Thursday, Dec 22, 2005

By Daniel Bardsley, Staff Reporter

Dubai: Builders are set to begin work on the first Greek Orthodox church in the UAE in just a few weeks' time.

St Mary's Greek Orthodox Church will be created to a traditional Byzantine design on a piece of land donated by General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and UAE Defence Minister.

The church in Jebel Ali is likely to cost about Dh10 million and fundraising events are planned for the new year to help meet the bill.

Building work set to last about one-and-a-half years is likely to begin in February once final approval for the construction drawings is received from Dubai Municipality.

Members of the Greek Orthodox Christian community in the UAE have been worshipping at other churches, notably Holy Trinity Church in Dubai, for more than 20 years.

However, church members say because a large number of Christian groups use Holy Trinity and it is not available at all times, they would like to have a church of their own so they can more easily hold baptisms, marriages and funerals.

"We are very excited, especially because it will be a real Byzantine-style of church. It is a unique piece of art coming up in the area," said John Theodory, an Arab Canadian who is chairman of the church committee.

The church is thought to be the first Greek Orthodox place of worship built in the traditional style in the Gulf region.

There is already a Greek Orthodox church in Iraq and a rented villa used in Kuwait, but neither boasts the intricate artistic work that St Mary's will have. The construction period is lasting so long partly because of the attention to detail of the design.

Theodory said to help pay for the church a fundraising gala dinner will probably be held some time in 2006 along with some other events.

Greek Orthodox services in Dubai can attract as many as 400 worshippers while those in Sharjah have congregations of about 200. During major Christian festivals the number of worshippers can swell to 2,000.

Worshippers come from a variety of countries including Russia, Syria, Greece, the Ukraine and Cyprus, and services are commonly conducted in Arabic and Greek.

Gulf News 2005. All rights reserved.