The consecration ceremony in the presence of the Crown Prince of the Emirate of Sharjah Sheikh Isam bin Sakr Al-Qasimi and Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Saltanov was held by the head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Kirill.
The ceremony took place in a tent, broken at the site of the laying of the temple, where the Orthodox cross is erected. Despite the more than 40-degree heat, the ceremony was attended by more than one hundred citizens from Russia and the CIS countries living in Sharjah and its neighboring emirates Ajman, Dubai and Umm Al-Kuwain.
An agreement with the ruler of the emirate of Sharjah, Sheikh Sultan Al-Qasimi, on the construction in the emirate of a Russian Orthodox church on a specially allocated plot of land with an area of two hectares was reached in 2005. In the same year, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church established the arrival of the Apostle Philip in the Emirates, which is officially registered in the municipality of Sharjah.
“Today a significant event has occurred,” said Metropolitan Kirill. “We have consecrated and laid the first stone in the foundation of the future Orthodox church and parish complex in Sharjah. God willing, it will be a very beautiful temple. I am sure that it will become an ornament for the city.”
“The Russian Church comes here to help its children living here or coming for business contacts and tourism,” continued the head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate. He emphasized that “the Orthodox Church will teach its believers who come to the UAE to honor God and respect the faith of the locals. "
