March 18, 2011
Overlooking the Seine and a stone's throw from France's most famous landmark, the cathedral will be wreathed in a huge glass solar-panelled roof, which chief architect Manuel Nunez Yanowsky said was designed to evoke an immense waterfall but also symbolically "the veil of the Mother of God".
Archbishop Mark of Egorievxk, who represents the Moscow patriarchy, said the £30 million project was chosen as it "blends Orthodox tradition and the modernity of a city like Paris."
The cathedral will be part of an "Orthodox center" comprising a vast 3,400 square metre public garden with terraces as well as a library, classrooms, a reception hall and lodgings for church representatives.
Assuming municipal authorities give final planning permission, it will be the first Russian monument to be built in the French capital in more than a century.
From: The Telegraph
