Russian Orthodox Spiritual, Cultural Center in Paris

The opening ceremony of the Russian Orthodox Spiritual and Cultural Center will be held on Wednesday, October 19, in Paris.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The establishment of the Russian Orthodox Spiritual and Cultural Center in Paris was first mentioned by Patriarch Alexy II during his visit to France in October 2007. The Church of the Three Hierarchs on rue Petel, the cathedral church of the Chersonesus Diosece, which unites the parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church in France, was too small and could not accommodate all parishioners, especially on church holidays.

Upon receiving approval in 2010, Russia purchased a land plot of 4,245 square meters (some 46,000 square feet) located on the Branly Embankment (Quai Branly) in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, one of the most prestigious and popular areas of the city. Several countries, including China, Canada, Saudi Arabia and Russia, competed for the plot in the tender. Moscow won it and the plot was purchased by the Presidential Administrative Directorate, which was authorized to manage the project of a Russian Orthodox center.

In March 2011, an international competition was held for the project’s architectural design. Spanish architect Manuel Nunez Yanowsky, who developed a project together with the Arch Group Russian creative association, won the competition. However, the winning project later came up against difficulties related to its technical feasibility and a negative evaluation from French heritage protection services.

Another project by French architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, who took second place in the competition, was then picked up. It complied with the requirements of French law and urban development regulations. The project involved the construction of four buildings: the Holy Trinity Church, a Russian-French primary school, an exhibition center and a diocese administration building with a concert hall and residential quarters for priests and employees of the cultural department of the Russian Embassy.

Russia received the final permit to build the center in late December 2013. In January 2014, the Russian party and the French company Bouygues signed a deal to start construction works with the cornerstone-laying ceremony taking place in April 2015.

The total area of the buildings is 4,600 square meters. The center is built out of the same stone as Notre-Dame de Paris. It is 18 meters high, a bit lower than the surrounding buildings. According to the mayor of the 7th arrondissement, Rachida Dati, the project has united modernity and historical tradition, and the architectural solution for the church is a symbol of openness. Dati also said that it was not easy to fit the new building into the area, which is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The church’s main dome was installed in March 2016; the remaining four golden domes were installed in August. The domes, which are as high as a four-story building, were made in Vannes, Brittany, by the Multiplast company, a producer of composite materials. It took nine months and 90,000 gold sheets measuring 8x8 centimeters to make the all five domes. The crosses on the domes were designed in Moscow and manufactured in the Chelyabinsk Region of Russia.

The Russian Orthodox Spiritual and Cultural Center under construction in Paris is part of the Russian Embassy in France. It is being built for the religious guidance of Orthodox believers and as a meeting place, as well as for holding cultural events for the Russian community in Paris and for promoting Russian culture.