. During the Turkish invasions, the peasants built a wall around the church. Thus, the Iahko people took refuge in the camps and defended themselves against Turkish pillage, violence and slavery. In this bloody era, year after year, the Turks pillaged, murdered, burned and led the people into slavery. They also had a bonfire near the church, which was burnt down when the Turkish threat passed. The burning pyre was spotted by the neighbouring bonfire guards, who also set fire to their own bonfire. In this way it was known within two to three hours that the Turks were on a marauding march through the countryside. Turkish bonfires were lit, church bells rang, peasants hurriedly gathered their essentials and rushed to their camps.
The Church of St. Ahacij in the village of Kališe is a branch church of the parish church of St. Ana na Gozdu.