Figural polychrome murals from 1607 have been preserved in the sacristy (former sanctuary) of the church, the bell on the tower dates back to 1615, and icons presenting the Final Judgement, Crucifixion, and St James Brother of Jesus are only slightly younger (from the 1620s). Little wonder, the Greek Catholic Church of St James in Powroźnik is the oldest structure of this type in the Polish Carpathian Mountains, as it was built around 1600. Other factors that justified its inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2013 were its extraordinary beauty: shingle covered walls, pyramidal roofs, harmonious tri-partite plan, and a tower, rectangular in cross-section, boldly soaring towards the skies. Typical of the oldest Lemko churches, it only has windows from the south, providing the congregation with protection against the gusts of cold northern wind and, following folk beliefs, against the forces of evil that always come from the north. The church has even made a short peregrination in its history: early in the 19th century it was moved about 150m to somewhat higher ground due to the danger of flooding.

The church is part of the Małopolska Wooden Architecture Route.