KHUJAND, September 13, 2008, Asia-Plus — Parishioners of the Orthodox Maria Magdalena Church in Khujand are concerned that the church currently does not have prior.
According to them, farther Pyotr who left for Russia on a two-month vacation has not yet returned though his vacation has already been over. They are afraid that he may not return because the past difficult winter and energy crisis have seriously affected living conditions in the province.
Some 50 parishioners of the church are currently forced to go to Chkalovsk to visit the Orthodox church there.
The Orthodox Maria Magdalena Church in Khujand was built in 1878 already and ruined by fire in January 2005.
We will recall that two nuns from a monastery in Tashkent, Uzbekistan died in the fire in the Orthodox Maria Magdalena Church. One of the nuns, Maria, was 78 years old and the other, Elikonida, was 72 years old. The church burned to the ground, including the 100-year-old archive. The blaze destroyed icons, including those dating from the 18th and 19th centuries.
The new church will be built in the place of the Orthodox Maria Magdalena Church by design of Moscow architect V. Konovalov. The estimated budget for construction of the new church is some $500,000.
