St. Philip the Apostle, Russian Orthodox Church, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

Исторические данные

Год постройки:

2007

История:

Many of our Orthodox compatriots live and work in the United Arab Emirates. Permanent residence in a country with a different religion and culture has its own characteristics. Only here did many realize what Christianity is, and that they are Orthodox Christians. Our parish was formed with the permission and blessing of His Beatitude Patriarch Ignatius of Great Antioch and All the East, due to the fact that the UAE is a canonical territory of the Orthodox Church of Antioch. In 2007, the ruler of the Emirate of Sharjah, His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qassemi, allocated a plot of land for our parish for the construction of a five-domed church and a three-story cultural and educational center. The foundation stone of the future Church of the Holy Apostle Philip was laid on September 11, 2008 by Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, co-served by the rector of the Orthodox parish in the UAE, Hegumen Alexander (Zarkeshev). The ceremony of laying the foundation stone of the temple was attended by His Highness the Prince of the Emirate of Sharjah, Sheikh Isam bin Sagr Al Qassemi. In August 2011, the construction of the Orthodox church complex was completed. Now we in the United Arab Emirates have the opportunity to gather together, celebrate Orthodox services and pray together "with one mouth and one heart." Thanks to the help of the church's ktitor Yuri Grigorievich Sidorenko and the efforts of many parishioners, the temple bearing the name of the Holy All-Praised Apostle Philip, who preached Christ in these places in the first century, raised Orthodox golden crosses to the Arabian heavens on its blue domes. Despite all the difficulties and obstacles, on the ancient Arab land, the "lampada" of the Orthodox faith "burns" and the Orthodox prayer to our Lord Jesus Christ sounds. There is a cultural and educational center at the temple. The work of a Sunday school is organized, in which classes on the Law of God are held, as well as various children's courses and creative circles function.