Paris approves new Russian Orthodox center

France has given permission to the Russian Orthodox Church to construct a new compound including a cathedral near the Eiffel Tower, an official statement reads.

The Russian Orthodox Church has received permission from French authorities to build a 4,000-square-meter cultural and spiritual center in Paris, the Russian embassy stated on Wednesday.

“The Russian Embassy in Paris has been notified that on December 24 the prefect of Paris and the Ile-de-France region signed permission for the construction of a Russian Orthodox spiritual and cultural center on Branly Embankment in Paris,” said Russian Presidential Property Management Department head Viktor Khrekov.

The compound will include a Russian-French school, an exhibition hall, an Orthodox church and a number of administrative buildings.

Russia purchased a prime spot of land near the Eiffel Tower in 2010 following the sale of France’s meteorological headquarters.

The Russian project had been blocked since 2010, after plans for a church capped with five golden domes ran into opposition from Mayor Betrand Delanoe who called the structure “mediocre architecture conceived in haste.”

However, the Orthodox Church’s new plan is expected to be released early next year, incorporating new technology and materials with titanium and carbon.

Construction is expected to begin in June 2014 after the existing Meteo France buildings are demolished.

Paris hosts several Russian Orthodox churches including the Trois-Saints-Docteurs church, which is solely under the control of Moscow Patriarchate.

Source: Press TV