On May 27, 2006 Archbishop Venyamin of Vladivostok and Primorye will perform the rite of blessing of temple of St. George, the Conqueror on the Russian-Chinese border in the Primorye region.
The press service of the Vladivostok diocese reported to the correspondent of the national news agency that Archbishop Venyamin will perform the rite of blessing the temple of the Holy Great Martyr George the Conqueror. The archbishop will be accompanied by diocesan priests and soloists of St. Nicholas cathedral. The guests will be greeted by priest Lev Kalachikov, rector of the temple of the Dormition of the Theotokos at the border settlement.
The St. George the Conqueror temple was built on the initiative of the well-known Primorye entrepreneur and art patron, Gennady Lysak. It was erected pm the Russian-Chinese border, on the territory of the international trade complex. The walls of the timber temple were assembled without a single nail. The height of the temple is 17 meters, the length — 18, and the width — 9. Up to 200 people can fit into the temple. The bell tower has five bells.
Initially the temple was to have been erected on the territory of the Russian Embassy in Beijing. However, because the issue of building the temple took long to resolve, it was decided to build it on the coastal region. Logs which had already been delivered to Beijing were returned to Russian territory. Now the temple may be attended by both Russians and Chinese visitors to the new international trade complex.
[1] Primorye literally means coastal region.