The emergence of a temple featuring a very unconventional design is a “little miracle,” architects say, given the conservativism of the Church and the faithful.

The church, devoted to the Ignatius of Antioch, will be built in the western part of Moscow, the city’s architecture department said on Friday. The project has been already greenlighted by the city’s authorities and approved by the Russian Orthodox Church.

“In Russia, people are quite wary of modern architectural methods in church construction, and the emergence of this project is a little miracle. The architects managed to keep all the traditional elements of the temple building, yet added innovative details,” Moscow’s chief architect, Sergey Kuznetsov, said in a statement.

The architects have been influenced by early Russian Orthodox Christian churches, which were quite reserved in their design and had very few decorative elements, unlike later structures. The project is loosely based on a 14th century church located in the city of Novgorod.

“The building will differ from the majority of existing churches by it laconic and minimalist design,” one of the upcoming church’s architects, Said Dzhabrailov, explained. “Its roof is going all the way to the ground, the church looks like it grew from it.”

The church will be able to accommodate around 500 worshipers, featuring a vast, open space. Its altar section will be not separated from the rest of the church, as it will not have a massive iconostasis like the majority of churches in Russia. Moreover, the altar will be transparent, providing the faithful with a panoramic view of the Setun River.

Modern materials are expected to be used during construction, including fiberglass and other composites. The church will not have a traditional gilded cross, but a triplex glass one instead, meaning that it can be illuminated easily during night time.

Church construction is tricky, it can cause debates and even protests, as the recent scandal that unfolded in the city of Ekaterinburg has shown. The plans to erect a church in one of the city’s parks triggered mass protests and garnered attention of the federal authorities. The plans were ultimately scrapped and the church will now likely be built elsewhere in the city.

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