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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 14, 2017 11:20:03 GMT
I had not yet visited the new Russian cathedral, so today it was time to go there. Even Vladimir Putin just got to see it a couple of months ago after a diplomatic mishap in October which made him miss the inauguration.
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It is already much smaller than the original plan approved by Sarkozy and then reduced by Hollande after another diplomatic dispute. Putin just has no luck, even though he paid for everything.
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The front entrance is closed for security reasons, so one enters through a side building with a metal detector and two Russian security officers who were seriously bored (bored and serious).
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Although the ceiling is high, the room itself is surprisingly small. There were not even any chairs inside.
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Really hard to photograph things under glass in a bright room! Too many reflections.
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The rest of the complex is quite large and also not totally finished. There is a parish hall, auditorium, cultural centre, Franco-Russian school, exhibition rooms, cafeteria and gift/book shop.
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It is estimated that there are 300,000 people of the Russian Orthodox faith in France.
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This place will require a return visit when they have completed all the work. Basically, just the cathedral and the gift shop seemed to be in operation at the moment.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 14, 2017 17:15:44 GMT
Most interesting. The place does lack the rich golden semi-darkness one would expect and the bright whiteness makes it seem more like a museum than a church. I imagine with use that will be remedied.
Is the material stone? That stacked effect on the facades is very different and striking.
Your first picture is really outstanding!
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 14, 2017 17:55:03 GMT
Thanks.
They used flat cut slabs of rock for the building - 6184 of them. The domes are built out of a sort of fiberglas covered with gold leaf. Price tag for all of this was 170 million euros, paid entirely by the Russian government.
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Post by patricklondon on Aug 15, 2017 6:23:09 GMT
From somewhere I have the idea that the Orthodox tradition is to stand rather than sit? Fascinating to see so much light. The few Orthodox churches I've visited have always struck me as rather dark, to focus all the attention on the iconostasis. My blog | My photos | My video clips"too literate to be spam" There were not even any chairs inside.
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Post by questa on Aug 15, 2017 8:04:45 GMT
The exterior does nothing for me, looks like a grandiose bomb shelter. Does Putin know something he is not sharing?
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 15, 2017 11:07:50 GMT
Oddly enough, it was designed by a French architect.
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Post by questa on Aug 15, 2017 12:57:34 GMT
Vichy 2017 ? just joking
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 15, 2017 14:16:52 GMT
No, but I suppose that an architect who wants to win a contract studies the taste of the customer before submitting a project.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 15, 2017 15:08:49 GMT
Admittedly the first look at the exterior is a bit of a jolt, but I like it.
Kerouac, all the colors in the photos look completely accurate -- green grass, blue sky, etc. But all of the domes appear to be silver rather than gold. Is that a trick of the light, or does the fiberglass + gold leaf actually give a silver effect?
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 15, 2017 15:57:06 GMT
I noticed that when I took pictures of the building under construction -- the gold becomes silver in the photos. I don't know why other than it is a light gold rather than a dark gold.
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Post by bjd on Aug 15, 2017 17:08:06 GMT
I can confirm that Orthodox masses are standing only. There are never chairs.
It's a bit of a shock at first -- looking like a concrete box, but then again, there is no reason that it should look like a traditional church. All architecture has to move forward. The paintings inside are very traditional though, except perhaps for the woman with braids.
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 15, 2017 17:19:18 GMT
So the babushkas suffer or else they never attend services?
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Post by bjd on Aug 15, 2017 19:23:41 GMT
Ah, but they suffer here on earth in preparation for something better afterwards. I understand that the services can last 3 hours.
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Post by gabriele on Aug 15, 2017 22:06:45 GMT
I've seen some wonderful Russian icons, these are pale imitations. I've been to the Holy Virgin Orthodox Cathedral (the congregation came originally from revolutionary Russia by way of Shanghai until WWII. Once to visit, a second time to attend Vespers. Women must wear modest dresses (NO pants). There is a line of benches in the back for those with physical limitations. It's quite overpowering but the stated impulse behind all the art is joy. That one should feel closer to God and so be filled with joy. It would be excessive except one's eyes move from this to that, and the 'tables' hold individual icons. The priest who led his congregation (safely) from Shanghai saw the founding and building of the church and expansion of the congregation. After his death, the Orthodox Church in America after long deliberation, named him a saint. His remains are now in the church (a tomb, he's not displayed as some RC saints) and people write notes to him and they stuck under the stones that make up the tomb.
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Post by gabriele on Aug 15, 2017 22:24:35 GMT
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