Moscow, March 7, 2018
Photo: Foma.ru Over the course of 2018, 21 Orthodox churches will be built or put into commission in Moscow as part of the “Program for the Construction of Orthodox Churches of Moscow,” State Duma Deputy Vladimir Resin, the curator of the church building program, told Interfax-Religion yesterday.
Among the most notable sites, he mentioned the Church of the Reigning Icon of the Mother of God in Chertanovo, the Church of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia in Strogino, the Church of the Twelve Apostles in Khovrino, the Church of Princess St. Olga in Ostankino, the Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh in Tushina, the Church of Andrei Rublev in Ramenki, and the Church of the Meeting of the Lord in Zhulebino.
62 churches have been built in Moscow as part of the program over the past 8 years, including 24 last year alone.
The main objective of the program is to build enough new churches throughout the capital so that there is always one within walking distance in the residential areas. The program has been actively underway since 2011, with a plan of building 200 churches. The program runs entirely on the donations of citizens and organizations. A foundation established for collecting funds is co-chaired by Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin and His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.
38 other churches have already been commissioned. 31 others are currently being built under the program, and another 31 are currently in the design stage, and another 12 are in the preparation for construction stage.
The “200 Program,” as it is commonly known, currently includes 231 sites.
