Russian Orthodoxy Grows in Europe: France Boasts a Beautiful New Church (VIDEO)

Originally appeared at: Global Orthodox

Despite its historic look, the Church of All Saints in Strasbourg is quite new: it was built between 2013 and 2017. 

The authors of the project are architects Dmitry Pshenichnikov from Russia and Michel Arnold from France. The church, designed to accommodate 300 people, was built in the traditions of Russian North architecture. It is 41 meters high, 15 meters wide and 30 meters long. The church complex also includes a conference hall, meeting rooms, offices, living quarters and the Representation of the Moscow Patriarchate to the Council of Europe.

The church was built on private donations. Vladimir Spivakov, a world-famous violinist and chief conductor of the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia, played a key role in the project. He was the one who spared no efforts to find major donors for the construction. As Hegumen Philip (Ryabykh), rector of the All Saints Parish, noted back in 2018: "Our main financial supporter has been the Russian company Transneft. At one time we were also received great support from the Vnesheconombank and Chelyabinsk Electrometallurgical Works, as well as some Russian businessmen. We have already made many friends. Not only our parishioners have contributed their fair share, but also people from Russia, Ukraine, Belorussia, Moldova, Georgia, Serbia, Greece, Romania, and many other countries. There was even a donation sent to us from Japan.

The domes, crosses, tent and apse of the church were made in Russia. The mosaics and ceramic works were created by Oleg Shein, and three icons of the Savior, the Holy Virgin and Saint Nicholas were painted for the Church of All Saints by Dimitri Pipichin.

The church stands in the central part of the city, on the bank of the Marne Canal that flows into the Rhine, next to the European international institutions - the Council of Europe, the European Court of Human Rights and the European Parliament. The land plot was leased to the parish of All Saints for 99 years after in October 2007 Patriarch Alexis II asked the city authorities to give the parish a plot land to build the church. The parish itself was formed in 2003 and, until 2018, had been living in a rented garage that had been converted into a temporary church.

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