Estonian capital allocates $53,000 to restore Orthodox church

The capital of Estonia, Tallinn, has decided to allocate 50,000 euros ($53,100) for the restoration of the city’s Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos, reports RIA-Novosti. A statement from the municipality noted that an agreement on use of the funds for restoring the church, popularly known as the Kazan Church, will be signed on Saturday by parish rector Fr. Victor Melnik and Vice Mayor Michael Kilbart. The parish will mark its 300th anniversary in 2021. Restoration work began last year, preceded by a detailed study on the history of the construction of the church.

The Kazan Church was built in 1721, the first in Tallinn after Estonia was annexed into the Russian Empire. It is the country’s oldest surviving wooden church, where Patriarch Alexey II of blessed memory served as parish rector for sixteen years in the middle of the previous century. The church was set on fire in 2009, damaging the outer wall, the attic and the roof. Tallinn authorities and the Estonian Council of Churches allocated 14 million euros ($201,11,000) for restoration, at which point it was discovered that the church was in an extremely poor state overall.

Source: pravoslavie.ru