Moscow, November 30, 2010
Проект церкви
The project was designed by Russia's honored architect Viktor Zakharov, who worked in Nuclear Energy Ministry for many years and designed nuclear accelerators, reports the Moscow Orthodox Christian newspaper, Krestovsky Put.
Discussions over the project and preparatory work were surrounded by some rather unusual events. Zakharov's project initially had many opponents. It seemed like "demonic madness" to him. Opponents of the plans were shouting, "Such things shouldn't be built in Moscow. It can't be built like this!"
When the architect related his trials to Igumen Sergy (Rybko), a well known missionary and rector of the Bibirevo church, Fr. Sergy replied, "If the enemy is so outraged, It means that the project has been approved by the Higher echelons."
"And at the next session, one venerable old architect suddenly said to me and Fr. Sergy, "You will build it only over my dead body." I, just as unexpectedly, answered him: "You place little value on your life." A month later, there was a public council attended by Moscow authorities. Then everything has miraculously changed. People who had earlier trampled the project now called it a model of contemporary church construction," Zakharov said.
According to him, that architect who was so avidly against the project also changed his position and agreed with the rest. Some time later, Zakharov visited his mother's grave, and saw a fresh tomb with that architect's name on it.
"Many other signs were given during building of the church," Zakharov said. Once, a worker fell down from a great hieght, and in spite of everything he survived and wasn't even injured.
