Doha, Qatar, March 26, 2018
Church of Sts. Isaac and George, currently under construction. Photo: spzh.news A pre-Paschal charity fair was held in Doha recently to raise funds towards the construction of a church that will accommodate 700 Orthodox faithful in the capital city of Qatar. Construction on the church, which is under the jurisdiction of the Jerusalem Patriarchate, should be finished by the end of the year, reports RIA-Novosti.
Representatives of all the Orthodox communities living in Qatar took part in the charitable bazaar. Dishes of national cuisine and works of folk art from the Russian, Serbian, Greek, Georgian, Moldovan, Bulgarian, Syrian, and Lebanese traditions were available as part of the market.
According to Archbishop Makarios of Qatar, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem expects to finish construction on the Church of Sts. Isaac and George, which was held up for 10 years, by the end of 2018. His Beatitude Theophilos III of Jerusalem is expected to travel to Qatar to consecrate the 700-capacity church.
“For now, our services and Liturgies are being held in the auditorium of a private school, but we hope to finish the construction of our church by Nativity, taking under its canopy all the Orthodox in the country,” the archbishop said. Services will be celebrated in Greek, Arabic, and Russian.
Unfortunately, both the Jerusalem and Antiochian Patriarchates claim jurisdiction over Qatar. Archbishop Makarios was consecrated to serve in Qatar on March 10, 2013, despite the protests of the Antiochian Church. The issue led to a now four-year break in communion between the two autocephalous Churches. The Jerusalem Patriarchate responded to this rupture, laying out its stance on the issue, to which the Antiochian Patriarchate responded. The Antiochian Church did not participate in 2016’s Crete Council in part due to the Qatar issue.
