Photo credit: seraphim.com.ua
The rector of The Holy Cross Exaltation Monastery Archimandrite Seraphim (Vopel) spoke about plans for the construction of a new Orthodox church in West Virginia in 2020. The need to build a church, which will be similar to the Moscow Sretensky monastery, is explained by an increase in the number of parishioners, Interfax reports.
The Holy Cross Exaltation Monastery is located in Missouri and is part of the East American Diocese of the Russian Church Abroad (ROCOR). The cloister was established in 1986.
According to father Seraphim, the number of pilgrims, workers and parishioners, as well as clergy is growing rapidly, and the existing temple does not accommodate all participants in the services. This is especially noticeable on major holidays, when a large part of the parishioners are forced to stay outside the temple, accommodating only 50 people.
The abbot of the monastery associates the increase in the number of parishioners with the growing interest in Orthodoxy from the "English-speaking Americans" who have switched from other faiths. The new temple will be designed for 150–250 believers and 50 priests and monks. The project has already been created by Andrew Gould, who converted to Orthodoxy fifteen years ago.
At the moment, according to father Seraphim, a quarter of the sum required for construction, which is planned to begin at the end of winter, has been collected.
Russkiy Mir
