Sergiev Town Church, on the photo, could be handed over to Russia already in summer.
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Putin Orders to Fund Rebuilding of Sergiev Church in Jerusalem
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has appropriated 10 million rubles for rebuilding and restoration of Sergiev Town Church in Jerusalem. This move of the outgoing president signals that the negotiations on handing over to Russia its historical property at the Holy Land lost in 1960s have reached the final stage. Putin will probably visit the Holy Land in June or July to sign a final agreement with Israel on transferring the town church to Russia.
Without waiting for the end of negotiations with Israel, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has ordered to appropriate 10 million rubles from the Reserve Fund for the restoration of Sergiev Town Church in downtown Jerusalem. The money is to be allocated in the second quarter of this year.
“The Sergiev Town Church is a sorry sight, so the president decided to uphold the request of Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society to immediately close down the facilities for some time, take inventory and determine the extent of restoration work,” said Yuri Grachev, who is the deputy chairman at the Society. Non-governmental Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society will deal with rebuilding and temporarily close-down of that town church.
The sources say Vladimir Putin may go to the Holy Land in June or July. “Exactly during the visit of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (the State Duma is expected to endorse this authority of Putin May 8), it is planned to officially handover Sergiev Town Church to the RF,” a source with Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society said on condition of anonymity.
“I don’t know anything about it,” Grachev said without giving any specific details.
Sergiev Town Church is the 19th century two-storey building in downtown Jerusalem, which construction had been funded by Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov, the founder of the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society.
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All the Article in Russian as of May 05, 2008
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