The Russian Ministry of Defense will build a huge Orthodox church in the Moscow region, on the territory of the Patriot park. He will symbolize the "spirituality of the Russian army, raising the sword only to defend their homeland." It is assumed that this will be the main temple of the Russian army. The announcement of this appeared on the official website of the military department.
It is planned that the church will be ready by 2020 - the 75th anniversary of the Victory. The layout of the structure was presented to the public during the military-technical forum "Army-2018".
The Ministry of Defense declares that the project will be financed at the expense of voluntary donations received, including from military personnel. Although, given the huge size of the temple, it is doubtful that donations alone will be enough for its construction.
The army will build one of the largest Orthodox churches in Russia and in the world.
The scope of the future project is fascinating: the height of the temple with a cross will be 95 meters, which will make this religious building the third highest in the world after the Cathedral of Christ the Savior (103 meters) and the famous St. Isaac's Cathedral (101.5 meters) in St. Petersburg. The total area of the building will exceed 11 thousand square meters. meters, which will accommodate up to 6 thousand. Believers simultaneously. Its design is made in the monumental "Byzantine" style. The temple will have five thrones and the same domes, inside there will be space for training military clergy, conference rooms and a lecture hall.
The head of the Main Political and Political Directorate, Andrei Kartapolov, told reporters that each throne of the church will be dedicated to one of the patron saints of the Armed Forces: Saint Alexander Nevsky, patron of the Ground Forces, Apostle Andrew the First-Called, patron of the Navy, prophet of God Elijah, patron of the VKS and Airborne Forces and Great War. - patroness of the Strategic Missile Forces.
To finance the work plan to attract donations. Defense Minister Shoigu has already warned that charges from the military should be exclusively voluntary. "I would not want this to happen in the form of an order," he said. It is reported on the official website of the military department that as of August 1 of this year, 3.5 million rubles have already been collected.
At the moment, a working wooden chapel is located in the Patriot park, the first stone in the foundation of which Shoigu personally laid as early as 2016.
Not everyone supports the idea of creating this mega-weapon. For example, protodeacon Andrei Kuraev, in an interview with journalists from the RBC publication, expressed doubt that the church would ever be able to be filled with believers. At the same time, he is confident in the prospects of its construction. In addition, the clergyman said that the patriarchy would not be able to maintain such a huge structure, so it is likely that the state will have to incur expenses.
"I believe that they will build a temple. The only question is: who will pray there and how to keep this temple? There are no thousands of parishioners in the district to fill it ... Another such giant to put, not in the center of the city, but beyond ... It can be called not a temple, but a museum ", - said Kuraev.
Although there are other opinions on this. For example, the head of the Center for the Study of Religion and Society of the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences Roman Lunkin believes that the construction of the main temple of the armed forces is an important contribution to ensuring an adequate level of the moral and psychological condition of the army: after the construction, mass demonstration events will be held there.
In his opinion, the temple will be a symbol of Russia's military glory, which is consecrated by the Orthodox idea. And it is not built for the parishioners, and not around a certain parish.
However, in our country there are already similar temples. In 1913, a Naval Cathedral was built in Petersburg, dedicated to all Russian sailors. There is also the main temple of the Airborne Forces, located in Sokolniki.
