Russian Orthodox Church, Sharjah
Russian Orthodox Church in Sharjah
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
St. Philip the Apostle Russian Orthodox Church (Arabic: الكنيسة الأرثوذكسية الروسية للقديس فيليب الرسول) is a Russian Orthodox Church located in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. It's part of the Patriarchate of Antioch. It is the only Christian Orthodox church in the Arabian Peninsula[1] with an area of 1,800 square metres (19,000 sq ft)[2] capacity of 20,000 worshippers. The church opened on Saturday August 13, 2011.
| Russian Orthodox Church, Sharjah | |
|---|---|
| St. Philip the Apostle Russian Orthodox Church | |
View of Russian Orthodox Church, Sharjah | |
 Russian Orthodox Church, Sharjah | |
| 25.350086°N 55.404226°E | |
| Location | Al Yarmook, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates |
| Country | United Arab Emirates |
| Website | prav-church |
| History | |
| Founded | August 13, 2011 |
| Specifications | |
| Capacity | 20,000 |
Background
Discussions about building the church began in 2005. The church was given approval to start construction in May 2007. The church was designed by architect, Yury Kirs who based his drawings on one of the churches in Saint Petersburg - the city that Yury Kirs hails from.[3] One of the main contributors and founders was businessman Yuri Grigorievich Sidorenko.[4] The church had received its blessings from the head of the parish, Hegumen Alexander Zarkesher of Moscow as well as from His Beatitude Patriarch Ignatius IV.[5] It is one of the rarest Russian Orthodox churches in design as it has a gold cross on each of the five domes, all made in Russia.[6]
