Photo courtesy of the parish of the Russian Orthodox Church in Iceland / project of the temple complex in Reykjavik / rus.is
An Orthodox church and a Russian cultural and spiritual center will appear in the Icelandic capital, according to the RUS.IS website. It will be built on a site in the old western part of Reykjavik - Vesturbaer. The project of the temple was developed by the architect from Moscow Daniil Makarov. It is being implemented with the participation of a local company. At the same time, it was necessary to take into account the opinion of city residents and local authorities.
In Orthodox churches there are certain unchanging canons, and their architecture is very diverse. Modern Orthodox architecture has turned out to be close and understandable to Icelanders. It is very important, compatriots say, that the temple will become a place that will unite people from Russia, Orthodox Christians from other countries.
A few days ago, the Reykjavik City Council decided to grant the parish of the Russian Orthodox Church in Iceland two more years to start building a temple and a Russian cultural and spiritual center on the site. The land lease agreement was signed back in 2011. One of its conditions was that construction would begin no later than in three years. At the same time, the foundation stone of the temple was consecrated. Nevertheless, the beginning of the construction of the temple was postponed several times.
In January 2018, an Orthodox chapel was erected on the site of the future church in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. Later, the start date of construction was determined as the end of January 2021. But the coronavirus pandemic has thwarted these plans. The city authorities went to meet the ROC and postponed the date until 2023.
Russkiy Mir
