Photo credit: reskany.ru
A new Orthodox church will be erected in Antarctica in 2022, TASS reports. The chapel in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, the patron saint of travelers and sailors, will be installed at the Novolazarevskaya research station. It is located in the southeastern part of the Schirmacher oasis, which is located on the coast of the Queen Maud Land, near the shore of the Lazarev Sea.
According to the Archbishop Kallistrat of Gorno-Altai and Chemal, the building is finished. It was cut down from Altai pine. Money for the construction of the temple was allocated by one of the Altai businessmen.
The clergyman noted that now the process of completing the package of necessary documents is ongoing. He added that transportation of the temple is planned for the next Antarctic summer, the chapel will be delivered to the coast by boat. During the winter, Russian polar explorers will transport the materials to the station. The temple will be biult within a couple of months next season. The ceremony of its consecration will take place at the beginning of 2022.
At the moment, the church of the Holy Trinity is the only Orthodox church, operating in Antarctica. It is built of wood at the Russian Bellingshausen station on Waterloo Island and is popular with polar explorers from different countries.
Russian polar explorers say that all high-ranking guests, who come to Antarctica, as well as hundreds of tourists, come there.
